After one of the great individual VFL seasons in 2024, star midfielder Dom Brew will return to Werribee next season, re-signing for 2025 to add to his tally of 111 club games.

Brew’s eighth season with Werribee was unforgettable, highlighted by an outstanding array of accolades: Werribee life membership, VFL State Team captaincy, Smithy’s VFL Team of the Year captain, the J.J. Liston Trophy, VFL Coaches MVP, a second consecutive Bruce Montgomery Trophy, and the ultimate honour of leading Werribee to its first premiership in 31 years.

With veteran midfielders Tom Gribble and Matt Hanson departing at the end of 2023, along with Werribee losing nine players from its previous Grand Final side, Brew embraced an added responsibility coming into 2024. “Those boys were a bit of a shelter for me,” he shared. “When they left, I felt a real heavy weight on the shoulders—I know I didn’t have to, but I did.”

He went on to play every one of Werribee’s 21 games in 2024, his second consecutive season without a missed match. He averaging a career-high 29 disposals, and led the VFL in tackles and clearances.

Brew’s J.J. Liston Trophy win showed his domination across the competition for the season. He polled 31 votes, the second highest in the award’s history to have the medal won by Round 17 ahead of Gold Coast half back Rory Aktkins and perennial podium sitter Boyd Woodcock from Southport.

So big was his lead, the count was called off with four rounds to go.

Reflecting on his journey at the VFL Awards Night, Brew spoke about the work that has gone into reaching this level, especially having come through an unconventional path without TAC Cup experience as a junior “No one would have thought I’d be here where I am now, even last year. I might not be the quickest, I’m not the most skilled, I’m not the tallest, I’m not the strongest, but I think I do a pretty good job of putting it together. And I won’t quit.’’

With captain Nick Coughlan sidelined during the finals through injury, Brew stepped up to lead the team. He averaged over 30 disposals in the finals series, with a standout 27-contested-possession and 15-clearance game in the Grand Final, which saw him come second in the Norm Goss voting as Werribee held on to a six point victory.

His passion for the club was evident through his emotional post-match interview: “That’s the life work, isn’t it? We won the minor premiership, but we shouldn’t be here. There’s a lot of boys under 22—I’m so proud.”

When asked if he was worried at half-time being down by three goals Brew said “Never [worried]. Never count us out. There’s people that get knocked down and they don’t get up, but us boys from Werribee, we get back up everytime and keep going.”

2024 was Brew’s eighth season at the club, arriving in 2017 from North Albury where he shared the playing field with Shaun Mannagh. Their local coach, former AFL star Jason Akermanis, advised the pair to give VFL a go.

He broke into the senior side Round 9, 2017 debuting against the Northern Bullants and making an immediate impact for John Lamont’s side, picking up 22 disposals, seven clearances and laying nine tackles. Brew never looked back after that point, playing the remainder of the season and averaging 17 disposals and 12 tackles.

In his first full season in 2018, Brew quickly gained a reputation as one of the league’s top tacklers, with his 149 tackles—averaging nearly 11 per game—ranking him second in the competition. He built on this momentum in 2019, playing a personal-best 20 games, finishing runner-up in the Bruce Montgomery Trophy, and earning both the club’s Best Defensive Player and Most Courageous Player awards.

When long-standing captain Michael Sodomaco standing down after seven years of captaincy following the 2021 campaign, Dom Brew was voted co-captain alongside Tom Gribble for the 2022 season. Coach Michael Barlow at the time saying “In all my time in football clubs I’ve never seen someone invest in others as much as Dom Brew does”. Brew has since remained in the leadership group, being named vice-captain under Nick Coughlan for 2023 and 2024.

2023 was a major breakout season for the hard-nosed midfielder, who expanded his offensive game this season while still negating the opposition’s best onballer, bumping his average disposals from 20 to 25 per game to establish himself as one of the league’s best ball winners. As Werribee went on their record-breaking 17-match win streak and reached their first Grand Final in 18 years, Brew played every game and earned a maiden VFL Team of the Year selection and claim his first Bruce Montgomery Trophy.

Reflecting on his re-signing, Brew addressed Werribee fans; speaking on the highs of 2024 before signing off with “Those that know me, let’s make 2025 even better - pumped to get back into it”.