The Werribee Football Club is proud to announce the first two of seven inductees into its Hall of Fame as part of the club’s upcoming 60th Year Celebration.

Club games record holder Robbie Castello and long-time administrator and past player Kirk Norton are the first of seven inductees who will be honoured at the club’s 60th Year Celebration.

The event will be held at Club Tarneit on June 15th, with tickets available here.

Robbie Castello

After graduating from the Calder Cannons, Castello was set to head to Coburg until he received a phone call from Mark Penaluna inviting him to pre-season training for the 2004 season.

He debuted in Round 12 that season and never looked back.

In just his third season, the crafty small forward claimed the club’s best-and-fairest award, becoming a Bruce Montgomery Trophy winner. From there, his list of achievements grew. Robbie was Werribee’s leading goalkicker in 2010, a year in which he also brought up his 100th game and was awarded life membership. In 2011, he was named in the VFL Team of the Year for the first time.

The 2012 season was a standout for Castello. He was appointed club captain and also became Werribee’s all-time games record holder, overtaking close friend and fellow 2004 recruit Dom Gleeson.

“I only had the record for a few months, but for Robbie to be the one to break it is great,” Gleeson said.

Castello called time on his VFL career at the end of 2013 following a preliminary final defeat to Box Hill, retiring as a one-club player with 169 games and 179 goals to his name.

CEO Mark Penaluna spoke glowingly of Castello’s contribution; “From a personal perspective, Rob was the second player I recruited here after Dom Gleeson in 2003. Like Dom, both were wonderful servants of the club.”

“Robbie had the ability to play multiple positions, which maybe at times saved him being selected in the team,” Penaluna said with a laugh.

He added: “He later became club captain, while also taking on the role of our inaugural community development manager at the same time.

“The games record holder and all-round good guy, Rob’s been a wonderful servant - and continues to be - at the Werribee Football Club.”

Kirk Norton

Kirk Norton’s impact on the Werribee Football Club spans decades, as a player, administrator, and key architect behind the club’s rise to VFA/VFL success in the early 1990s.

Norton first arrived at Werribee from the Laverton Football Club in the mid-1970s, following a path taken by several players of that era. Debuting in 1974, Norton became Werribee player #148 and played 27 games across three seasons. Most significantly in his playing days, the forward led the club’s goal kicking with 40 majors in 1975.

His playing days were just the beginning of a journey that saw him serve the club for over 18 years.

He first stepped into an off-field role as recruiting officer in 1983 and went on to serve in a number of key positions over the next 15 years, including stints on the committee, as Vice President, Football Manager, and Chairman of Match Committee. His influence was especially significant during the early 1990s, a period that saw Werribee break through for its first-ever grand final appearance in 1991 and premiership win in 1993.

As Football Manager during that era, Norton played a major role in shaping the club’s on-field success. He was central to the recruitment of Donald McDonald, who would coach Werribee to its first VFA premiership in 1993, and in bringing Jack Aziz to the club, who kicked 97 goals in that flag-winning season.

Former General Manager Greg ‘Turtle’ Welsh, who worked closely with Norton during that period, reflected on the significance of his contribution:

“Kirk was instrumental in our success in 1993. He assisted with the recruitment of Donald and, just as importantly, played a key role in getting Jack Aziz from Williamstown.

He had a very smart football brain and found a way of talking to players individually, getting them to do the extra work that finally got us the results in the grand final.”

Following our recent 2024 VFL Premiership success, the Werribee Football Club is excited to announce that our full suite of membership packages are now available for 2025.

2024 will forever be remembered for the drought-breaking Premiership, and in 2025... WE’RE GOING AGAIN. ARE YOU?

Sign up as a member for 2025 via this link.

After a week off with the bye, Werribee returns to action this Sunday with an away clash against fellow standalone side Port Melbourne.

The match kicks off at 2:05 pm at ETU Stadium, marking Werribee’s second consecutive game on the road following a dominant 51-point win over Sandringham in Round 8.

Werribee enters the Round 10 clash sitting ninth on the ladder with an even 4–4 record from the first half of the season.

Port Melbourne, currently 14th, comes into the game in strong form. The Borough are undefeated in their past four games and are fresh off a 26-point victory over top-four side GWS in Albury.

Sunday marks a return to ETU Stadium for Werribee, where they overcame a halftime deficit in Round 18 last year to claim a 27-point win, which came off the back of a Hudson Garoni four-goal third quarter, 31 disposals from Riley Bice, and a career-high three goals for Jack Riding.

Werribee members heading along can secure half-priced tickets using the code WERRIBEEMEMBER via this link.

The first bounce is at 2:05pm, with the game also streamed live and free on the AFL app and AFL.com.au. Click here to watch the game live.

