WERRIBEE upset high-flying Casey 5-3 in Hockey Victoria men’s Vic League 1 at President’s Park on Saturday.
The Tigers might have set their pre-season bar too low; now they’re daring to dream of finals.
Captain Ross Cowlishaw admits he underestimated the strength of his team, which has surpassed the goal of surviving the drop.
“We’re four points out of the top four now,” Cowlishaw said. “We’re beating our expectations. We were trying to stay up and not get relegated.
“We had a meeting at the start of the year and [teammate] Darren Wale said, ‘I don’t know why you’re settling for that. We should be pushing for finals and I didn’t believe what he said, but I actually believe it now.”
The Tigers passed one of their biggest tests with flying colours.
They twice returned from deficits to run away with a three-goal win over second-placed Casey.
The six-man attack rotation, spearheaded by Josh Pace, excelled.
Coach Cam Whyatt has implemented an ice hockey-style rotation where the forwards are on and off in short, sharp bursts.
The Tigers ran the Casey defence ragged and banked five goals.
“They run, run, run for seven and a half minutes and come off and it’s been working well,” Whyatt said.
“It’s new. It was brought in halfway through this year. We carry the full 16, so we’ve got five on the bench and can afford to do that.
“They’ve just got to run and be absolutely knackered after five minutes.”
Pace is the player who makes the Tigers’ attacking line tick; he leads his team in that department.
“He’s got that X-factor,” Cowlishaw said.
“He’s got the skills to turn a defender inside out.
“He’s got that arrogance about him. He thrives on scoring goals and beating defenders.”
The Tigers have a trip to eighth- placed Brunswick on Saturday.
