Skipper closes
on club record
A sense of community
features strongly in the
mindset of Koroit-raised
Dominic Gleeson, who
this weekend plays his 100th
VFL match.
It is that spirit of belonging and
involvement that saw Gleeson
choose Werribee, the club he now
captains, as his football home
back in 2004. After playing as a
supplementary-list player for
Carlton when the Blues fielded
their own VFL team, Gleeson
selected Werribee largely
because of its rural feel.
Milestone man now looks to Werribee century,
with David Lyons’ mark also within reach.
At the same time, Gleeson
made a personal pact to make
the VFL Tigers “his” club, where
he could play 100 games and
return thereafter as a one-club
player. Along the way, Gleeson
has seen David Mitchell, Shaun
Smith, Travis Robertson, Teaghan
Henderson and James Podsiadly,
from whom he inherited the
captaincy, all reach the 100-game
milestone for the club.
Trailing not too far behind
is Robbie Castello, with Scott
Howard and Michael Rockefeller
also on their way. And, while
Gleeson won’t reach his 100th
game for Werribee until next
year (unless the club miraculously
makes the finals), he reflects
proudly on his time at
Chirnside Park.
“When I first arrived at
Werribee, I thought I was at
an age where I could play for
a long time and call it my home,”
Gleeson said. “It’s been great;
it’s something I aimed to do when
I first started and now I’ve finally
got there after some ups
and downs.
“I think we’re just a country
club, and that’s how it feels
and that’s why I went there at
the start.
“I think along with the likes
of Scotty (Howard), Teaghan and
‘Pods’ (Podsiadly), who played his
100th game for the club last year,
it was something we all wanted to
do as a group.
“As a group we said we would
stick around and play a lot of footy
together. Circumstances don’t
always allow that, but we still have
a strong core group that wants to
play together at Werribee.
“The 100 games is good, but
the 100 games for Werribee will
be much better. I always want to
come back when I’m finished, be a
life member of the club and really
enjoy it.“
As for reaching Werribee’s
Everest – wresting the club record
games from David Lyons (139)
– Gleeson hasn’t even thought
beyond next season.
Gleeson would need to be
injury-free for 2010 and not to be
struck by the Bermuda Trianglelike
buffer that has stopped so
many players from reaching
Lyons’ mark, the lowest of any of
the traditional VFA/VFL clubs.
“I’ll definitely play next season,
but it is so hard to commit further
than that because of life and what
comes with it,” Gleeson said.
Last Modified on 07/08/2009 15:37