12 months on from their heartbreaking loss, Werribee return to the VFL Grand Final stage this week, but this time there will be Sharks circling the same prize.
Sunday's season decider at Princes Park will see two standalone clubs go head-to-head for the premiership for the first time since the competition's licensing reshuffle in 2000, with Southport also entering the affair with plans of redemption.
Steve Daniel's side fell short to Casey in the 2022 decider, and this year return for a mouth-watering matchup against Jimmy Allan's Werribee outfit.
The 'Bees fell to 2023 premiers Gold Coast by 19 points, but it was Werribee ace Shaun Mannagh who stole the headlines with his Norm Goss Medal-winning outing after amassing 27 disposals and six goals against a side that consisted of 20 AFL-listed Suns players.
While it wasn't only the one afternoon in Carlton that saw Mannagh soon find himself taken with Pick 36 in last November's AFL Draft by Geelong, the performance came under the close watch of scouts from almost all 18 clubs.
Mannagh had done more than enough through the home and away season to warrant his Kardinia Park calling - highlighted by a 40-disposal and four-goal game against the Sharks earlier in the year - while there were moments against the Suns last September that will remain in the memory of most AFL recruiters who have now missed their chance.
This year, as Werribee returns to the grand final following a season without the leading contingent of Mannagh, Sam Clohesy, Tom Gribble, Michael Sodomaco and Matt Hanson, many from the Tigers, or Sharks, will seek their Mannagh moments in pursuit of the VFL premiership.
The man who made up a third of Werribee's lethal engine room last year alongside Mannagh and Gribble, hard-nut Dom Brew could take centre stage on Sunday against Southport to cap off a year like no other.
Having led the VFL for tackles, contested possessions and clearances in 2024, Brew took out the J.J. Liston Trophy, Coaches MVP gong and the captaincy for the competition's Team of the Year this week.
The 'Bees skipper looks set to be the key against the Sharks, but it may be the players around him who are the difference makers.
Young defender Riley Bice has enjoyed a stellar first season under Allan, offering pace and an efficient left foot to be a finalist for this year's Fothergill-Round-Mitchell Medal.
The 23-year-old, who joined Brew in the selected team of the season, averaged 21.1 disposals, 6.9 marks and 4.8 intercepts as an attacking outlet in Werribee's rearguard and very well could be the damaging linebreaker to open up Sunday's contest.
Alongside the winner of this year's VFL rising star honour Sam Davidson and Geelong's Ajang Kuol mun, Bice has been invited to next month's state draft combine to flex his agility directly under the nose of AFL recruiters, but it'll be Sunday's showing that will best present the formidability of the young Tigers journeyman.
Much like Mannagh with Tiger-turned-Sun Sam Clohesy, Bice won't be alone in already having AFL clubs with tabs on teammates.
Jaelen Pavlidis, Jake Smith, Sam Paea and Jack Riding have been key in the Tigers' rise to minor premiers after an off-season that saw the club lose several senior stalwarts.
Pavlidis and Smith earned nominations for the Fothergill-Round-Mitchell Medal after maturing across the course of the year, while forward-half livewire Paea did the same in 2023 and has continued to grow despite an interrupted campaign.
Their Southport counterparts could equally earn a calling to the AFL this draft period, with Sharks recruit Ben Jepson having a sensational first season with the Queensland club after switching from Coburg.
A Fothergill-Round-Mitchell Medal finalist who fell short to Clohesy in 2023, Jepson earned a spot in the VFL representative side that faced the SANFL in April this year and was among the best in the showcase clash.
The 22-year-old averaged 25.4 disposals, 82.9% disposal efficiency and 6.1 marks in his first year with the Sharks to secure a spot in the team of the season at half-back, taking the starting spot ahead of Bice.
Another first-year Shark in Nick Williams - a promising intercept defender out of the Suns' Academy - has developed into a damaging two-way asset for Steve Daniel as the Sharks make their case for a maiden VFL flag.
Williams was a member of the Allies' U18s National Championships winning squad last year and has proven to be a valuable addition for Southport at the age of 20.
Former Port Adelaide small forward Boyd Woodcock has developed into one of the premier players in the competition since landing on the Gold Coast ahead of the 2022 season.
The damaging onballer has now found a spot in the VFL Team of the Year in all three seasons he's played under Daniel, partnering fellow ball magnet Jacob Dawson - who has made the team of the season in four straight campaigns - in the middle of the field.
At the age of 24, and having come close to an AFL lifeline with the Suns ahead of the 2023 season, Woodcock remains a live chance to return to the top flight and might just be the man most capable of recording a stat line like Mannagh's from last year decider.
Outside of the names to do battle this Sunday, Frankston's George Grey, Tiger Sam Davidson and Coburg's Flynn Gentile are also worthy to be looped into draft discussions ahead of November's intake.
