WERRIBEE was well in control of the 1993 VFA grand final against Port Melbourne in the early stages of the last quarter, but Frank Lesiputty was in no mood for premature celebrations.
The resolute centre half-back knew the pain of losing a grand final, having been part of the Werribee outfit that lost to Dandenong by nine points in 1991.
So when 19-year-old teammate Peter Williams began to let his excitement get the better of him, Lesiputty was having none of it.
“I barrelled him,” says Lesiputty with a laugh. “Because I had lost in ’91, I was so determined to win and Peter started laughing and enjoying it. So I told him, ‘Pull your head in and get on your man’.”
Williams, now a teacher, confirms the story.
“Early in the last quarter I went over to him to celebrate and he almost pushed me down on to the ground,” he says.
Soon after, both were celebrating as Werribee won its first – and so far only – senior premiership. The Tigers went into the game as underdogs but came away with a 10.10 (70) to 4.4 (28) win.
READ ALL ABOUT THE GAME: From the Werribee Banner archives here.
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This Saturday night Werribee is holding a 20th anniversary for the team, and Sunday is past players’ day when the champions of old will watch as the modern-day Tigers take on – you guessed it – Port Melbourne.
The 1993 grand final is often remembered for its dramatic finish – with the siren yet to sound, crowd members invaded Princes Park as Werribee and Port Melbourne players brawled.
Tigers forward Jack Aziz was king-hit and celebrated with a throbbing black eye when the ground was cleared and the siren was sounded.
Lesiputty says tensions were brewing throughout the afternoon – six players were reported, which worked in the Tigers’ favour.
“I reckon we kept our nerve for the afternoon whereas they went the knuckle and lost their focus,” he says.
But right from the start of the day he and his teammates were confident. Williams recalls it was raining on the morning of the game.
“I thought we were in with a big chance,” he says. “We had a lot of hard-at-it, in-and-under type of players and the ball was going to be on the ground a fair bit.”
Lesiputty, who broke with his tradition and carried a ball on to the ground in the warm-up, agrees. “I just felt the weather would favour us,” he says. “I knew we were harder at it and I was super-confident without being over-confident.”
Neil Branch’s match report in the Werribee Bannerlauded the Tigers, led by skipper Donald McDonald for their dominance, desperation and unrelenting attack.
According to Williams, the celebrations went on for weeks.
“It was fantastic,” he says. “The club was 30 years old and hadn’t tasted success, so it just added the extra icing on the cake and made the celebrations a lot sweeter.”
Lesiputty, who played after seven injections in his shoulder due to copping a dislocation in the preliminary final against Springvale, says the celebrations were “unbelievable”.
“We were just such a tightknit group and we socialised together all throughout the year,” he says. “Hopefully, the club can win another one this year and we can all share a beer with the new boys.”
