The Tarneit Football Club is an Australian rules football club, based in the western Melbourne suburb of Tarneit, which have competed in the Western Region Football League (WRFL) since 2014.[1]

Tarneit Football Club
Names
Full nameTarneit Titans Football Club
Nickname(s)Titans
Club details
Founded2013; 11 years ago (2013)
Colours       
CompetitionWestern Region Football League (2013–)
PresidentSue Thornton
CoachVinnie Turcinovich
Captain(s)Zach Thornton & Joshua Stone
Premierships2018 (Reserves), 2019 (Reserves)
Ground(s)Wootten Road Reserve, Tarneit
Other information
Official websitehttps://www.tarneitfc.com/

Operating out of Wootten Road Reserve in Tarneit.[2]

As of the 2019 season, Tarneit is represented by seven junior teams, ranging from under 10s to under 16s;[3] a senior women's team; and senior men's and reserves teams.[4]

History

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2014 - 2015: Formation and early years

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The formation of the Tarneit Football Club was officially announced by the WRFL in 2013, following the recognition of the rapidly increasing population in the outer west and the recent development of an Australian Rules facility on Wootten Road.[1]

Tarneit was ultimately established in 2014, and in its inaugural year the club were able to field two senior and three junior teams, alongside successfully hosting local football finals at the Wootten Road venue.[5] Starting initially in Division 2 grading, the club made history with its first senior men's victory in Round 1, scoring a 79 point win over the North Sunshine Roadrunners.[6]

The 2015 season consisted of lukewarm success for Tarneit; aided by the introduction of a Division 3 compeititon, the senior men's team increased their win tally to five games and the reserves men's side winning thirteen games and playing in the club's first final. Tarneit was also able to sustain its junior program in 2015, fielding three junior teams.[7]

2016 - 2017: Increased participation and drastic improvement

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After two inaugural years of limited success, 2016 marked a drastic improvement in the club's on-field performances following the appointments of Mark Elso and Cam Evans as senior and reserves men's coach respectively.[8] The senior men's side was able to secure its first ever finals victory after finishing the season in third position, whilst the reserve side featured in the club's first men's Grand Final - ultimately succumbing to Parkside by eight points.[9] Similarly, the club experienced its first success in the junior ranks, with the Under 12s side playing in the club's first junior Grand Final.[10]

The success of the previous year resulted in significant growth for the club in 2017, reflected by the introduction of Tarneit's first senior women's team and junior girls sides; contributing to a total of nine teams for the season.[11] Although the women's team finished on the bottom of the table, another milestone for the club was achieved with the side securing their first ever victory against the Glen Orden Football Club[12]

Tarneit's senior men also made history, with their qualification into the Division 3 Grand Final representing the club's first ever - an achievement that was soured by a loss to rivals Parkside by 41 points.[13]

2018: Tarneit's first taste of success

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Following the performances of 2017, expectations for the men's teams were high, particularly following the re-signing of Elso and Evans for 2018.[14] After finishing the season in second place - in a season where they scored a victory against each team - Tarneit's senior men's side could not improve on the previous year, crashing out of finals in straight sets following losses to Point Cook Centrals[15] and the Wyndham Suns[16] respectively.

Conversely, the reserves side were able to bounce back from a straight sets knockout in 2017 and finish the 2018 season as Minor Premiers en route to winning the club's first ever Premiership, with a one point victory over the Point Cook Centrals.[17]

Tarneit also were able to maintain their junior numbers, with six junior sides representing the Titans alongside the senior men's, senior women's and reserve's sides.[18]

2019: Reserves back-to-back and continued growth

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Tarneit's senior sides aimed to build on the momentum of their 2019 campaigns, and after five rounds looked strong with both sides undefeated at the top end of the ladder.[19] This served to be a sliding doors moment for the teams; with the senior men going at a record of seven wins, six losses before crashing out in finals,[20] while the reserves ultimately backed up their 2018 campaign with a 32 point victory in the Grand Final against the Albanvale Football Club.[21]

The club's senior women's side also reveled in their own successes, with four wins for the season representing their strongest performance in Tarneit's short history.[22]

2020: COVID-19 and new senior coach

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Due to the impact of COVID-19, the 2020 WRFL senior and junior seasons were cancelled respectively.[23][24]

Following the cancellation of the senior season, Justin Palmer was announced as senior coach for 2021.[25]

Honour Roll

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Senior Men's Honour Board
Season Coach Captain (s) Best & Fairest Leading Goalkicker Division Finishing Position
2014 Max de Groot Ash Fletcher Thomas Robertson Jason Seduikis (13) WRFL - Div. 3 6/6
2015 Max de Groot Ash Fletcher Corey Mackey Aaron Doughty (20) WRFL - Div. 3 6/7
2016 Mark Elso Todd Lawrie Todd Lawrie Todd Lawrie (32) WRFL - Div. 3 3/9
2017 Mark Elso Todd Lawrie Todd Lawrie Chris Benson/Aaron Molivas (44) WRFL - Div. 3 3/8; Runners Up
2018 Mark Elso Todd Lawrie Tom Weybury John Zangari (41) WRFL - Div. 3 2/8
2019 Mark Elso Adam Miriklis Todd Lawrie John Zangari (37) WRFL - Div. 3 4/8
2021 Justin Palmer Zac Gillard

