One win away from making the Grand Final last season, the Macarthur Wests Tigers are eager to go one better in the 2025 Laurie Daley Cup competition.
As the 2025 Laurie Daley Cup season slowly approaches the opening round, Zero Tackle will provide a season preview for all teams made up of players of the next generation.
First...the Macarthur Wests Tigers.
Finishing second in the Southern Pool in the regular season, the Tigers reached the semi-finals before unfortunately falling to the Northern Tigers by eight points - one victory away from making the 2024 Grand Final.
Aiming to go further this season, Macarthur will have a relatively new-look squad for this season headlined by Aidan Richards (the son of 2005 premiership winner Pat Richards) and Thomas Galvin (the younger brother of Wests Tigers five-eighth Lachlan Galvin), among others.
"Obviously you always got that in the back of the mind (winning the premiership) and but seeing the boys progress to the SG Ball Cup towards the end of the Laurie Daley season is the goal," coach Brody Dooner told Zero Tackle.
"Winning it wold be nice, just a little cherry on top but I think my main focus for these boys is everyone that I've got here, I want them to be a better version of themselves heading into the future.
"We really want to see these boys develop, keep them around as juniors and that's what we want at the Tigers."
Players to Watch
Aidan Richards: The son of NRL premiership winner Pat Richards, Aidan is a goal-kicking centre and is coming off a great season in the Macarthur Rugby League competition, where he led the league in points scored.
"He's got an athletic build. He'll be ready to go and can play wing, centre and at fullback if needed," coach Broody Dooner said.
"He's very versatile in the back-line which will come very handy this season and he's trained the house down. He puts in extra fitness and is a good voice to have in the team."
Riley Ingersole: An East Campbelltown Eagles junior, Ingersole is an exciting halfback coming through the ranks and has progressed immensely from last season. Dooner said, "He has gone leaps and bounds from last year playing a year younger in the U18s competition and coming into training, his maturity has absolutely stepped up."
"He isn't afraid to ask questions. He says, can I improve on this? What do I need to do? He takes feedback on board all the time."
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Full Squad
Aiden Richards, Anapapa Faapoi, Aaron Paea, Brooklyn Milford, Forgiveness Tila, Henare Reti, Hunter Redman, Jake Jones, James Bengura, Leviticus Tovia, Mase Hillcoat, Patrick To'omatai, Peter French, Richard Roache, Riley Bentham, Riley Edmunds, Riley Ingersole, Ryan MacKander, Solomon-Joseph Falefata, Teancum Epati, Thomas Galvin, Tomasi Tavui, Tyler Schuberg, Tyler Volcov, William Jenkins
Still playing rugby league locally, 25-year-old Brody Dooner has been handed the head coaching reigns.
Dooner's arrival comes after he gained coaching experience in the St Gregory's College rugby league program and spent his junior years playing in the Wests Tigers pathways system.
Under Dooney will be returning assistant coach Tuki Jackson and Wests Tigers Life Member and 2005 premiership winner Pat Richards, who made 82 appearances for the club in two separate stints, scoring 52 tries and 446 points.
"Originally, it was going to be assistant coach, but when they said, would you like to do this? I said I'd set myself the challenge," Dooner said.
"I've been in their shoes and know exactly what it's like to be dropped from a team and promoted to a team.
"I'll start with Tuki. Being a part of the junior reps and prior knowledge has been a real help.
"They're both older than me and I'm a very young coach so I take any feedback, criticism, if I'm doing something right or if I'm doing something wrong.
"Then Pat Richards. His name speaks for himself but it's not so much he's an ex-player but he's actually got very good knowledge of the game in every aspect."
