Dominant Night for Werribee At VFL Awards
17 September 2024
A dominant night for the club at Monday night’s VFL Awards was capped off with star midfielder Dom Brew winning his first J.J. Liston Trophy.
Brew became the second Werribee player in three years to win the league’s top honour, after the inside midfielder was rewarded with the Liston as the runaway winner at the conclusion of Round 17.
The 27-year-old polled 31 votes to finish nine clear of Gold Coast Suns half back Rory Atkins (22), with his tally being just one short of fellow Werribee star Michael Frost’s record 32 votes in 1998. Further, his winning margin of nine votes the largest since Shane Valenti’s 10-vote win in 2011.
He polled votes in 14 of 18 matches, including seven best-on-ground performances, to become the seventh Werribee player to win the J.J. Liston Trophy and continue the Tigers’ recent stranglehold on the award after Tom Gribble’s victories in 2019 and 2022.
Brew’s career best season saw the midfielder average 28.3 disposals and lead the VFL in clearances and inside 50s.
Additionally, in the absence of captain Nick Coughlan, Brew has led Werribee to wins over AFL-affiliated sides Geelong and Brisbane through the finals to book a second straight Grand Final appearance for the first time in the club history.
This saw Brew named as the captain of the Team of the Year, just a few months after being named skipper of Victoria, as the Big V returned to state of origin footy against the SANFL earlier this year. This is Brew’s second appearance in the Team of the Year, having been included in 2023 the year of his inaugural Bruce Montgomery Trophy win.
Brew was joined by three other Werribee players in the Team of the Year, with the minor premiers boasting a competition-high four selections plus Jimmy Allan named Coach of the year.
Jack Henderson also made his second appearance in the Team of the Year, and first since 2019 after an extremely consistent season in our midfield. Averaging 22.1 disposals, a career-high 5.6 clearances and regularly finding the goals for a home-and-away season tally of 12 majors saw Henderson named on the interchange alongside defender Riley Bice.
Bice, in his debut season for Werribee, earnt a list spot after a best-and-fairest for Albury in the Ovens & Murray in 2023. 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.
Bice was also named as one of five finalists for the Fothergill-Round-Mitchell Medal won by Werribee’s Sam Clohesy in 2023. However, Richmond’s Sam Davidson edged out Bice as the competition's best young player for the 2024 season.
Widely regarded as the best key defender in the competition, Nathan Cooper earnt his first career selection, when he was named full back in the Team of the Year. Despite an injury in Round 14 ruling Cooper out for the remainder of the home-and-away season, the full-back met the nine-game minimum requirement, finishing the season with averages of 5.2 marks, 6.4 spoils, and 5.2 intercepts per game.
In his first season in charge Jimmy Allan was named as the VFL Coach of the Year.
Despite losing nine players from the 2023 Grand Final side, alongside coach Michael Barlow and football manager Mark Micallef, Jimmy Allan led Werribee to a 15-3 record which saw Werribee win their first minor premiership in 19 years. A former player across 2005 and 2006, Allan returned to the club after a decorated career playing and coaching in the SANFL. Last season he was an assistant coach with North Adelaide, before taking the top job at Werribee for the 2024 season.
See the full list of award winners HERE.
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