Werribee’s excellence on field for the 2024 Smithy’s VFL season has been highlighted with a competition-high six players across three lines being selected in the Team of the Year squad. 

Standout seasons saw Riley Bice, Dom Brew, Nathan Cooper, Hudson Garoni, Jack Henderson and Jack Riding all named and in contention to claim team of the year honours at VFL Awards Night.

The 40 players in contention were named on the Friday following week one of the final series.

Of the six nominees, four are aiming for their first Team of the Year selection. Dom Brew was named after his sixth VFL season last year, in which he also claimed his first Bruce Montgomery Trophy, while Jack Henderson earned the honour after his second season in 2019, following a 23-goal campaign as a small forward before transitioning to the midfield.

Dom Brew, aiming for back-to-back Team of the Year honours, delivered a career-best season in 2024. He led the VFL in both tackles and clearances, becoming the first player since Werribee's Jarrod Moore in 2013 to achieve this feat. The inside midfielder also averaged a team-high 28.4 disposals and ranked in the top five for inside 50s across the league.

Dom’s outstanding all-round season was also highlighted by the fact the vice-captain stood up to captain the side for 11 games during the home-and-away rounds, with captain Nick Coughlan battling several injury concerns during the season.

Jack Henderson took a step up this 2024 season villing the void left by the departures of Werribee’s stalwarts Tom Gribble, Matt Hanson and Shaun Mannagh in the midfield. Henderson had an extremely consistent season, averaging 22.1 disposals, a career-high 5.6 clearances and regularly finding the goals for a season tally of 12 majors.

Hudson Garoni, who earned his first Team of the Year nomination last season after a top-three finish in the ‘Frosty’ Miller Medal during our Grand Final run, secured another spot in the 40-man squad this year. Garoni, once again finishing third in the league goal kicking tally, this year with a career-high 45 goals. The key forward not only led the team in goals, he got his teammates involved too, finishing the home-and-away season number eight in the competition in score involvements.

At the opposite end of the field is Nathan Cooper, who celebrated his 50th game for Werribee in Round 10 against Collingwood and is now aiming for his first Team of the Year honour. Senior coach Jimmy Allan, speaking on K Rock Football’s ‘Beyond the Boundary’ ahead of Werribee's qualifying final against Geelong, praised Cooper as "the best key defender in the competition."

Despite suffering an injury in Round 14 against Sydney, Cooper met the nine-game minimum requirement for selection. At the midway point of the season, he ranked second in the league for spoils and 15th for intercept marks, and wrapped up the season with averages of 5.2 marks, 6.4 spoils, and 5.2 intercepts amongst his ten disposals per game.

First-year player Riley Bice has earned a spot in the squad following an outstanding season, having joined Werribee after winning Albury Tigers’ best-and-fairest in 2023. 

In his maiden VFL campaign with the club, the exciting half-back averaged 21.1 disposals and seven marks per game, while also ranking top five in the competition in effective kicks and running bounces.

Rounding out Werribee’s six nominees is Jack Riding, who after playing four games in his debut season last year had a breakout year, playing 17 games this home-and-away campaign. Initially starting the season in the backline, Riding moved to the forward line in Round 3 and quickly made an impact, delivering standout performances in Round 5 (17 disposals and 2 goals) and Round 6 (34 disposals, 10 inside 50s, and 4 goal assists). He showed no signs of slowing down up forward, leading the VFL in both goal- and score-assists at the midpoint of the season.

Against Port Melbourne in Round 18, Riding who had kicked three goals to three quarter time then injured his shoulder which saw him miss until Box Hill in Round 21, but returned to help Werribee clinch their first minor premiership in 19 years and ended the season averaging 19.3 disposals, 5.4 marks, 4.4 inside 50s and ranking third in the competition in goal assists.

The final team of 24 players will be named on Monday, September 16 at the 2024 VFL and VFLW Awards.

While Werribee secured a home preliminary final berth for the second consecutive year, eight of our players represented the Big W at the local level, playing in crucial finals across five leagues. Read all about their performances in the Weekly Player Report:

Western Football Netball League:

Michael Selsby - Yarraville Seddon Eagles

Selsby delivered a strong midfield performance, doing everything he could to push Yarraville over the line. However, the Eagles narrowly fell short, losing by just one point to Caroline Springs in the first WFNL qualifying final. Selsby was clean all day in tough, windy conditions at Williamstown’s DSV Stadium and ended the afternoon with 28 disposals, at an efficient 71%. His 28 touches also included 14 contested possessions, five clearances and five marks.

Ubil Chol - Caroline Springs

Played an important defensive role in that thrilling win over Yarraville. Chol laid six tackles and had three 1%’ers, while not wasting a touch, going at 88% disposal efficiency with his eight disposals. Chol will now help Caroline Springs book their spot in the WFNL Grand Final when they take on local side Werribee Districts this weekend.

Ballarat Football Netball League:

Joel Cadman - Darley
Continued his strong form, playing a big role in Darley’s elimination final win over North Ballarat on Sunday. Cadman was named in the best on his way to collecting 24 disposals, which included 18 kicks and four inside 50s. Playing on the wing, he also took seven marks, including a massive six intercept grabs when playing behind the ball.

