Werribee has signed young ruckman and Greater Western Sydney Academy product Jack Driscoll for 2022.

The developing big man split his time this past season with the GIANTS under 19s and playing senior football with home club The Rock-Yerong Creek and the Albury Tigers.

Werribee football manager Mark Micallef said Driscoll who measures in at 200cm is an exciting prospect with good athleticism and skills for a player of his size.

“Jack's a highly talented young ruckman who has displayed good tap work, the ability to follow up extremely well and take a good mark down the line,” Micallef said.

“Jack came through the GIANTS Academy system and will now move down to Melbourne from the family farm up in country New South Wales.

“He’s dedicated to his craft and as a 19-year-old we see a lot of scope in Jack and think that he will grow really well in our program.

"We’re really excited to see what he can do in 2022.”

Driscoll said he was thrilled to be joining the club with its history and success developing players.

“I’m looking forward to moving away from home and always wanted to come to Melbourne to play good footy and try to get the best out of myself,” he said.

“I know Werribee’s been a pretty successful club in the past and has also had quite a few people drafted in recent years, so I’m keen to improve my game and play the highest standard I can.”

Werribee has added more outside run and carry for 2022 with the signing of former Casey Demon Tom McCaffrey. 

McCaffrey who hails from Sydney has been starved of opportunities at the AFL aligned outfit but still impressed in limited appearances over the past two VFL seasons. 

The ability to run and carry and make good decisions were skills Werribee’s coaching staff were keen to add this offseason and football manager Mark Micallef said McCaffrey will deliver that and more.  

“Tom’s a really hard running outside player that can play a range of different roles, all skills we wanted to bring to the club,” he said. 

“He’s a nice decision maker with ball in hand and we see him developing his craft a lot and adding to our midfield straight away. 

"He’s got pace and his endurance is in the top echelon in the VFL so Tom’s capacity to work up and down the ground at high speed will be a great attribute for us going forward.” 

McCaffrey, 25, said he was delighted to be joining the club for the upcoming season.  

“I’ve been watching Werribee for a bit, they’ve been a good side and play a good brand of footy and when Mark (Micallef) and Mick (Barlow) contacted me they really sold the club and I didn’t have second thought about making the switch,” he said. 

“I’ve met some of the boys already and look forward to meeting the rest of them over the next couple of weeks.

"A lot of them have sent messages and I think we’re all striving for that glory of winning a premiership so I’m happy to be a part of that.” 

Werribee has secured the services of classy 189cm utility Reuben William from Footscray. 

William is a major coup for the club with two years’ experience at the Brisbane Lions where he played three AFL matches in 2016. 

The 23-year-old, who moved to Australia from South Sudan at the age of four, has spent the past three seasons as a key part of the Bulldogs’ VFL outfit playing 46 games in that span.  

William joined his new teammates at the first preseason training session on Monday and said he was thrilled to finally get started at Avalon Airport Oval.  

“The first session was awesome, the energy was great, and I can already tell it’s a great group,” he said. 

“There’s such a brilliant atmosphere here with staff, volunteers and the club president here tonight it just shows a real one club mentality, everyone is really driven for success here. 

“Playing against Werribee in the past we always saw them as a great side and a really challenging side to play and I’m sure we’ll be contending this coming season, so I’m really looking forward to the year.” 

Werribee football manager Mark Micallef said William is a terrific signing and has been earmarked to play a major role in defence. 

“We’re really excited to have Reuben join us, he’s a quality player and a magnificent person who will provide great leadership and help drive the cultural standards of our football club,” he said.  

“We see Reuben playing as running half-back, he has really nice foot skills and a really good temperament so he’s going to be a very welcome addition to our defensive unit for 2022.” 

A familiar face in key forward Josh Porter has re-joined Werribee after three years away from the club playing country football.

Porter played 48 games for the Big W between 2014-16 and then 2018 and is now set for his third stint at Avalon Airport Oval after most recently playing with his home club the Wangaratta Magpies in the Ovens and Murray FL.

The now 27-year-old kicked 54 goals across his four previous seasons with the club and will again provide us with a strong target up forward with his size and contested marking ability.

He said it was fantastic to be returning at an exciting time for the club.

“I’m happy to be back, I reached out to Tom Gribble who had some really good things to say and then a few others like Sods (Michael Sodomaco) and Brewy (Dom Brew) reached out to me, and it sort of went from there,” he said.

“I’ve still been living in Melbourne these past few years and for me I didn’t want to travel anymore and missed the competitive side of the VFL and Werribee as well as the professionalism, so that all factored into my decision.

“I’m still the right side of 30, I think for my position I feel I’m hitting my peak and the systems that the club has in place will allow me to get the best out of myself, so I’m excited to be back.”

Werribee football manager Mark Micallef said it was great to add a veteran player like Porter.

“Werribee supporters will be familiar with Josh who had four years at Werribee previously, playing some really good footy in that time,” he said.

“Josh has great character, knows our environment and our players, and we think he is going to be a really good addition for our forward line stocks.”