Werribee FC 60th Anniversary

Last Sunday the 15^th June saw a gathering of past and present players and supporters to celebrate the Werribee Tiger’s 60^th anniversary.

I arrived at the club halfway through 1988 having taken a loan from the bank to buy my first home in Hoppers Crossing at the fair and reasonable interest rate of 19%. 🙂

The township of Wyndham in those days was village-like so I can only imagine that in 1965 it may have looked like Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, dusty and sparse.

That’s certainly not the case now. The Werribee I knew is almost unrecognisable with the area being the fastest growth corridor in Melbourne.

Despite the changes over the past 65 years, the club has maintained its reputation as the ‘country footy club in the city’. Footy clubs are all about the people so Sunday was a great time for the club to recognise seven new Hall of Fame Members and a Legend.

All of the recipients are thoroughly deserved and what I love so much about how the club processes the awards, is that 95% of all the Hall of Famers so far are all volunteers and administrators who have given decades of dedicated service.

For us oldies, to see these guys get recognised is a treat given how much we valued them when we played. Unfortunately two of our favourites in Len ‘Tiger’ Ryan and Joe Mannagh are sadly no longer with us but will never be forgotten.

Below left to right, back row George Riddeford, Martin Carter, Kirk Norton, Bottom row, Robbie Castello, Jimmy Masterson, Ted Goodall. Chad Ravlich posthumous. Alan Clayton was awarded Legend status.

The theme of the day was ‘then and now’ so our MC, legendary broadcaster and podcaster Kevin Hillier did some Q&A’s with some players and officials past and present.

It was an inspired choice to have Michael Sodomoco and Stephen Sells go up together. Two of the best and most popular players we ever had and both had their share of disappointments amongst the highlights.

‘Sellsy’ was at the club when I arrived and he was a mercurial player. Fresh off a premiership with Subiaco he was humble and sociable, usually last to leave the club on a Sunday night along with another gun, former Essendon player Nick ‘Volkov’ Walsh.

‘Sods’ is simply an outstanding leader and like Sellsy was stiff to miss out on a premiership. To this day I still believe the team Sods led with Nick Coghlan in 2023 produced the most skilful and attractive footy I’ve seen at the club. Facing a virtual AFL team in a grand final wasn’t just unfair, it was ludicrous.

Another era that probably hasn’t received the acclaim it deserves is that 1996-2005 period especially the group just prior to the alignments with Footscray and North.

This was a time when one on one footy still existed and the club had some brilliant players such as Robertson, Saunders, Churchill, Satterley, Podsiadly and Faulker to name a few.

I was working in Perth at the time and I remember speaking to Donald on the phone and he could barely contain his excitement at the talent he had at his disposal. Many of those great players missed out on a couple of flags but they are fondly remembered.

One of the bridges between ‘old and new’ was John Lamont who played in the 1993 premiership side as well as coached the club. He arrived sporting a moustache more befitting a Boer War Brigadier.

John kicked three goals in the grand final and those goals were played on rotation via one of the big screens during his interview. He constantly interrupted his interview to tell the audience that he had kicked another goal on screen which was quite amusing. Little did the young blokes present know that they were his only three kicks for the game. 🙂

Playing footy at any level is lots of fun and often you can be lucky enough to find a mentor or two whose influences lasts a lifetime.

I just want to acknowledge my coaches at Werribee, Leon Harris and Donald McDonald who I would have done anything for. We were lucky to catch up with both of them at the 2023 grand final. Thankyou Mork and Macca.

Clearly the game has changed dramatically in 65 years. In our day there was no science, recovery, stats or analysis. If things weren’t working, you worked harder with little thought as to the consequences.

Midfielders in the VFA were distance runners not ‘yo-yo’ runners and never came off the ground unless injured or dragged. And then there was the mud, cold showers and changerooms not much bigger than a public toilet, most with similar aesthetics. 🙂

The players of today are great athletes and know how to work in ‘phone boxes’ exceptionally well because of the numbers around the contest. They are complimented with Champion Data, proper nutrition, analysis, GPS and trained to go hard for six or seven minutes before resting. WFC has evolved into an environment that supports the latter’s needs wholeheartedly.

Back in the day at Chirnside Park we had a urinal that could accommodate two players and one dunny. We played three games (19’s, Rezzies and seniors) so you can only imagine the apocalyptic smell and scenes at 5pm in the changerooms!

These days you’ll see a superbly fitted gym, pristine oval surface, separate toilets, showers, ice baths, hot baths and changeroom along with Apple Imac’s set up for players and coaches to analyse performance.

Another thing the club does differently these days is the focus on community. With the growth of the City of Wyndham it makes sense to tap in to the kids of the area and Shaggy Bol does a fine job in that space. Its great to see we are a values based club.

WFC is now a true destination club. It’s a boutique stadium set in a beautiful regional-like setting next to the aquatic centre, tennis centre and lawn bowls club all adjacent to the Werribee River.

Since returning to standalone status in 2018, the club has had eleven players drafted to AFL clubs. Dom Brew has been stiff but I hope he doesn’t give up.

2024 Premiership coach Jimmy Allen is a terrific leader and as is the nature of the competition, is now dealing with the challenge of player turnover.

This now provides an opportunity for more youngsters to develop in what has become the best environment for a part time player to reach their full potential in the VFL.

Thanks for the memories, happy birthday and Go Tiges!

Below players from the cracking 2023 Runners Up side.