After missing last year’s finals series, some new faces and returning stars are expected to once again have the Tigers pushing climbing the ladder in 2025.
Having retained the bulk of their A grade squad from last season, Woorinen could well find themselves as one of the Central Murray’s big improvers, with a versatile squad containing both talented youngsters and experienced veterans set to propel them to greater heights.
After being in finals contention for much of last season, a late drop in form cost the Tigers, with much soul searching post season seemingly driving the team forward into a new campaign.
Tayla Bennett will return as coach, but will have some assistance from Jaimee Beasy and Tessa Demaria, who will join her in a co-coaching capacity.
The extra help will be a welcome addition for Bennett, who is confident the Tigers are ready to return to the finals after last seasons fadeout.
“Missing the finals last year hurt, there’s no doubt about that, but at the same time it’s also really motivated us to work at and think about what we want to achieve,” Bennett said.
“There’s a good, positive vibe rolling throughout the team and the club at the minute, so I think we’re just going to strive to do our best each week and hopefully come away with some good results.
“We’ve talked about unity throughout the club, the message really is about one club heading in one direction and making sure that we’re all physically fit and ready to go to work.
“We’re motivated and hungry and I think we’ll definitely improve this season.”
Bennett will not only be an asset off the court as coach, but also on it, with the goal shooter set to return to the court and form a potent partnership with young gun Willow Conlan.
Conlan substituted for Bennett admirably under the post last season, playing a role that saw her claim the Tigers’ best and fairest, with positive signs emerging out of pre-season training for the pair.
“The good thing is we have plenty of attacking options and with the rolling subs that will make us even more challenging to play against,” Bennett said.
“At this stage Willow (Conlan) will go out to the line a little bit, but we also have Eva Bolton that we can swing through there too.
“‘Wills (Conlan) and I get along really well on and off the court and it’s been really good teaching her and helping her develop her craft, but also having her challenging me too.”
The Tigers look set to have a versatile line-up across the court with the recruitment of former Bendigo Netball League star Lily Den Houting, who is capable of playing either through the midcourt or in defence.
Den Houting’s arrival should also have a positive affect on Tessa Demaria, who also rotated between the midcourt and defence each week, with the Tigers now possessing a strong but versatile A grade squad.
“I think over the last couple of years we’ve had strong bookends, but I just feel like the development throughout our midcourt and that ability of being able to throw either Lily (Den Houting) or Tessa (Demaria) in there will play a big role in us being competitive with the better teams,” Bennett said.
“We’ll have an extra quality bench rotation through the midcourt too which I feel is going to be a good asset to have, because normally we’ve just had Jaimee (Beasy) or Ava (Crow) running out the whole game and running themselves into the ground.
“We just want to have consistency throughout our quarters and we want to be making sure that we’ve really thought about our match up’s and how we’re going to make sure that we are beating our opponent each week.
“Our versatility will help that, because we know when we looked back at last season, we weren’t playing consistent enough, even within quarters and that probably hurt us with those last few games that were very close, but also didn’t go in our favour.”
WOORINEN FAST FACTS
JOINED LEAGUE – 1997
COURTS – Woorinen Recreation Reserve
PREMIERSHIPS – 3 (2005, 2016, 2019)
A GRADE COACHES – Jaimee Beasy, Tayla Bennett and Tessa Demaria
2024 LADDER POSITION – 8th
2024 BEST & FAIREST – Willow Conlan
FROM THE COACH
“I think not playing finals last year really hurt and we took a lot away from that. We received a lot of feedback within our team and things and the consensus was that we don’t want to be in that spot again. Playing finals is what we’re aiming for and then going further from there.”
PLAYER TO WATCH
Tessa Demaria
Still one of the Central Murray’s most consistent performers, Demaria is a ruthless competitor that never gives an inch on the court.
Played predominately in defence last season, which earned her 16 votes in last year’s Julie Wardle Medal – 11 more than her closest teammate in the league vote count.
While Demaria is still expected to spend considerable time in Woorinen’s defensive third, the arrival of Lily Den Houting could also see her roll more through the midcourt, where her clean passing and ability to read the play makes her such a valuable asset.
IN’S
Tayla Bennett
Lily Den Houting
Steph Ierado (Wandella)
OUT’S
None
