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.