Werribee Tigers will aim to keep the Foxtel Cup trophy in Victoria when they head to Western Australia to take on Claremont in the Foxtel Cup Grand Final this Thursday night.
The Tigers are the last remaining Peter Jackson VFL side in the competition, after Claremont knocked out reigning VFL premiers Port Melbourne in the last round. Claremont will host a home Grand Final for the second year in a row, with Werribee hoping to repeat the performance of Williamstown in 2011, who brought home the Foxtel Cup trophy with an away from home Grand Final victory.
Werribee Tigers have made an impression in their first year in the national state league competition, claiming the scalps of Burnie, West Perth and Morningside on their way to the Grand Final.
Tigers General Manager Mark Penaluna said the club is excited to be representing the VFL in the Grand Final, giving Werribee an opportunity to showcase their club on a national stage.
“The entire club really wanted to showcase the Werribee Football Club to the football world.
“Our coaching staff and players were determined to go as far as we could in the competition and it has worked out well making the grand final. We will put the best team we can on the park for the grand final and we are committed to doing the best we can,” Penaluna said.
“The competition has been great for our players in that they have been able to play at Etihad Stadium, the MCG, the Gabba and now Patterson Stadium. It is a Grand Final and we want to win it. “
The last time Werribee tasted Grand Final success in the VFL was 1993, when the club won its one and only premiership cup. Since that premiership victory, the Tigers have played in three more Grand Finals, only to fall short as runners up in 1998, 2001 and most recently 2005.
The opportunity to win a Grand Final of any type would be a reward for those that have been around the club for many years especially staff and long term sponsors.
“Ballan Holden have been our major sponsor for 13 years and while we have made the VFL finals in most of that time, we have not brought a Grand Final Cup to Avalon Airport Oval in their time.
“This is a unique opportunity to show a national audience through the Fox Footy channel what the Werribee Football Club is about and the opportunity we give to players,” Penaluna said.
With the likes of Nathan Ablett, Ben Ross, Kyle Hartigan and Scott Sherlock to take to the field this Thursday for Werribee, the Foxtel Cup provides an opportunity for these young players to showcase their skills against the best from WA in front of a national audience.
Penaluna wonders how many more Werribee players – like Brad Mangan from last year – would have been recruited from the Tigers had such a competition been introduced earlier.
“You can only wonder if Werribee players like James Podsiadly, Dale Morris and Mick Barlow would have been drafted earlier if they had been given the national exposure through the Foxtel Cup.”
WHO: Claremont vs Werribee Tigers
WHEN: Thursday August 2
WHERE: Patersons Stadium, WA
TIME: Live on Fox Footy LIVE from 9:30pm (Melb time)
Last Modified on 01/08/2012 15:08