West Coast Eagles


The West Coast Eagles Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia, and plays in the Australian Football League.
The West Coast Eagles was founded in 1986 as an expansion team. It entered the AFL, then known as the Victorian Football League, in 1987 along with Queensland's Brisbane Bears. It reached the finals series for the first time in 1988, and won its first premiership in 1992, having been defeated in the grand final the previous year. It was the first non-Victorian team to compete in and win a grand final. The Eagles have since won three more premierships, in 1994, 2006 and 2018. The club is currently coached by Adam Simpson.
The Eagles have won the second most premierships in the AFL era and are one of the most strongly supported and profitable clubs in the league.
As well as competing in the AFL, West Coast also field teams in the AFL Women's and West Australian Football League.

History

1987–1989: Formation and first years

The West Coast Eagles were selected in 1986 as one of two expansion teams to enter the Victorian Football League the following season, along with the Brisbane Bears. Ron Alexander was appointed as the team's inaugural coach in September 1986, with the inaugural squad, comprising a majority of players from the West Australian Football League, unveiled in late October. The Eagles benefitted from a strong WAFL competition and very loose transfer restrictions relative to later expansion teams, with early success seen as a key factor to promoting the new national competition. Ross Glendinning, recruited from, was made the club's first captain as one of the few players with previous VFL experience. The team's first senior match in the VFL was played against at Subiaco Oval in late March 1987, with West Coast defeating Richmond by 14 points. Having won eleven games and lost eleven games for the season, the club finished eighth out of fourteen teams. At the end of the season, John Todd, the coach of in the WAFL, replaced Alexander as West Coast's coach. The club made the finals for the first time in 1988, but lost form the following season, winning only seven games to finish 11th on the ladder.

1990–1999: Malthouse era and dual premierships

Todd was sacked at the end of the 1989 season, and was replaced by Mick Malthouse, who had previously coached. With the competition having rebranded itself as the Australian Football League at the start of the 1990 season, West Coast finished third on the ladder at the conclusion of the home-and-away season, and progressed to the preliminary final before losing to, having been forced to play four consecutive finals in Melbourne.
contests a boundary throw-in against during the 2005 season.
John Worsfold replaced Steve Malaxos as captain for the 1991 season, and the club finished the season as minor premiers for the first time, losing only three games. In the finals series, West Coast progressed to the grand final, but were defeated by by 53 points. Peter Sumich kicking 111 goals during the season, becoming the first West Coast player to reach a century of goals, as well as the first-ever left-footer. In 1992, West Coast finished fourth on the ladder, but again progressed to the grand final, defeating by 28 points to become the first team based outside Victoria to win a premiership. Having slipped to third in 1993, the club finished as minor premiers the following season, and went on to again defeat Geelong in the grand final to win its second premiership in three years. In 1995, a second AFL team based in Western Australia, the Fremantle Football Club, with the two clubs' subsequent rivalry branded as the "Western Derby". West Coast made the finals in every year that remained in the 1990s, but failed to reach another grand final, with a fourth-place finish in 1996 their best result. Worsfold retired at the end of the 1998 season, and was replaced by his vice-captain, Guy McKenna, who served as captain until his retirement two seasons later.

2000–2005: Struggles, rebuild and Worsfold era

Malthouse left West Coast at the end of the 1999 season to take up the senior coaching position with, and was replaced by Ken Judge, who had been coach of. The 2000 and 2001 seasons were marked by a rapid decrease in form after the loss of several key senior players, culminating in a 14th-place in 2001, at the time the worst in the club's history. Round eighteen of the 2000 season marked the club's final match at the WACA Ground, which had been used concurrently with Subiaco Oval since the club's inception. Judge was sacked at the end of 2001, and replaced by the club's former captain John Worsfold, who had been serving as assistant coach at. The club made the finals in 2002, 2003, and 2004, but each time failed to progress past the elimination final. Ben Cousins was made sole captain of the club in 2002, having shared the role with Dean Kemp the previous season. During this time, the team was boosted by a number of high picks in the AFL Draft gained as a result of the previous poor finishes. Chris Judd, who had been taken with pick three in the 2001 National Draft, won the Brownlow Medal as the best player in the competition in 2004, becoming the first West Coast player to win the award. In 2005, the Eagles finished second on the ladder after the regular season, and progressed to the grand final against, where they were defeated by four points. For the second consecutive year, the Brownlow Medal was won by an Eagles player, with Ben Cousins and Daniel Kerr finishing first and second, respectively.

