It's no secret the Orange Tigers had a massive list turnover in the off-season.
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Five Tiger cubs, all of whom made their debuts aged 17 or younger this year, will line up in their first AFL Central West senior grand finals against Bathurst Bushrangers on Saturday.
And there's no doubt they've earned their spots, Max Byslma and Pete Byrne have been in the goalkicking tallies this season while Charlie Kemp was arguably best on ground for the Tigers in their major semi-final loss a fortnight ago.
The trio also prevailed over Bathurst Giants in the AFLCW under 17 grand finals a fortnight ago, with Kemp kicking five goals and Byrne claiming best on ground.
I'll be nervous on Saturday but good now but at start time I'll have plenty of butterflies.
- Tigers' forward Max Bylsma
Angus Henderson and Cal Naden have made the wings at Waratahs their home in 2019, with Naden especially one the Tigers' defenders have had the luxury of kicking the ball out in front of, knowing the 18-year-old will be the fast enough to get there first.
They haven't been the only juniors who've donned the yellow and black for the club, with Zac Cullis playing several games while Ike Dean and Brendan Dittmar also debuted through the year.
Bylsma said it had been a dream coming through the ranks with junior teammates but couldn't believe he would be lining up in a grand final.
"It's been great coming up from under-17s together and all pretty close mates, playing alongside each other, when we do something good we get around each other and have a laugh but come Saturday it'll be pretty serious," he said.
"I'll be nervous on Saturday but good now but at start time I'll have plenty of butterflies."
The general consensus among the Tigers' young guns was nerves would be at the forefront on Saturday, but the five will be better for the finals run after last weekend's win over the Giants.
Naden said the Giants game was a catalyst for him to build confidence to show he can do it at the top level, having "dug deep" after a big loss in the first final.
"I'm pretty nervous, but if we can get it done on the day that's all that matters."
Byrne said he'd loved the chance to "get a bit more physical and a bit more action" with finals intensity.
"I'm pretty excited, bigger atmosphere than I've played in there before. It's stepped up towards the back end of the season," he said.
Meanwhile, Kemp said he was both nervous and excited.
He's hoping to run through the midfield as he has over the past two weeks, but may spend more time forward with the big inclusions of Casey Grice and co-captain Andrew Henry.
"I like playing in the midfield, I'm starting to gel pretty well with Sloppy [Mick Evans] and [ruckman Mark] Mori in there, we'll see how it goes with Henners and Casey coming into the side," Kemp said.
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