One win away from securing the 2024 Andrew Johns Cup title, the Macarthur Wests Tigers will look to go one better this season as they enter the 2025 season.
As the 2025 Andrew Johns Cup season slowly approaches the opening round, Zero Tackle will provide a season preview for all 17 teams made up of players of the next generation.
First...the Macarthur Wests Tigers
Aganoisingly close to winning the title last season, the Tigers fell eight points short and could not defeat the Central Coast Roosters in the Grand Final.
With the loss fresh on their mind, they are looking to go one better this year but will be with a completely new roster with not a single play returning due to the Under-16s age-group bracket - they have either progressed to the Harold Matthews Cup or Laurie Daley Cup.
Competitive for a number of seasons and set to be competitive again, they will be led by Adam Whitelaw who has been involved in coaching for a number of years and played for the Canterbury Bulldogs in his playing days nearly two decades ago.
"As a team, we're just going to take it one game at a time and we just want to improve on our last efforts," Whitelaw told Zero Tackle.
"We're doing things at the highest level. Our pre-season's been really good. It's been a very tough one and we sort of took it up a notch with the fitness and the physicality of the pre-season so the boys have really worked hard.
"We're just going to try one game at a time and the mission in front of us, we're going to try and win that mission and see how we go from there.
"If we win all those missions, we'll end up winning the comp."
Players to Watch
Ashton Dewanto: The starting hooker, Dewanto, has taken his game to another level throughout the pre-season. Coach Adam Whitelaw said the East Campbelltown junior is "fit, strong and a crafty little number nine" and "definitely one to watch".
Sonny Mills: Training with the Harold Matthews Cup during the pre-season, Mills will drop back down to the Andrew Johns Cup and play in the back-row where he will be a key figure on the edge of the field.
"He's taken the team to another level just with his professionalism and his work ethic and things that he's seen up in the Harold Mats training and bringing that back down," Whitelaw said.
"It's really lifted the boys so it's been really good to have him."
Full Squad (Summer Squad)
Tyreze Esera Alo, Cooper Bangs, Nick Breski, Declan Brown, Caden Burns, Cooper Butler, Malakai Cooper-McGrath, Jewlius Cowley, Dvondre Dean-Va'alepu, Marcus Desira, Ashton Dewanto, Ghaleb El Hussein, Ryder Faiai, Kye Fittler, Sam Francis, Ryder Goff, Llandon Granger, Fauna Hall, Christopher Katu Feunauti, Harrison Keane, Jett Kelloway, Nathaniel Leal, Jeremiah Leota-Brown, Hunter Lesa Jim, Pheonix Manu, Brayden McInnes, Christian Muagututia, Etuate Neiufi, Tahura Paul-Blake, Sebastian Pei, Connor Potts, Kruze Rapaea, Joshua Ratu, Logan Robertson, Isiah Saleh, Issac Searle, Axel Steel, Xaviah Tanea, Brode Tooala, Cohen Warren-Marsden, Justin Wiggins, Harrison Woolford
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In his first season as head coach after being elevated from the assistant coaching position, Adam Whitelaw will be joined by Mark Potts and Jamie Blewitt on the coaching staff as his assistants.
Potts returns to the side as an assistant coach, while Blewitt is a former pathways development squad coach at the Wests Tigers.
"I'm thoroughly enjoying it. It's been a great pre-season for us and I'm very excited at this time of the year, it's a very exciting time span," Whitelaw said.
"They've [Potts and Blewitt] been excellent for me because I've come in pretty much blind not knowing the age group in the local area.
"Once I got accepted as the head coach, I did my research and went around and watched a bit of footy but these two boys, they've been involved in the age group for probably five to seven years, so with their knowledge it's been excellent."
