Sights set high
Nhill has the unhappy distinction of owning the longest current finals drought in the Wimmera Football League.
The Tigers’ last finals campaign was almost a decade ago in 2010, a year that ultimately ended with a grand final defeat.
Since then the club has watched every other team take a turn in the finals while it has remained sidelined.
Last year competition newcomer Southern Mallee Giants waltzed to a grand final berth in its first season in the league.
Since 2010, Nhill has finished second-last five times and last twice.
Football director Graeme Cole said the team’s goal was to taste September action again in 2019.
“It has been pretty lean for the past eight years,” he said.
“We want to get back there, and hopefully this is the year we do it. We have had success with the juniors playing finals most years and the reserves playing finals last year, but the senior side hasn’t quite got there.
“It would be great to have that opportunity because a bit of success helps build hype and morale around the club. And once you get to the finals, anything can happen.”
Aiding the Tigers in their quest for a top-five berth will be several talented recruits, including former Coburg VFL player Nick Linton.
Linton, a tough inside midfielder, will help bolster the Tigers in the centre.
New ruckman Brad Graham from Essendon District Football League’s Maribyrnong Park will pair up with Ben Jones to add height to the side. Matt Mccallum from Western Border Football League’s East Gambier is another highly touted recruit.
Mr Cole said the team had also retained most of last season’s recruits, including Jones, Stephen Craig, Simon Cave and leading goal-kicker Scott Hughes, who booted 59 majors in 2018.
“We’ve got that core of our recruits from last year returning for us, so it helps with team unity because our local guys all know them,” he said.
Coach Tim Bone will lead Nhill for a second successive year.
Bone was more circumspect than Mr Cole about the Tigers’ chances of playing finals, and said the team would go as far as its emerging young players could take it.
“We’ve picked up a few, but we’ve lost a few as well,” he said.
“We’ve lost Jake and Lachie Pilgrim, Ed Pritchard, Jessie Morano and Jordan Zeitz, so that’s a quarter of our senior side.
“It’s more the younger blokes that we started blooding last year that we hope will improve significantly.
“There are six or seven or eight younger blokes that if we can get them playing better, it’ll make things easier for the whole team.
“We’re coming from a long way back to be realistic, but we’re hoping to be in finals contention.”
Bone said he expected every game to be hardfought this season.
“It’s going to be a really even competition I think,” he said.
“The standard of the league went up last year and it will probably do the same this year.”