Opinion
West Coast, one of the first new interstate clubs to be invited to join the AFL 34 years ago, has already secured four premierships: two in the 1990s, one in the 2000s and one in the 2010s.
Adam Simpson’s first year of coaching has so far been the only time that the club has failed to make the finals during his time at the helm and he has had at his disposal a number of talented champions.
Whilst the bar to entry as one of the top 100 game players for the Eagles is still only one-third of that required to make the grade at Collingwood, it is steadily rising and currently sits at 50 games with only one player, the exciting Liam Ryan, likely to make it into the elite list by the end of this truncated season – if it eventually gets underway.
Recruited from SANFL club Central District at Number 13 in the 2005 draft, Shannon Hurn had an excellent two years in 2018 and 2019. After being a premiership captain in 2018, he was chosen as All-Australian in both years.
Hurn shared the captaincy with four others when Darren Glass retired midway through the 2014 season, and six years later, has now equalled his game tally. Glass was captain of the Eagles from 2008 until 2014 and played in the 2006 premiership side after being drafted from Northam as 11th overall in 1999. In 2009 Glass won the second of his three Best and Fairest awards, beating Hurn.
Glass was also All-Australian four times. A fullback, he kicked only eight goals in his 270 games: the third-lowest total of any player who played more than 250 league games.
The number two player on the Eagles’ all-time top 100 game players list is Glen Jakovich – only six games ahead of Glass and now Hurn. Jakovich was still at the Eagles when Glass started in 2000 and is regarded as one of the greatest centre-halfbacks whose duels with North Melbourne’s Wayne Carey were legendary.
Jakovich played in the Eagles’ first two premierships, was All-Australian twice and won four Best and Fairests, the last in 2000. Jakovich was the Eagles’ leading game-player until losing the number one spot to Dean Cox in 2014.
Dean Cox was another Western Australian country boy, being recruited from Dampier via the 2000 Rookie Draf. He played his first game in 2001 and finished his career in the same year as Darren Glass. He won the Best and Fairest in 2008 and was a six-time All Australian. He played in the Eagles’ 2006 premiership and his final tallies were 290 games (#1) and 169 goals (#13).
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