2006–2010: Third premiership, controversies and final misses

West Coast finished as minor premiers for a third time in 2006, with seventeen wins from 22 games. In the 2006 finals series, the club lost the qualifying final to Sydney by one point, but after defeating the and the in the semi- and preliminary final, respectively, again progressed to the grand final, where the Eagles defeated Sydney by a point in an exact reversal of the score in the qualifying final. The two grand finals in 2005 and 2006 were part of a series of close games between the two clubs that resulted in a total difference of thirteen points across six games, an AFL record.
and Tyson Stenglein in a marking contest against in the 2005 Grand Final.
The club finished third during the regular 2007 season, but after a series of late-season injuries lost both its games during the final series. During the past few seasons, the club had been impacted by a series of highly publicised off-field controversies that cast doubt on the legitimacy on their 2006 Premiership, involving allegations of recreational drug use, nightclub assaults, and links to outlawed motorcycle gangs. Michael Gardiner was traded after crashing his car while drunk, and Ben Cousins resigned the captaincy of the club prior to the 2006 season after being charged with evading a police breath-test, with Chris Judd taking over as captain. Cousins was sacked at the end of the 2007 season after being arrested for possession of drugs, while Judd requested to be traded back to Victoria, and was traded to in exchange for a key forward, Josh Kennedy, and several draft picks. Darren Glass, the club's full-back since the retirement of Ashley McIntosh in 2003, was then appointed captain. These controversies were followed by a series of poor seasons on-field, culminating in the club's first wooden spoon, after winning only four games in 2010. The three-year period between 2008 and 2010 was the longest time in the club's history without a finals appearance.

2011–2013: Breakthrough years

Despite predictions of another bottom-four finish in 2011, West Coast won 16 games to finish in the top four, becoming the first team since the in 1998 and 1999 to reach a preliminary final after finishing last the previous season.
West Coast's strong form continued into 2012, losing the 2012 NAB Cup grand final to and spending the early part of the season on top of the table. They eventually finished fifth and bowed out in the semi finals to. The Eagles went into 2013 as premiership favourites, although injuries and poor form saw the club finish in thirteenth position on the ladder, with the club losing its final three games by an average of 71 points. Coach John Worsfold resigned on September 5, 2013.

