Tara Murray
The hard work over the past couple of years for Westmeadows is paying off, with the club welcoming back a number of players early this off-season.
After losing a heap of players after the 2022 season, things were tough for the Tigers and coach Ash Flavel, who had just taken over.
Now off the back of an Essendon District Football League division 2 grand final, the momentum is growing.
Flavel said it had been a really busy month since the season ended.
“We’ve been putting in a lot of work in the last few weeks and have managed to get a few guys who want to come back and play for the club,” he said.
“After what happened a few years ago, the club is now back on its feet and heading in a good direction.
“We’ve worked hard to get to where we are and playing off in a grand final helped the cause as well.”
Flavel said the new editions would help fill some holes they thought they needed to fill.
Jordan Hollow, Harley Gleeson and Francis Keenan have all returned from Epping, Michael Portelli from Hillside, Marcus Mammoliti from Airport West and Mitch Church from East Sunbury.
Flavel said they would all be handy inclusions into the squad.
Hugo Jenkins has joined the club from Strathmore where he played in the under-18.5 grand final, while Jake Butcher comes to the Tigers from Shepparton.
Flavel said they were still speaking to a few more players and were hoping to have a few more announcements in the coming weeks.
At this stage, the only confirmed out for the Tigers is Rex Hickman who is going to play in the bush.
With an influx of players, the Tigers are looking to field a thirds senior side next season.
Flavel said he couldn’t have imagined that they would be in this position after where they were when he took over.
“I was struggling to put together a side of 22 back a couple of years ago,”he said.
“Now I’m looking at a senior squad of 35 that could possibly play seniors.
“We’ll have a lot of depth and strong seniors and it will flow from the senior side into the reserves.”
Flavel said they had also added a strength and conditioning coach and several of the boys had already hit the training track.
After exceeding expectations this year, the Tigers are setting high expectations for next season.
“We are playing to go one better,” he said. “We’re not hiding from the fact that we want to finish top two.
“They boys know that and we’re looking to build on that next year. We’ll leave no stone unturned.”