MATCH DETAILS - ROUND 10
Werribee vs Port Melbourne
Sunday, June 1, 2:05 pm
ETU Stadium, Port Melbourne

Following our recent 2024 VFL Premiership success, the Werribee Football Club is excited to announce that our full suite of membership packages are available for 2025.

2024 will forever be remembered for the drought-breaking Premiership, and in 2025... WE’RE GOING AGAIN. ARE YOU?

Sign up as a member for 2025 via this link.

North Melbourne Werribee has made two changes to its side as it hunts a third win in a row when it meets Collingwood on Sunday.

The Kangaroos have brought in 2024 VFLW premiership players Brooke Slaney and Matilda Zander, who will line up on the interchange and at half-back respectively for the first bounce.

Taylor Ortlepp (unavailable) and Nicole Hales (illness) come out of the side that triumphed over the Western Bulldogs in Round 5.

You can live stream the match free via the AFL website, AFL Live Official App and VFL App. Head here on gameday to keep up with the score and our best performers.

MATCH DEATAILS - ROUND 6
Collingwood vs North Melbourne Werribee Kangaroos
Sunday, May 25, 10:05am
Victoria Park, Melbourne

Following our recent 2024 VFL Premiership success, the Werribee Football Club is excited to announce that our full suite of membership packages are now available for 2025.

2024 will forever be remembered for the drought-breaking Premiership, and in 2025... WE’RE GOING AGAIN. ARE YOU?

Sign up as a member for 2025 via this link.

Werribee is proud to unveil its 2025 Indigenous guernsey, which will be worn in our round 11 home game against North Melbourne.

This is the second Indigenous guernsey in the club’s history. Over the last two seasons, we have worn the design created by Noongar woman and Indigenous artist Kirby Bentley.

This year’s guernsey was designed by renowned local artist John Lambley and his children Kyle, Jy, Giselle, Kain and Mason, who are proud Wadawurrung people living on Wadawurrung Country.

John and the Lambley family explain the meaning behind the design:

“The top of the guernsey features gold symbols representing man, woman and child in the night sky, symbolising the dreamtime.

This reflects our respect for ancestors who have passed and are now watching over us in the dreamtime.

It also acknowledges the past players and family members of the Werribee Football Club who have passed on.

In this story, the yellow W represents the Werribee team and its players.

They are shown as the warrior, connected by footprints to represent their journey through the season.

Below the W are landmarks of the Werribee region that connect the Werribee Football Club with the Indigenous peoples of the area.

These places of importance hold deep significance for the Wadawurrung and Bunurong mobs, who have lived side by side for tens of thousands of years.

The You Yangs represent our journeys and meeting places.

The Werribee Yallock, or river, shows Bunjil’s Hole and its path down to the sea.

The Yallock and the sea are marked with symbols of flowing water, representing the life-giving properties of water to Indigenous people.

The design also features some of the wildlife our ancestors hunted and lived on.

It shows meeting places along the river and beaches where people gathered and lived.

The blue gum, which is native to the area, is also included.

And of course, it shows Bunjil, the Creator, watching over and protecting us as he flies across the entire area.

The bottom third of the guernsey tells the story of football.

It shows five meeting places - four on the outside and one in the middle.

The central meeting place represents the team, shown as the warrior symbol.

The outer four represent the quarters of a football game.

The team is connected to each quarter by songlines or journeys, and the quarters themselves are linked by roo prints.

The team moves from quarter to quarter as Goim Gulliwan, the roo—fast, strong and agile.

After each quarter, the players return to the team’s central gathering place for physical and spiritual healing and strength from one another.

They then continue their journey to the next quarter, hunting for victory.

They cannot move forward without returning to the team; the team is everything.

On the back of the guernsey are two meeting places.

The one on the left represents Werribee’s journey throughout the season, including the games and gathering places along the way.

The one on the right represents the club’s support staff and fans, and their journey alongside the team.

Symbols for the sun and rain reflect their support regardless of the weather.

At the very bottom of the guernsey are symbols of water and land, representing my family’s and ancestors’ connection to Country”

The Werribee playing group is looking forward to doing the jumper proud against North Melbourne in Round 11 on Saturday, June 7 at Melbourne Avalon Airport Oval. Artist John Lambley will speak about the design at the pre-game President’s Function. Secure your tickets to the game and function via this link.

Following our recent 2024 VFL Premiership success, the Werribee Football Club is excited to announce that our full suite of membership packages are now available for 2025.

2024 will forever be remembered for the drought-breaking Premiership, and in 2025... WE’RE GOING AGAIN. ARE YOU?

Sign up as a member for 2025 via this link.