2014–present: Simpson era and fourth premiership

Former player Adam Simpson was announced as the team's new coach for the 2014 season. Darren Glass was initially renamed as captain, but retired from football after round 12. He was replaced by five acting co-captains for the remainder of the season – Shannon Hurn, Josh Kennedy, Eric Mackenzie, Matt Priddis, and Scott Selwood. West Coast had a strong preseason and won their opening three matches, although they eventually finished in ninth position. During the season the club were labeled as "flat track bullies" due to beating lower placed teams by large margins, yet failing to defeat teams above them on the ladder. Midfielder Matt Priddis became the third Eagles player to win a Brownlow medal, winning the 2014 medal at the end of the season.
On December 7, 2014, Shannon Hurn was appointed as sole captain for 2015 and beyond. At the start of the 2015 season, West Coast lost two of their opening three games and suffered injuries to key players. Despite this, they went on to lose only three more games for the rest of the home and away season, finishing behind local rivals in second position. The Eagles went on to defeat and in the qualifying and preliminary finals by 32 and 25 points respectively to qualify for the 2015 Grand Final, their first since 2006, only to lose to Hawthorn by 46 points. The following season ended up being a disappointment, with the team failing to produce another top 4 finish in spite of a late form reversal. In their elimination final, the heavily favoured Eagles were defeated at home by the Western Bulldogs, who went on to claim the 2016 premiership.
In 2017, West Coast finished in eighth position on the table. A thrilling finish against Adelaide in the last ever game at Subiaco was enough to put them into their third consecutive finals series under Simpson. Their percentage of 105.7% edged out Melbourne, who finished with the same number of wins and an almost identical percentage of 105.2%. Remarkably, their elimination final away against ended up a tie after regulation time and was sent to extra time. The Eagles controversially won after the siren courtesy of a Luke Shuey goal. The following week they were soundly defeated away by, in front of the lowest finals crowd in over 100 years.
Few predicted West Coast would contend in season 2018, with most having them outside the 8. After losing the inaugural game at the new Optus Stadium against the Sydney Swans, West Coast went on to win 10 in a row to surge to top of the ladder, including defeating Hawthorn at Etihad and Richmond, the eventual minor premiers. However, injuries to star forwards Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling saw them struggle, losing 3 games in a row including to Sydney for a second this time at the SCG. Despite injuries, they managed to rebound and stabilise. The Eagle's form at the MCG had long been criticised, and round 17 against an in form Collingwood who had won 7 of the previous matches was seen as a stern test. The match was fairly close throughout, until the Eagles got on top in the last ten minutes of the third quarter to win by a commanding 35 points. The victory was bittersweet, however, as the All-Australian ruckman Nic Naitanui went down with an ACL for the second time after his 2016 injury, putting him out for the rest of the season. In round 20 star midfielder Andrew Gaff was suspended for 8 weeks for a hit on Fremantle player Andrew Brayshaw. Following this many dismissed the Eagles, believing they were unable to win the flag. The following week there was a bright spot in a dark period, as Jeremy McGovern kicked a goal after the siren at Adelaide Oval to pinch the game from Port Adelaide, in similar circumstances to West Coast's win over Port in the 2017 elimination final.
The Eagles finished the home and away season second on the ladder with 16 wins and 6 losses - their best result since 2006 - earning the right to host the second qualifying final against third-placed Collingwood at Optus Stadium. Collingwood. led for most of the close, hard-fought match, before the Eagles again pulled away in the last quarter to win by 16 points.
In the second preliminary final, the Eagles faced the fifth-placed Melbourne Demons, a team whose impressive end-of-season form had begun with a victory over the Eagles at Optus Stadium in round 22. What was touted as a close-fought match instead became a blowout. West Coast led 10.9.69 to 0.6.6 at half time, Melbourne becoming the first team since 1927 to fail to score a goal in a half of finals football. West Coast eventually won by 66 points, 121 to 55.
In the grand final, West Coast again played Collingwood, who had upset Richmond in the first preliminary final the week prior. In a match dubbed an all-time classic, Collingwood led by as much as 29 points in the first quarter, but the resilient Eagles managed to claw their way back into the contest, and with just over 2 minutes left, a brilliant play set up by a Jeremy McGovern intercept mark and a further sensational mark by first year player Liam Ryan saw Dom Sheed score a goal from a tight angle to put the Eagles 4 points in front. The Eagles went on to win 79 to 74, claiming their fourth premiership in front of 100,022 at the MCG. Luke Shuey won the Norm Smith Medal.
The Eagles started their premiership defence in indifferent fashion, suffering three heavy defeats in the first six weeks of the 2019 season. The reigning premiers recovered magnificently, winning 12 of their next fourteen matches, but missed out on a spot in the top four after an upset 38-point loss to Hawthorn in round 23. The Eagles finished fifth on the AFL ladder with a 15–7 win-loss record. They thrashed Essendon by 55 points in the first elimination final but their premiership defence was brought to a premature end the following week, losing to minor premiers Geelong by 20 points in the first semi-final.
during a match against in the 2008 NAB Cup.

Finance and ownership

The West Coast Eagles have been owned in full by the West Australian Football Commission since 1989. The club was originally owned and operated by Indian Pacific Limited, a publicly listed company that was delisted from the Australian Stock Exchange in 1990 after 75% of the shares were bought out by the WAFC. The last minority shareholders were bought out in 2000. West Coast pay approximately $3 million in rent to the WAFC for the use of Subiaco Oval, and 50–70% of overall profits. In 2001, a South African investment company, Southern African Investments Ltd., had proposed a AUD$25-million deal for a 49-percent stake in the club, with the bid being rejected in 2003. In 2011, it was reported that the AFL had lobbied to take over the ownership of both the Eagles and the Fremantle Football Club from the WAFC.
West Coast is currently one of the most financially successful clubs in the AFL, both in terms of revenue and profit. In May 2011, the club's total revenue for the previous season was reported as $45.6 million, equal first with in the AFL. The club's football department spending over the 2011 season was reported as $18.6 million, second to Collingwood.
In the AFL annual report of 2017 the West Coast Eagles were fifth in terms of revenue across the Australian Football League., however, all other clubs with higher revenue receive monies from poker machines.
In 2018, the West Coast Eagles were the highest earning club in terms of revenue, reporting an income of $82,265,015. They also had total assets of $106,229,217 and reported a profit of $7,621,284. These figures were all league records and further established West Coast's status as the biggest club in the AFL. What is even more impressive is that they do not earn any poker income, which is attributable for significant portions of their rivals income. They signed a new sponsorship deal with online mortgage broker Lendi, as well as naming agreements to its training facility with Mineral Resources. The major sponsors for the 2019 season are Hungry Jacks and Lendi.

