The retirement of West Coast Eagles captain Darren Glass signals the departure of a true champion of the club, and of the AFL.
He retires after 270 games as a three-time club champion (now the John Worsfold Medal), four time All-Australian, 2006 premiership player and the second longest serving captain of the club.
While his kicking skills sometimes left a lot to be desired, he is undoubtedly one of the very best fullbacks of the last 20 years, someone who blanketed some of the best forwards the game has seen in Barry Hall, Matthew Pavlich, Jonathan Brown, Matthew Richardson and Nick Riewoldt.
Not limited to power forwards, he was also adept at shutting down more nimble players such as Steven Milne and Lindsay Thomas with his surprising pace.
As well as being a brilliant player, he was a brilliant leader. He marshalled the back line, organised it into a cohesive unit and in the games that he has missed in recent years, his absence has been noticeable.
Perhaps most importantly, he also the guided the club, as captain, out of the crisis surrounding Ben Cousins and his departure, and the lean years that followed while the club put more importance on a change of culture rather than winning games.
While he gets the plaudits for his on-field performance, and deservedly so, his off-field guidance and leadership during the most turbulent time in the club’s short history is something that often goes unnoticed. Without it, it is difficult as a supporter to imagine the position that the Eagles would be in today.
In a similar way to Matthew Pavlich, Glass was underrated in the Eastern states. His ability to spoil, influence or even mark the ball when there was no chance of him getting to the contest was brilliant to watch. His toughness, selflessness, hard-hitting nature and courage was something to be admired.
In his prime, he was every bit as good as Matthew Scarlett, Tom Harley, Leo Barry, Chad Cornes and other full backs of the same era.
Despite efforts to convince him otherwise by Adam Simpson and Trevor Nisbett, Glass’ refusal of a send-off game doesn’t come as a surprise, and really typifies him as a person.
He was never one to crave the spotlight, and that only shows his selflessness. He finishes his stellar career as true champion of the club, the game, and a great person.
Glass’ absence will leave a gaping hole in the back line, and he will be sorely missed by players and fans alike, and hopefully not just those from Western Australia.
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