By Michael Esposito
ANYTHING less than finals will be a failure in the eyes of Werribee skipper Dom Gleeson.
And with a new coaching panel, a new game-plan and some noteworthy recruits, Gleeson believes this could be the year the Tigers make an impression on the top eight.
“Under (former coach) Simon Atkins we had our time there and we got a lot out of ourselves and learnt a lot, but you can’t help but feel refreshed with the new coach and new coaching staff and the new set of players that we’ve got in,” Gleeson said.
First-year coach Paul Satterley has been drilling his new game style, modelled on Collingwood’s forward press and Geelong’s quick movement of the ball, but mainly AFL-affiliate North Melbourne.
“Everyone says with the game styles that everyone’s trying to do the same thing, but with ours we’re trying to do it better than anyone else and we’ve been pretty meticulous in doing everything over the pre-season and basically brainwashing ourselves and being familiar with it,” Gleeson said.
“It’s been a real key focus to flood our brains and make it become second nature.
“We’re trying to not copy but use the same styles that North Melbourne use and that’s going to be great because when we get those six or eight players back from North Melbourne they’ll know it well so they’ll be able to teach us.
“It’s very offensive, but in this day and age you’ve got to be very good at being defensive before offensive. Collingwood is probably the instigator of it all just like Geelong were a couple of years ago, so we’re just following suit now.”
Werribee has seven new recruits who have been in the AFL system. With the exception of Leigh Harding, they are young, little known players who have been delisted but are keen to get back on an AFL list.
Players like forward Michael Still (formerly Essendon), ruckman Will Sullivan (West Coast), Tom Allwright (Geelong) and Matt O’Dwyer (Sydney) will have plenty to prove and limitless knowledge to pass on to their new team-mates
“I think they’re under no illusion that it’s just going to happen for them and they aren’t coming and saying I’m just spending a year here … they’re actually buying into the gameplan and they’re well aware that if someone doesn’t play their role it all falls down,” Gleeson said. “There’s a real selflessness among the guys that have been in the system and have come down.
“What we’re trying to do is basically gain information from them, milk them for everything they’re worth, particularly Matt O’Dwyer from Sydney and that culture that they talk about. Even though he’s a quiet guy we’re just trying to slowly get it out of him.”
Harding’s experience will also be invaluable, especially in a young side that has lacked bonafide leaders in the past.
“With our senior group last year there were 20-year-olds in it, this year we’ve added Leigh Harding and those guys who were 20 and now 21 and have gone through a year of basically being battered around. We’re all on the same page hopefully and trying to create something great.”
That means the Tigers are putting last season’s poor season, which yielded just four wins, behind them.
“The culture I don’t think has ever been an issue, I think it’s just been lack of quality on the ground maybe, because when we were playing under Simon Atkins we believed in that game style and when we played it well we played it really well.
“We’re just trying to change the mentality that we’re not a bottom side.”
