THE bar was raised for the Werribee Tigers last season, with the arrival of full-time senior coach Paul Satterley coinciding with a coming out of the wilderness.
The Tigers were still alive on the Victorian Football League’s preliminary final weekend for the first time in four years and taken as a serious threat.
If last season was all about winning back respect, the new campaign is about taking the next step.
First-year coach Scott West has been handed a hot potato. Bookmakers and experts alike are tipping the Tigers to venture deep into the finals. Anything less will be a failure.
The state’s second-tier football league can be unpredictable from year to year because of the high turnover of players, but the Tigers are well equipped to buck the trend because their established VFL players will take charge.
They did it when Michael Barlow was drafted by Fremantle; they will do it again with the exit of captain Dom Gleeson.
The Tigers have a host of players with AFL experience and they will be complemented by the strengthening feeder relationship with North Melbourne.
Travis Tuck, son of Hawthorn’s VFL/AFL games record holder Michael, is one to watch.
The big-bodied onballer is nearing the prime of his career at 24 and is ready to rip the competition to shreds.
A fearless operator, Tuck will lead by example with his attack on the ball and will enjoy his first uninterrupted season in years.
Ben Ross is not too dissimilar. He’s 23 and should be entering his peak years. The midfielder has a point to prove after North Melbourne axed him from their AFL list after 12 games.
Ross has a deep love for the club and that was evident in last year’s VFL finals.
He simply got on with the job of playing for the Tigers instead of sulking over his delisting from the Kangaroos. Watton Street has been a land of opportunity for one-time AFL players looking to give their careers a kick-along. Will Sullivan, a ruckman once on the rookie list at West Coast, has been rewarded for his commitment with the vice-captaincy.
Running half-back Matt O’Dwyer (Sydney Swans) and tough-as-nails onballer Ben Sharp (West Coast) had seasons to remember last year as joint winners of the Tigers best and fairest.
Leigh Harding, a long-time servant for North Melbourne, is furthering his career as a playing assistant coach.
Nathan Ablett, a premiership player with Geelong who played at AFL expansion club Gold Coast Suns in their inaugural season, made headlines over summer by joining the Tigers for their tilt at a flag.
This line-up is experienced enough to go all the way to the final four – or better.
The Tigers rewarded the loyalty of smart crumbing forward Robbie Castello with the captaincy, which should be a seamless transition.
Perhaps the great unknown is West.
What is certain is that he’s not lacking in football experience, having played 324 AFL games with the Western Bulldogs, won seven club best and fairests, five All Australian honours, top-five in the Brownlow Medal count five times, two-time Australian international rules representative and an assistant coach with Melbourne.
The Tigers have a blockbuster season-opener against North Ballarat on the road at Eureka Stadium on Saturday at 2pm.
