LAST year they were the Woodbridge Cup unknowns that became premiership contenders, now Oberon is back in training to prove that Tigers are always a threat.
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As one of three Mid West sides that joined the Woodbridge Cup competition last season - CSU and Orange the others - there were question marks over how the Tigers would stack up.
But under coach Abel Lefaoseu, the Tigers won their last eight games of the regular season then twice more to reach the decider.
Though it was Manildra who won on grand final day, the Tigers certainly had a season to be proud of.
"At the start of last year we really struggled numbers wise and that's when Abel started ringing around all the old boys. He got a couple of them back in and ended up attracting a couple of young guys as well," Oberon president Ian Christie-Johnston said.
"It was quite an experienced team we ended up with on the field last year.
"Woodbridge Cup, it's a lot tougher competition than Mid West, they're up there with the first grade [Peter McDonald Premiership], but with the squad we had we ended up winning 10 games in a row."
While Christie-Johnston said he had anticipated that higher standard opposition when the Tigers switched leagues, he was surprised at just how strong the Woodbridge Cup was and how well supported the member clubs were.
"That Manildra side we ended up playing in the grand final last year, there were about seven or eight of the [Orange] CYMS side we played against in the 2017 grand final in Group 10. And don't worry, about four of our Oberon players were in that grand final as well," he said.
"That's the quality of the Woodbridge Cup, there are a lot of premier league players there even though they are a bit older. The unlimited interchange and the social side they get from it, but they're all still quality footballers.
"What was also surprising for myself and others at Oberon, I didn't realise Woodbridge Cup was so respected amongst the little towns ... for those little towns, they call it first grade."
Oberon returned to pre-season training last week, with Lefaoseu having agreed to again coach the Tigers.
Christie-Johnston said having him back on deck is a good step as Oberon looks to build on it's successful Woodbridge Cup debut.
"As a coach last year he was a bit of an unknown, but as a player he was certainly known, we knew his capabilities, and he certainly leads by example on the field and in the training yard," he said.
"He got the respect of the players as a coach and got the discipline going in the squad.
"He's got pretty pro-active and got things started with training this year.
"Last Tuesday was really good, they had 16 turn up and it was hot and work commitments at this time of year are pretty full on."
As for Oberon's league tag side, Shannon Foley has returned as coach after guiding the team to the first week of finals last season.
She is on the hunt for more players, so any interested players are encouraged to attend a training session.
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