Werribee’s strong season has been recognised with six players named in the initial Victorian Football League team of the year squad.
An initial squad of 40 has been named, with the final 24 to be announced at the VFL and VFLW awards night on September 16. A captain and coach will also be selected.
The minor premiers had the most representatives in the squad with six players selected.
It’s a second straight year the Tigers have had the most players nominated for the squad.
Players must have played a minimum of nine home and away matches to be considered for selection.
Standout seasons from Riley Bice, Dom Brew, Nathan Cooper, Hudson Garoni, Jack Henderson and Jack Riding saw them named in the 40-man squad.
Of the six nominees, four are aiming for their first team of the year selection.
Brew was named after his sixth VFL season last year, in which he also claimed his first Bruce Montgomery Trophy, while Jack Henderson earned the honour after his second season in 2019.
Dom Brew, aiming for back-to-back team of the year honours on the back of a career-best season.
He led the VFL in both tackles and clearances, becoming the first player since Werribee’s Jarrod Moore in 2013 to achieve this feat.
The inside midfielder also averaged a team-high 28.4 disposals and ranked in the top five for inside 50s across the league.
He has also captained the side in 11 games this year with Nick Coughlan out with injury.
Henderson took a step up this season villing the void left by the departures of Werribee’s stalwarts Tom Gribble, Matt Hanson and Shaun Mannagh in the midfield.
He had an extremely consistent season, averaging 22.1 disposals, a career-high 5.6 clearances and regularly finding the goals for a season tally of 12 majors.
Garoni, who earned his first team of the year nomination last season after a top-three finish in the ‘Frosty’ Miller Medal, secured another spot in the 40-man squad this year.
He finished third in the league goalkicking with a career-high 45 goals and was number eight in the competition for score involvements.
At the other end of the field is Nathan Cooper, who celebrated his 50th game for Werribee in round 10 against Collingwood.
Despite suffering an injury in round 14 against Sydney, Cooper met the nine-game minimum requirement for selection.
At the midway point of the season, he ranked second in the league for spoils and 15th for intercept marks.
First-year player Riley Bice has earned a spot in the squad following an outstanding season, having joined Werribee after winning Albury Tigers’ best-and-fairest in 2023.
In his maiden VFL campaign, the half-back averaged 21.1 disposals and seven marks per game, while also ranking top five in the competition in effective kicks and running bounces.
Rounding out Werribee’s six nominees is Jack Riding, who after playing four games in his debut season last year had a breakout year, playing 17 games this home-and-away campaign.
Initially starting the season in the backline, Riding moved to the forward line in round three and quickly made an impact, delivering standout performances in round five and six.
He showed no signs of slowing down up forward, leading the VFL in both goal-and score-assists at the midpoint of the season.
Werribee had the weekend off due to having already qualified for the preliminary final.
It will face the Brisbane Lions on Saturday at 11am at Avalon Airport Oval.
