THE AGRONOMIST. The construction manager. And the forklift driver.
While almost all of the round one debutants were still finishing school last year, that’s what three of the 23 new faces on the weekend were doing until an AFL club finally gave them a chance at the age of 24.
Those three – Jack Henderson, Aidan Johnson and Riley Bice – all played in last year's VFL Grand Final at Ikon Park, helping Werribee end a 31-year premiership drought amid a period where Chirnside Park has transformed into a genuine football factory.
After being selected by Sydney with pick No. 41 in last November's AFL Draft – the first mature-age player picked – Bice made an eye-catching debut as the sub against Brisbane on Saturday, collecting 12 disposals and 304 metres gained from 31 per cent game time at the SCG.
Less than 24 hours later, Henderson and Johnson played in Melbourne's three-point loss against Greater Western Sydney at the MCG. Both had only ever played at the home of football in Auskick games. Now they have a game of league football to their names.
More than 30 players, coaches and officials from Werribee watched on from the stands on Sunday, including coach James Allan, the SANFL great. Most of them, somehow, found a way into the Melbourne rooms in the bowels of the MCG to watch Demons great David Schwarz present the five debutants with their guernseys. They made their presence known then, and later, when both Henderson and Johnson kicked goals in the wet.
"It was extra special [to debut on the same weekend]. Going through last year with those two boys and winning a premiership at that club," Henderson told AFL.com.au this week.
"Riley had a different story playing his first year at Werribee and having a huge impact. 'Johnno' has had a really tough year with injury and then had great form in the finals. It was great to touch base with them after the game."
Henderson didn't think he'd be on a list a month ago, let alone debuting in round one. He had met with Melbourne list boss Tim Lamb and national recruiting manager Jason Taylor before the draft, but after selecting two midfielders in the first-round – Harvey Langford and Xavier Lindsay – they needed a key forward with their final pick, which they used on Johnson at No. 68. One Werribee product's luck was another's misfortune at the time.
The Demons didn't have a list spot when the pre-season supplemental selection period (SSP) opened in November, so Henderson started the pre-season with his premiership teammates at Avalon Airport Oval. But life changed on February 7. West Coast list manager Matt Clarke called that night to invite him to start training on the Monday.
"I got an inkling from my manager Winston [Rous, from Phoenix Management Group] that West Coast may or may not ring me on the Friday. I went through the Friday and it got to about four or five o'clock our time and I thought 'nothing is going to happen here', just carry on with my day. But it was only 1pm in Perth. Anyway, it got to six or seven o'clock Melbourne time and I got a call from Matty Clarke to come over on Sunday," Henderson recalled.
"I flew over there with no guarantees at all, jumped straight into training on the Monday. It wasn't a massive week training load wise, so there wasn't a lot of match play. Then I played Richmond on the Monday three quarters. Before the game, I didn't have any offers. After the game, I had a choice pretty much. Melbourne were keen. West Coast were keen as well. I took 24 hours to make a decision and landed on Melbourne."
After not having a spot available all summer, Melbourne suddenly had a spot late in the SSP when Shane McAdam ruptured his Achilles at training. With Alex Neal-Bullen moving to Adelaide in October, Lamb had one name in mind. The only problem was he was training with West Coast.
So why would a 25-year-old who has waited so long to play league football choose a finals contender over a side in a rebuild? The Eagles were prepared to offer Henderson more security to sign with them, but the man who won the Norm Goss Medal for best on ground in last year's VFL Grand Final backed himself in at Melbourne.
"West Coast saw me more of a midfielder, and this was certainly not the sole reason I made the decision, but Melbourne saw me as a half-forward type player. I saw my best chance of playing games and having a career in that half-forward position," he said.
"They had shown a tremendous amount of interest in me since the draft last year. It only just didn't go my way [at the 2024 Draft] and I was so happy for Johnno to get that position. It is only a one-year contract, so I was keen to get in and get settled around family as quickly as possible. I was very thankful to West Coast for the opportunity to have a go there, but I thought Melbourne suited me best."
Since Werribee ended its alignment with North Melbourne in 2018, the 'Bees' have become a breeding ground for mature-age talent. Before Sam Collins won two best and fairests with Gold Coast, he was fighting for another chance at Chirnside Park. Josh Corbett also landed at the Suns in 2018. Jake Riccardi was picked by Greater Western Sydney the following year, before Kye Declase landed at Melbourne in 2021.
Things have escalated in the past two years, firstly under the poster boy of mature-age recruiting Michael Barlow, who led Werribee to a Grand Final in 2023 before being poached by North Melbourne to run the development program at Arden Street. Then last year under three-time Magarey Medallist Allan.
Geelong recruited a 26-year-old Shaun Mannagh in 2023, before Gold Coast selected Sam Clohesy in the rookie draft a day later. Both fired last year. Werribee captain Dom Brew also trained at the Western Bulldogs during the SSP, but was overlooked despite winning the J.J. Liston Trophy in 2024. So what is the secret to this staggering run of AFL production?
"Mark Penaluna, the CEO there, always gets great people in the roles at Werribee, whether it be development, high performance and coaching. It has set all of us up for success. I think that's why we've seen so much success and so many players drafted. I'm sure we will see more to come," Henderson said.
"I think the recruiting is part of it too. We pull out of the Ovens and Murray and there is some serious talent there, like Riley Bice. Joe Richards is the other example who went straight to Collingwood. If you can get blokes down here, Werribee is a good stepping stone from the Ovens and Murray. I think we will see a lot more mature age players drafted."
Bice moved from Albury to Altona last year to ensure he didn't grow up contemplating 'What if?'. He played three games for Greater Western Sydney's reserves at the tail end of 2022, but finally decided to give VFL a proper crack in 2024. It worked. He was named in the VFL team of the year and met with half a dozen clubs before Sydney made a move early on night two of the draft.
"The culture and the environment is the key," Bice told AFL.com.au in December. "They have so many good people there. Mark 'Pena' running it and when you have people like that at the top, it just flows down. Everyone buys into the culture and the environment.
"They do a power of work with their development program. They are out there an hour before training doing craft and skill sessions. I think the buy in from all the players there is huge as well. So many boys are out there early doing stuff and I think that's part of the reason for the success in the last two years."
Henderson grew up on a farm near Deniliquin in country New South Wales, before moving to board at Geelong College for the final four years of his schooling. He studied a bachelor of agricultural science at La Trobe University during his time in the VFL – around his one season stint with Sturt in the SANFL during the pandemic – and hasn't given up his job just yet advising farmers on their crops and pastures.
Recently retired Geelong champion Tom Hawkins is a colleague at Nutrien Ag Solutions, where Henderson still spends a day each week working. But that might change if the 177cm half-forward keeps playing games for Melbourne. The Werribee footy factory has done it again.
