THE 1990s remains a period of the highest highs and the lowest lows for the Werribee Football Club.

The Tigers played in four VFA/VFL Grand Finals and won their only premiership in 1993, as well as claiming the only Victorian Premiers Cup – a 1992 knockout competition featuring the 1991 VFA and VAFA grand finalists and the premiers of the 12 strongest competitions in Victoria.

But during that golden run, the VFA was taken over by the Victorian State Football League (the forerunner of AFL Victoria), which set about aligning the competition with the under-18 pathway.

Prahran, Oakleigh and Dandenong left the league and Werribee was slated to join them, either in a merger with Williamstown or by being excluded, but the Tigers refused to take the decision lying down.

A public rally at Chirnside Park was attended by more than 5000 people, with prominent sportspeople such as Merv Hughes and Russell Mark speaking, and it had the desired effect.

Werribee survived and thrived, adding Grand Final appearances in 1998, 2001 and 2005 to its 1991 runner-up and 1993 triumph, and it has continued to provide a source of pride and hope for people in the southwest growth corridor ever since.

The Tigers, who were formed in 1965 from an amalgamation between Werribee league teams Irish National Foresters, Metro Farm, Services and Werribee South, will make their 1050th  VFA/VFL appearance when they run out against the Casey Demons in a must-win contest at Avalon Airport Oval on Saturday.

The milestone is a source of pride for Ivo Havard, a lifelong supporter, member and volunteer of Werribee who was front and centre of the fight against expulsion and served as general manager in 1995.

"I remember 1965 when we first started, I was a young boy and I lived about 500m from Chirnside Park so I was down there all the time watching games," he said.

"I've been a bit of a tragic with footy and cricket all my life – I’ve had lots and little to do with the club at different times.

"I love the place and I have some terrific memories which I treasure – we’ve had some tough times and some great times as well.

"There were some great rivalries and big games down at Chirnside Park (in the WFL days) and they didn’t mind a bit of biffo back then, it was tough suburban footy."

Havard said the milestone was a nod to all those who played a part in the club over the past 56 years.

"The journey has been just that – a journey," he said.

"It started out a bit wobbly, straightened out a bit then went wobbly again – even though it is 56 years, we’re still a young club and the tougher years have all been worth it.

"I remember going out to the Mordiallocs and Moorabbins and Camberwells and getting beat by 40 goals in the twos and then you’d watch the ones and you’d get beaten by 40 there as well – they were tough years but we corrected a lot of things along the way and became more competitive.

"It was hard to attract players to Werribee, the location was a little bit tricky between Geelong and Melbourne – now the travel to Werribee is not a big issue.

"Once we got a couple of name players in, that’s when we started to develop as a footy club – trying to sustain that over a long period is hard work but we’ve been reasonably successful and to this day we’re still doing alright.

"It’s a different type of competition than the old suburban sides in the VFL days, what I call the glory days, they were great fun, but we’re still a club, we’re still Werribee, we’re still at Chirnside Park."

Havard indicated the events of 1994 still struck a raw nerve, but there were positives that came out of it for the club.

"The personalities of the day got in the way of the commonsense that was required and some decisions were made on emotions rather than the future of the game and the league … but fortunately for everyone the right decision was made when we were reinstated," he said.

"We had a Friday rally which was the highlight of the whole fightback and the local people came out and supported us – a lot of good people got up and said how important it was to have Werribee and we felt strongly that people power would turn it around.

"There were some other things we did footywise that put some pressure back on the VFL, but the rally was unbelievable for the people of Werribee to come out and support their local footy club – it said everything about how they wanted a local footy club at Chirnside Park.

"That was a bit of a mark for our club ... it made us a bit more resilient, a bit more careful, a bit more wide-eyed and we were probably better for it as a club.

"We see ourselves as a No.1 contender because we’ve got the growth area, we’ve got Chirnside Park, we’ve got the council behind us, we’ve got everything going for us here."

Havard said Werribee was in good shape at the moment despite sitting 10th  on the ladder, but admitted to ruing the cancellation of the 2020 season.

"We came home with a wet sail in 2019 and were a bit stiff against Essendon in that semi-final," he said.

"Would've, could've, should've, but I think that was a bit of a missed opportunity ... it's been proven he knows what he's doing, Mark Williams, and we had similar type cattle and an extra year (of development), so we would have been challenging for sure last year.

"It's a tough comp, but having those two games in hand is really important, so if we can get the two Ws in those games and the competition becomes more even in the games ratio, so I think we’ll be there in the end of the year for sure.

"Anyone in the eight is going to be able to win it – it’s going to be a tight comp all the way through and the finals are going to be hard fought and well won, but I’m sure Werribee will be thereabouts.

"(As for overcoming the COVID challenges), we’ve got the master – Mark Penaluna – he’s the man for all seasons, he’s a workhorse, any challenge that is thrown in front of the footy club from 2003 until now he’s done a pretty bloody good job and I think the footy club is in a pretty healthy spot right now.

"The success on the field doesn’t just happen, it has to be off the field that works as well and I think you’re seeing those results because of the effort that is going on off the field."

Follow on Twitter: @BRhodesVFL

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