The Pinjarra Tigers will be without a handful of their 2018 premiership heroes as they gear up for a tilt at a third straight Peel Football and Netball League flag this season.
The likes of Leroy Jetta, Brennan Gillam, Rohan Kerr and Dom Hardy (who all helped Pinjarra thump Centrals in last year's finale) won't be around for a potential three-peat with the quartet moving on from Tigerland.
I still think we're a top three side, for sure
- Head coach Troy Vidovich
Jetta, who made a sensational impact after joining Pinjarra midway through last season, will play in his hometown Pingelly, while Kerr makes his return to the WAFL ranks through East Perth.
Both Gillam and Hardy are bound for the Perth Football League.
But while the exodus of grand final stars seems an ominous prospect, it's a challenge coach Troy Vidovich said the club will take on with optimism.
"Obviously any time you lose players of that calibre it's not an easy task to replace them, but we're grateful for what they did for our club and we wish them the best," he said.
"We've had players leave before and we've backed it up, so we'll take the challenge in our stride."
Easing the pain of those losses is the return of both Brett Milward and Nicholas Merritt from Peel Thunder, along with the inclusion of gutsy midfielder Dean Miller, who joins the Tigers from South West Football League club Harvey.
Having a spate of colts premiership players coming through the ranks will also lessen the burden on senior players.
The likes of CJ Milward, Riley Vidovich and Logan Martin were extremely impressive in Pinjarra's 2018 colts flag, and have all put their hands up for a league gig this pre-season.
"I've been amazed at the hunger of a few of these colts boys wanting to play league footy," coach Vidovich said.
"Sometimes younger blokes just want to have a kick with their mates or even just have a beer on the sidelines, but these boys are really going hard to play league footy and you can see it means something to them.
"Those are the sorts of young players you want on your list so we're really excited to be bringing them through as the future of our club."
That mix of both youth and experience has the Tigers once again entering a new season full of aspirations.
"I still think we're a top three side, for sure," Vidovich said.
"We've gone into the last two seasons aiming at top three and nothing will change in that regard this year."
Justin Rake
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
