Season 2015 is shaping up as an exciting one for the Noosa Tigers.
The club has signed some exciting players including Robbie Copeland (Aspley and ex Lions premiership player), Brent Moloney (ex Lion and Demon), Nick Hill (ex Barwon Heads captain), Cain Tickner (ex Tiger junior and Aspley), Lachie McCardy (Corowa) and Mark Riley (Labrador).
We understand that the following 100+ game veterans will be pulling on their jumpers again this year – Brett Duke (226 games), Gary Wallace (176), Cubby Isles (155), and Troy Duke (112).
On the downside the following Tigers are going elsewhere: Pete Trompf is off to the Geelong region, Ryley Buntain is off to Morningside, Josh Reichmann has headed home down south and Dylan Dempsey is off to parts unknown.
Rob Purves informs us that Jason Sherriff has been sacked through lack of attendance at preseason training. A bit harsh Rob but it will give Scoop Sherriff more time to concentrate on his weekly match reports.
Teams competing in the QFA (North) competition are the same as last year, although Caboolture has changed its name to Moreton Bay.
The preliminary draft is out and, at the moment, the season will kick off on Saturday April 11th and the last home and away game will be on Saturday 22nd August.
Fiona Winter Realty has signed on again as Major Sponsor of the Noosa Tigers, this year as the sole major sponsor. This makes it three years in a row that Fiona has made the commitment.
The Richmonds are already hard at work organising this seasons Presidents lunches, Check back here to find out which great guest speakers Peter Thynne has locked in.
And finally we have spoken to President Scott Mckenzie and Coach James Gellie to find out their thoughts on the upcoming season.
Scott tells us that in 2015 he would like if we could make the grand final again as this is a very hard thing to achieve. Let alone win it. Fingers crossed with injuries as they can be very cruel to clubs. Off the field we will be doing a lot to develop the juniors and the coaches. Brent Moloney has been employed to create a academy so we can give our juniors the best possible chance to play at the highest level possible. We are working hard with The Richmond's, our fantastic supporters group, targeting more sponsors. We will be continuing the Presidents lunches which we already have some great speakers booked in which we be announced in the near future.
The Coach mentioned that the off season for the Tigers had been really busy with a healthy recruiting drive taking place. James said, “At the end of 2014 we sat down and had a look at what we needed to help us improve as a team. We felt that on -field leadership was one of the areas that we need to focus on in 2015.” The recruitment of Copeland and Moloney, who both have extensive AFL experience, will not only bring leadership to the team but they will also be able to share will all players, both young and old, their great knowledge of the game. Preseason was really good before Christmas and the boys were really keen. With many new faces and plenty of numbers, training was lots of fun.
With regard to Season 2015 James told us …. “Expectations will be high after our 2014 season but from the coaching staff’s point of view there is a lot of work to be done. Bringing in some quality recruits won’t be the answer we are looking for in regards to the teams overall improvement but we have to keep working hard on the areas of the game that let us down last year. The players have had 12 months in our program so we are looking for them to keep developing and taking on more responsibility so we can become a better football side. We are really excited with what lies ahead in 2015 …… BUT, we as a club, have to keep working hard and keep doing the little things right so that we can improve both on and off the field.”
Last Modified on 07/01/2015 22:32