As a football-mad youngster, Scott Sherlock spent many a cold winter’s day cheering on the Werribee Tigers from the terraces at Chirnside Park.
For three hours on a Saturday, he supported his local team when it went into battle in the VFL, unaware he would one day grace the field of heroes from his past.
Like so many local kids, Sherlock came through the strong Werribee juniors in the Western Region Football League, went on to play at the Western Jets in the TAC Cup and found his way back to the Werribee Tigers.
It was a surreal experience for Sherlock, who had spent many years following the Tigers before eventually pulling on the jumper to represent his hometown.
It doesn’t get much better than that.
“Growing up in the area, as a kid I always used to go and watch them play in the VFL,” Sherlock told Star Weekly.
“I grew up barracking for the Bulldogs as well and that was their [Tigers] aligned team for a long period of time as well, so that was pretty cool.
“To now be a part of the club is pretty special to me.”
It has by no means been a fairytale journey for Sherlock since his arrival as a player at Werribee.
His rookie year at the club in 2010 went smoothly but during the next pre-season he discovered it would not be all fun and games.
It’s only natural for a second-year player to want to stake a claim for a senior berth, but Sherlock’s plans were derailed when he ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament.
“That wiped me out for 2011,” Sherlock said. “I ticked all the boxes [in rehabilitation] and came back pretty well.”
The injuries didn’t stop there for Sherlock, who endured two wrist surgeries.
Three years in and two of them were largely spent in the medical room.
But Sherlock didn’t let the setbacks ruin his career.
While those first three years might have been some kind of football hell, the next three have been much better.
Sherlock, 25, has been free of injury for three years, has represented Victoria and played in finals with Werribee. He was part of the leadership group last year before settling into the vice-captaincy role this season.
“I’m on top of everything now and feeling good,” he said.
Sherlock is relishing the chance to work under Tigers coach John Lamont.
Earlier in his career, Sherlock was pigeonholed as a defensive stopper, a role he was happy to play to be part of the senior team.
He would often face the best small forward from an opposing team, including those hungry AFL players who had been sent back to the VFL to find form.
“Early on at Werribee, I was always put up against the really fast small forwards … I saw that as a challenge,” Sherlock said.
“If you play as a small defender, you get to play on some really crafty small forwards, but if you get beaten you tend to get a bit down.”
New-age footballers are required to be the jack of all trades and Lamont is a new-age thinker when it comes to coaching.
So while Sherlock almost always starts in his familiar position in defence, he seldom finishes there.
Nor is he seen as merely a lock-down player.
“Since John’s been at the helm, he’s played me in different positions and I think I’ve adapted to them quite well,” Sherlock said. “I’ll play at the start of the game as a defender and by the end I can find myself in the midfield.
“Now I probably don’t get the best small forward. I get a bit of freedom to play a little bit more, which comes with the experience I guess.
“There’s always that little bit of licence there as long as you keep your opponent quiet. If the opportunity presents, you’ve got that freedom to attack.”
Sherlock no longer lives in Werribee but spends a fair bit of time in the suburb. He moved to Bacchus Marsh during his secondary school years and remains there with high school sweetheart Hannah, who he will marry in November.
Sherlock has always enjoyed a close relationship with his parents, Anita and Steve. He works alongside them in the family business as subcontractors with the NBN.
“Hannah’s been great the whole way through,” Sherlock said. “I definitely wouldn’t be the person or player I am without her or having the backing of my parents.”
Sherlock is adamant Werribee can give the VFL premiership “a shake” in the coming weeks.
The Tigers will jostle for a top-four position after securing a finals berth with a win over Essendon at Windy Hill on Sunday.
“At the start of the year, a lot of people wrote us off given our practice match form, but it wasn’t a true indicator of where we knew we were at,” Sherlock said.
“We had a lot of new guys come in who were learning the game plan. Once they got their head around it we seemed to improve a lot.
“If we can win the next few, it looks like we do have the potential to finish in the top four, which would give us a massive boost come September.
“We go in most weeks as the underdog and that’s a good thing … nobody expects us to win and we know we’re capable of beating anybody on any given day.”
