A favourite son of the Werribee Football Club, Michael took over as the club's senior football coach in 2021 following the departure of Mark "Chocco" Williams. Barlow acted as a playing midfield coach when he returned to Avalon Aiport Oval in 2019 after a highly successful 141-game AFL career with Fremantle and the Gold Coast.

Michael played 38 games across two seasons in his first stint at Chirnside Park, which culminated in a stellar 2009 campaign that saw him finish second in the J.J. Liston Trophy count and win both the Fothergill-Round Medal as the VFL’s most promising young player and the Bruce Montgomery Trophy.

He went on to be taken by the Dockers at the 2010 Rookie Draft and made an immediate impact, winning the Ross Glendinning Medal as best afield in the Western Derby that year before going on to be named the AFL Players’ Association’s Best First-Year Player.

Other career highlights from his nine seasons in the AFL include another two Glendinning Medals in 2013 and being named one of Fremantle’s best in its narrow 2013 Grand Final loss to Hawthorn.

Nick joined Werribee as forward coach ahead of the 2019 season.

A former star midfielder and forward with Richmond, Nick boasts extensive state-league coaching experience.

He previously served as an assistant coach with the Northern Blues (2014), midfield and stoppage coach for North Ballarat (2017), and forward coach for Essendon VFL (2018) and was also the midfield coach of the 2017 VFL State Team.

Outside the VFL, he has served as director of coaching for Bellarine Football League side Torquay (2013-14) and senior coach of Geelong Football League club St Albans (2015-16).

As a player, Nick registered 166 games with Richmond and one game with Sydney and kicked 182 goals from 1992 to 2002, during which he also represented South Australia in State of Origin on three occasions.

He began his career as a dangerous half forward and was the Tigers’ leading goalkicker in 1995, later developing into a prolific midfielder and going on to win the club’s best and fairest in 1998.