Membership and attendance

The club's 2011 membership of 54,745 people was a club record, and the fourth-highest overall in the AFL. Membership numbers are limited by the capacity of Domain Stadium, which holds 43,500 seats, with 39,000 reserved exclusively for club members. In March 2012, The Weekend West reported that the cost of a West Coast Eagles adult club membership was $283, the most of any club in the AFL. The current waiting list for family memberships is over 9,000 people, with a total waiting list in excess of 20,000 people, or around four years. In July 2015, the club reached a record high of over 60,000 members, which was the highest number of members for a club in Western Australia, as well as being the 6th highest in the league. As of August 2019, West Coast reached a tally of 90,445 members, becoming the second club in history to pass the 90,000 mark and sit 2nd for total members in the 2019 season.
With the advent of the new Optus stadium in 2017 at a cost of $1.8b West Coast commenced playing all its home games at the new stadium in 2018. The AFL provided nil funds towards the new stadium even though it is the number one sport played at the stadium and generates significant income for the AFL. The highest individual crowd to watch a game at Optus Stadium is 59,608 which was between West Coast and Melbourne in the preliminary final of 2018.
During the 2018 season West Coast had the second highest home ground attendance of any AFL club, averaging 53,250 for its 11 home games. Currently West Coast has a membership of over 80,000. however the capacity of Optus Stadium is 60,000.
The number-one ticket holder is a position in most Australian Football League clubs given to a well-known supporter of the club. The West Coast Eagles' website lists "longevity of service", "passion for the club", "contribution to the community of Western Australia" and "the level at which they are recognised in their chosen profession by the community" as criteria for the position. Number-one ticket holders generally serve for two years.
In total, 455,899 people attended West Coast Eagles home games in 2011, equating to an average of 37,992 people per game. The highest-attended home game was against in the elimination final, which was attended by 41,790 people. The highest attendance for any game featuring West Coast was against in the 2018 grand final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, attended by 100,022 people. In terms of television audience, on average 519,000 people viewed West Coast Eagles games in 2011, with a high of 1,074,000 viewers for the round 16 game against.

Club identity

Symbols and uniform

West Coast's official colours are royal blue and gold. The club had previously used navy blue in place of royal blue between 1999 and 2017, but returned to the club's original colours prior to the 2018 season.
The club's current logo features the head of a wedge-tailed eagle in the royal blue and gold colours of the club with the words "West Coast Eagles" written underneath. It was introduced prior to the 2018 season and aimed to present a more realistic portrayal of an eagle than the previous logo. The previous logo, in use between 2000 and 2017, featured a more heavily stylised wedge-tailed eagle. The club's current and former logos have all incorporated a stylised eagle's head, always facing east to represent the eagle eyeing off its prey in the eastern states.
As part of the AFL's Mascot Manor program, a bald eagle club mascot, Rick "The Rock", was created in 2003 to promote the club to junior players. The mascot is in part named after the song. A real wedge-tailed eagle, Auzzie, has flown around the field before matches at West Coast home games since 2007.
In 2018, the Eagles' home guernsey saw a return of the club's former 'royal blue' design used prior to 1999, updated to feature the club's new logo. The club's away strip, which already used a variation of the design with the royal blue and gold colours swapped around, as updated to feature the new logo but otherwise remained relatively unchanged. Between 2000 and 2015, the club's home jumper design featured a stylised eagle on a tricolour of navy blue, white and gold. This jumper was introduced during the 2000 season along with a much-criticised ochre away jumper as part of a rebrand of the club to coincide with the new millennium. The ochre jumper was later dropped at the end of 2002 in favour of an updated version of the club's former royal blue jumper, which was worn during their 1992 and 1994 premierships. Starting in 2010, the Eagles also wore a third, predominantly white guernsey in order to avoid visual clashes with teams who used similar colours. It was dropped as the club's designated clash jumper at the end of 2016, in favour of an updated version of their original 1987 "yellow peril" guernsey. During October 2015, the club announced a navy version of the royal blue jumper would replace the tricolour guernsey as the club's home uniform from 2016, and was used until the introduction of the current design.

