By Mark Murray
WERRIBEE Football Club will enter into a partial alignment with the Kangaroos next season despite originally deciding to stand alone in 2008.
Tigers president John Nicoll confirmed his club would renege on its decision to reform its own entity in the Victorian Football League (VFL) after its partnership with the Western Bulldogs fell over.
The Kangaroos will form partial alignments with both Werribee and North Ballarat Roosters.
The club joined forces with the Roosters and Tasmania this year.
Nicoll said it was an attractive enough proposal by the AFL club to warrant Werribee backtracking on its original plans to have total control over its own on-field selection.
“We are very pleased to be gaining a partial alliance with the Kangaroos and think it can work well,” Nicoll said.
“It was another big decision for the club and after discussion with the AFL, AFL Victoria and the Kangaroos it looks like a good idea.
“We’ve had many chats with AFL Victoria CEO Cameron Schwab and we’re still going through the nits and bolts of it now.”
It is likely the Tigers will need to make room for around seven Kangaroos-listed players each week.
Financially, it is a better option for the Tigers next season and it will also ease some of the pressure on recruiting.
Werribee would have had to attract some star quality to the club if it was to push into the top echelon of the VFL as a stand-alone club.
Nicholl admitted the presence of AFL players would ease some of the recruiting work load for next season.
“It was a factor into it, I guess, as in a perfect world if we knew we were going to go at it alone, you would like a lot more time to plan for it.
“The earlier you can get into recruiting the better.
“We’re not sure exactly how things will work in terms of which players come to us and which to North Ballarat, but that will all be sorted out.
“North Ballarat had about seven of the Kangaroos’ guys last year so we expect around the same.”