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Geelong Football Netball League:

Olivier Northam - St. Joseph’s
In the last round of the home-and-away season, Olly had another massive game to once again be named in the best for St. Joseph’s. In a comfortable win over Colac, the ruckman filled the stat sheet with 25 disposals, 16 contested possessions, nine clearances, and 38 hitouts, rounding out another dominant performance.

Charlie Byrne - Newtown & Chilwell
In a tough day for Newtown in their last game of 2024, Byrne had a good game to earn a spot in the best for the Eagles. In the loss to third-placed Leopold, the defender kicked a goal worthy of Goal of the Year from outside 50 metres, took a hanger worthy of Mark of the Year, and collected 18 disposals, including 11 contested possessions. 

Victorian Amatuear Football Association:

Harrison Miller - Williamstown CYMS
Despite CY’s disappointing loss to St Bede’s to end the season, Miller had another strong game to end his outstanding patch of form since returning from injury. Over six games, Harry kicked 16 goals, helping Williamstown climb from the bottom two to avoid relegation. Against St Bede's, the small forward competed hard all day, earning a spot in the best with two goals, 13 possessions, and six tackles.

Zayne Galea - Williamstown CYMS
Galea had a challenging day in the forward line during the loss to St Bede’s. However, he still managed to take several grabs, maintain 100% disposal efficiency, and hit the scoreboard with a goal, marking his fifth consecutive game with a goal since transitioning from key back to key forward for the CY’s.

Essendon District Football League:

Cam McLeod - Aberfeldie
Aberfeldie’s finals campaign ended in disappointment with a heavy loss to Greenvale, 3.6.24 to 14.14.98, in tough conditions. McLeod, facing former Werribee key forward Josh Porter, gathered 13 disposals and four marks, but like many of his teammates, found it difficult in the 74-point defeat.

Werribee booked a second preliminary final berth in two years with a 21-point qualifying final victory over Geelong in the first week of Smithy's VFL Finals Series in front of a huge crowd at Avalon Airport Oval.

A hot start ignited by Werribee’s small forwards saw Werribee kick the first three goals of the game to establish a 17-point lead at quarter-time. From there, Werribee never looked back, finishing with an 8.9.57 to Geelong's 5.6.36.

Fresh from clinching the club's first minor premiership in 19 years, Werribee now has the week off and will await the winner of the Brisbane and Williamstown semi-final.

Jack Henderson continued his outstanding form and was a class above once again on the weekend, gathering 22 disposals, six clearances, six tackles all while going at a near 80% disposal efficiency.

Dom Brew and Riley Bice also showed no signs of slowing down in finals, with the stand-in captain picking up 33 disposals and nine tackles, and Bice accumulating a career-high 35 disposals to go with nine marks and seven rebound 50s.

Bior Malual was outstanding, impacting both ends of the ground with multiple goals and 17 disposals.

Nathan Cooper, in his first game back since suffering a syndesmosis injury in round 14, was tasked with shutting down 200-game AFL veteran Gary Rohan. Cooper showed why he’s considered one of the best key defender in the competition, limiting Rohan to just six disposals while collecting 14 disposals, seven marks, and five intercept possessions himself.

Fellow defenders Louis Pinnuck (22 disposals and 10 marks), Jesse Clark (21 disposals and nine marks) and Sam Azzi (nine spoils) were also instrumental in holding Geelong, who averaged over 85 points per game during the home-and-away season, to just five goals.

After a tightly contested opening 15 minutes where neither side could gain the upper hand, Flynn Young broke the deadlock with a classy finish to score the first goal of the day. Following this, Zac Banch's electric pressure led to two quick goals: one after catching Jyhe Clark holding the ball, and another when Banch intercepted a Marcus Herbert handball in the forward pocket, setting up Jay Dahlhaus.

This saw Werribee take a 17-point lead into quarter-time.

Geelong struck first in the second quarter, but Werribee quickly responded with two consecutive goals, taking a 29-point lead into half-time. Hudson Garoni, after finishing third in the Frosty Miller Medal, kicked his first goal of the game, extending his streak of kicking a goal in every game this season. Garoni then set up Malual for his first goal, converting a set shot for Werribee’s fifth late in the second term.

A hard fought third quarter saw just the two goals kicked. Geelong, through Kaelen Bradtke kicked the first and looked to take momentum into the last quarter, before a timely snapping goal from Jay Dahlhauas, his second of the day, just before three-quarter time steadied the Tigers and extended their lead to 27 points heading into the final quarter.

The early stages of the last quarter was goal-for-goal, with Malual converting his second set shot of the day, which saw the wingman kick multiple goals for the first time of the season. With the game entering time-on, Harry Grintell, who used the wind perfectly, sealed the game with a classy goal as Werribee ran out as 21-point winners. 

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FINAL SCORE:
Werribee: 3.1 5.7 6.8 8.9 (57)
Geelong: 0.2 1.2 2.5 5.6 (36)

GOALS:
Werribee: J. Dahlhaus (2), B. Malual (2), Z. Banch, H. Garoni, H. Grintell, F. Young
Geelong: J. Clark (2), K. Bradtke, T. Clohesy, P. Foster

BEST PLAYERS: 
Werribee: J. Henderson, D. Brew, N. Cooper, Z. Banch, L. Pinnuck, C. Thar