Werribee overcame the heartbreak of a near miss in 2023 and the departure of a host of stars to produce one of the all-time great premiership triumphs and end a 31-year drought.
BY THE NUMBERS
Position: Premiers
W-L-D (%): 18-3 (139.9%)
Players used: 36
Played every match: 6 – Riley Bice, Dom Brew, Hudson Garoni, Harry Grintell, Jack Henderson, Bior Malual
Ex-AFL players: 6 (58 matches)
Debutants: 0
STAR PERFORMERS
Best and Fairest: 1st: Dom Brew (212 votes), 2nd: Jack Henderson (211), 3rd: Jesse Clark (179), 4th: Riley Bice (176), 5th: Louis Pinnuck (172)
J.J. Liston Trophy: Dom Brew (31 votes, winner), Hudson Garoni (11), Jack Henderson (8), Jack Riding (8), Riley Bice (5)
Coaches MVP Award: Dom Brew (103 votes, winner), Jack Henderson (38), Riley Bice (26), Jack Riding (25), Nathan Cooper (24)
Leading Goalkickers: Hudson Garoni (49), Jay Dahlhaus (33), Jack Riding (18), Aidan Johnson (17), Zac Banch (16)
Smithy’s VFL Team of the Year: Riley Bice (interchange), Dom Brew (rover, captain), Nathan Cooper (full back), Jack Henderson (interchange), Jimmy Allan (coach)
STAT LEADERS
(Averages – minimum 6 matches)
Disposals: Dom Brew 28.6, Kye Declase 23.0, Jack Henderson 22.3, Riley Bice 21.8, Nick Coughlan 19.9
Contested possessions: Dom Brew 18.0, Jack Henderson 10.5, Daly Andrews 8.6, Jack Riding 7.9, Sam Conway 7.9
Kicks: Dom Brew 18.5, Nick Coughlan 17.3, Riley Bice 16.7, Louis Pinnuck 15.1, Kye Declase 14.1
Handballs: Jack Henderson 10.8, Dom Brew 10.1, Kye Declase 8.9, Daly Andrews 6.8, Jake Smith 6.6
Marks: Louis Pinnuck 8.3, Jesse Clark 7.1, Riley Bice 6.9, Hudson Garoni 6.0, Bior Malual 5.8
Tackles: Dom Brew 9.6, Jack Henderson 5.7, Jack Riding 4.2, Kobe Annand 4.0, Aidan Johnson 3.7, Jake Smith 3.7
Hitouts: Sam Conway 33.0, Kobe Annand 21.8, Aidan Johnson 6.4, Sam Paea 0.7, Hudson Garoni 0.2
Clearances: Dom Brew 10.0, Jack Henderson 5.6, Sam Conway 4.8, Daly Andrews 4.4, Jake Smith 3.5
Inside-50s: Dom Brew 5.5, Jack Riding 4.5, Kye Declase 4.1, Daly Andrews 4.1, Angus Hicks 3.4
Rebound-50s: Nick Coughlan 7.7, Riley Bice 4.8, Louis Pinnuck 4.0, Jesse Clark 2.7, Stefan Radovanovic 2.2
What went right: Only one thing comes close to standing out more than the final siren at IKON Park on Sunday, September 22, where the Bees added their second VFA/VFL premiership with a thrilling six-point win over Southport in the Grand Final. And that would be Dom Brew – the hardest working and most respected player in the VFL winning almost everything there was on offer in 2024. The star midfielder claimed a premiership medal, the Liston Trophy by such a big margin that they called off the count three weeks early, a second straight Bruce Montgomery Trophy, the captaincy of the VFL in its first State game for seven years, and a trial spot at the Western Bulldogs. And it was only the match-winning brilliance of his right-hand man in Jack Henderson that cost him the Norm Goss Medal as well. Henderson was another star to find another gear when the midfield was handed over to him in the off-season. Off-season recruit Riley Bice took the competition by storm and ended the year as a Sydney Swan, while Aidan Johnson went from a one-game fringe player to an AFL draftee with Melbourne. Hudson Garoni booted 49 goals and Jay Dahlhaus kicked 33 in career best efforts and Nathan Cooper finally broke through for a VFL Team of the Year guernsey after being the league’s best full back for quite some time. Jesse Clark and Louis Pinnuck remain seriously underrated outside Avalon Airport Oval, but that’s only because they have so many champions around them.
What went wrong: How do you fault a team that broke a 31-year premiership drought and had two more, and possibly three, players added to AFL lists at the end of the season? Having star wingman Kye Declase depart mid-season could have derailed the Tigers but didn’t. Losing captain Nick Coughlan to a VFL career-ending foot injury could have derailed the Tigers but didn’t. Losing big man Sam Paea for half the season to a shoulder injury could have derailed the Tigers but didn’t. It’s hard to find anything else.
Summary: Tom Gribble, Michael Sodomaco, Matt Hanson, Shaun Mannagh, Sam Clohesy, Josh Porter, Keegan Gray and coach Michael Barlo). Amazingly, 13 members of the 2023 Grand Final team did not take to IKON Park on the big day in 2024. How many clubs could lose so much quality and experience out of one team and still win the premiership? But this is a special club that was building to this moment for many years under the guidance of the great Mark Penaluna and to be a part of the first VFL Grand Final between two standalone clubs since the AFL reserves teams arrived in the competition in 2000 is another amazing achievement. After the heartbreak of a near miss in 2023 against arguably the most powerful team of the modern era in the Gold Coast Suns, the Tigers pulled it together, picked themselves up off the canvas and stayed in touch early before dominating the competition in the second half of the year. They also fought back from an ordinary first half of the Grand Final to grab a handy lead and then hold on to finally get their hands on the Holy Grail.
Grade: 9/10
2024 SMITHY'S VFL SEASON REVIEWS
Southport Sharks
Footscray Bulldogs
Brisbane Lions
Geelong Cats
Williamstown
Box Hill Hawks
Frankston
Gold Coast Suns
Richmond
Essendon
Sandringham
Sydney Swans
GWS Giants
North Melbourne
Port Melbourne
Casey Demons
Coburg
Carlton
Collingwood
Northern Bullants