Ty Priest

Michael Jubb Ryan Potter (22) WRFL - Div. 3 5/7
2022 Brent Sheean Zac Gillard Luke Timms WRFL - Div. 3
2023 Brent Sheean Zach Thornton

Joshua Stone

Zach Thornton

Micheal Naawi

Reserves Men's Honour Board
Season Coach Captain (s) Best & Fairest Leading Goalkicker Division Finishing Position
2014 Danny Andjelkovic Anthony Whyte Reece Dimech Brad Lancaster (9) WRFL - Div. 3 6/6
2015 Neil Dutson Cory Desira

Joseph Mallia

Reece Frost Tyson Szkudlarski (23) WRFL - Div. 3 3/7
2016 Cameron Evans Zach Thornton Cody Ebbels Troy Whiting (57) WRFL - Div. 3 2/9; Runners Up
2017 Cameron Evans Reece Frost Matthew Lawrence Samuel Ingham (52) WRFL - Div. 3 2/8
2018 Cameron Evans Reece Frost Reece Frost Jason Seduikis (50) WRFL - Div. 3 1/8; Premiers
2019 Heath Hunter Zac Gillard

Sean Taylor

Sean Taylor Heath Hunter (53) WRFL - Div. 3 1/8; Premiers
2021 Arthur Arabit Sean Taylor Nick Williams James di Blasi (8) WRFL - Div. 3 6/7
2022 Arthur Arabit Josh Watterson Jordan Depetro Declan Drummond WRFL - Div. 3 5/7
2023 Arthur Arabit Nick Williams Cory Desira Nick Williams WRFL - Div.3 4/7
2024 Max de Groot
Senior Women's Honour Board
Season Coach Captain (s) Best & Fairest Leading Goalkicker Division Finishing Position
2017 Brandon Stone Suzzanne Hillis Madeline Johnson Madeline Johnson WRFL & EDFL Women's 11/11
2018 Brandon Stone Madeline Johnson Emma Quinn Emma Quinn WRFL - Women's 8/9
2019 Brandon Stone Paige van Hulst Madeline Johnson Madeline Johnson (8) WRFL - Women's 11/13
WRFL League Best & Fairest Winners
Season Best and Fairest Winner Division
2016 Jayden Smithers Under 11 - West
2016 Monique Gavriliadis Under 12 - Division 3
2016 Todd Lawrie Division 3 - Senior
2017 Dakodah Cott Under 15 Girls - Division 1
2017 Jamie Cowlishaw Division 3 - Reserves
2018 Reece Frost Division 3 - Reserves
2019 Sarah Poni Under 15 Girls - Division 1
2019 Todd Lawrie Division 3 - Senior
2023 Aaron Campbell Division 3 - Reserves

References

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  1. ^ a b Western Region Football League, "Annual Report 2013", Western Region Football League, 2014
  2. ^ "Tarneit Football Club | Vision". Tarneitfc. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  3. ^ Western Region Football League, "2019 Annual Report", Western Region Football League, 2020
  4. ^ "WRFL Confirms 2019 Senior Structures". 1 November 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  5. ^ Western Region Football League, "Annual Report 2014", Western Region Football League, 2015
  6. ^ "Western Region Football League Match Centre". SportsTG. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  7. ^ Western Region Football League, "Annual Report 2015", Western Regional Football League, 2016
  8. ^ "Club Update". 18 October 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  9. ^ "Western Region Football League Match Centre". SportsTG. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  10. ^ "Results for 2016 Under 12C". SportsTG. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  11. ^ Western Region Football League, "2017 Annual Report", Western Region Football League, 2018
  12. ^ "TITANS WIN FIRST GAME - Western Region Football League". SportsTG. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  13. ^ "Results for 2017 Division 3 Seniors". SportsTG. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  14. ^ jimjin (16 August 2017). "Deals done, Tarneit focus on serious finals business". Wyndham. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  15. ^ "Western Region Football League Match Centre". SportsTG. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  16. ^ "Western Region Football League Match Centre". SportsTG. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  17. ^ "Western Region Football League Match Centre". SportsTG. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  18. ^ Western Region Football League, "2018 Annual Report", Western Region Football League, 2019
  19. ^ "Ladder for 2019 Division 3 Reserves". SportsTG. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  20. ^ "Results for 2019 Division 3 Seniors". SportsTG. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  21. ^ "Results for 2019 Division 3 Reserves". SportsTG. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  22. ^ "Ladder for 2019 Victoria University Polytechnic Senior Women's Competition". SportsTG. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  23. ^ "WRFL SEASON ANNOUNCEMENT | WRFL". www.wrfl.com.au. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  24. ^ "WRFL JUNIOR SEASON ANNOUNCEMENT | WRFL". www.wrfl.com.au. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  25. ^ "PALMER ANNOUNCED AS TITANS COACH | WRFL". www.wrfl.com.au. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
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