Uniform evolution

West Coast's uniform changes throughout their history. :

Partnerships

manufactured the club's uniforms since their inaugural season in 1987, but was replaced by ISC for 2018 and onward. A number of sponsors' logos have featured on West Coast jumpers and shorts. The Burswood Entertainment Complex was the original sponsor for the 1987 season, but SGIO, an insurance provider, Hungry Jack's, a fast food chain; BGC, a construction conglomerate, Bankwest, a bank and Lendi, an online mortgage broker, have also served as major sponsors.
In June 2018, SGIO announced they shall be ceasing their sponsorship at the end of the 2018 season. After their premiership, it was announced that Lendi, an online mortgage broker would be sponsoring the Eagles from 2019 and onwards.
As part of West Coast's efforts to develop the game outside of Australia, the club partners with a number of internationally based football clubs, providing them with guernseys and other equipment. There are currently Eagles-affiliated clubs in Cambodia, Canada, China, Italy, and Sweden. West Coast is also responsible for sponsoring FootyWILD, a program similar to Auskick held in KwaZulu-Natal, a province of South Africa.

Song

The club's official team song is "We're the Eagles", composed by Kevin Peek, a former member of the progressive rock band Sky, and initially recorded at Peek's studio in Roleystone. The current version of the song goes as follows:
The original 1987 version, which was played after the 1992 and 1994 grand final victories, featured anti-Victorian verses and a different musical structure. It was eventually altered in the mid-1990s. The re-recorded version had new verses added by Ken Walther, who also composed Fremantle's 1995 team song. A modified version of the mid-1990s song has been used since March 2018. Ahead of the Eagles' appearance in the 2015 Grand Final, the West Australian Symphony Orchestra created an orchestral version of the song. In 2020, the club announced an updated version of the song, composed by Ian Berney and with vocals from Ian Kenny, both of Perth band Birds of Tokyo. "Eagle Rock", a 1971 song recorded by Daddy Cool, is also traditionally played at home games.

List of seasons

Club honours

Life members

Players who have played 150 games for the club are automatically inducted as life members of the club. Other players, administrators and coaches that have made an outstanding contribution to the club have also been inducted. No life members were inducted in 2001. The following players, coaches and administrators are life members of the club:
Year of inductionInductees
1994Michael Brennan, Dwayne Lamb, Chris Lewis, Chris Mainwaring, John Worsfold
1995David Hart, Guy McKenna
1996Hank Gloede, Dean Kemp, Bill Sutherland
1997Mick Malthouse, Peter Matera, Peter Sumich, Chris Waterman
1998Brett Heady, Glen Jakovich, Ashley McIntosh
1999Murray McHenry
2000Drew Banfield, Mitchell White
2002Ross Nicholas, Brian Edwards, Ken Fitch, Rod Moore
2003Ben Cousins, Don Pyke, Robert Wiley
2004Karl Langdon, Phil Matera, Trevor Nisbett
2005Michael Braun, Tony Evans, Peter Wilson
2006Craig Turley, Ryan Turnbull, David Wirrpanda, David Jones
2007Chad Fletcher, Rowan Jones, Brian Dawson, Anna Durante, Tim Gepp
2008Dean Cox, Andrew Embley, Darren Glass, Daniel Kerr, Phil Scott
2009Dalton Gooding, Nigel Satterley, Adam Hunter, Quinten Lynch
2010Jeff Newman
2011Adam Selwood, Richard Godfrey, Glenn Stewart
2012Ian Miller, Trevor Woodhouse, John Adams
2013Matt Priddis, Peter Souris, Chris Summers, Ken Godwin
2014Shannon Hurn, Matt Rosa, Gary Greer
2015Mark LeCras
2016Chris Masten, Josh Kennedy, Sam Butler, Will Schofield, Neil Hamilton, Denis McInerney, Mick Moylan.
2017Luke Shuey, Andrew Gaff, Jack Darling
2018Nic Naitanui, Brad Sheppard, Chris Judd, David Hynes, Ross Glendinning.

Source:

Team of the Decade

In 1996 as part of the AFL's centenary celebrations, and the club's 10-year celebrations, the Eagles named a team of the decade.
Backs:David HartMichael BrennanAshley McIntosh
Half Backs:Guy McKennaGlen JakovichJohn Worsfold
Centres:Peter MateraDean KempChris Mainwaring
Half Forwards:Brett HeadyMitchell WhiteCraig Turley
Forwards:Chris LewisPeter SumichTony Evans
Ruck:Ryan TurnbullDon PykeDwayne Lamb
Interchange:Chris WatermanSteve MalaxosPeter Wilson

Team 20

In 2006 the West Coast Eagles named a greatest team of the past twenty years as part of the club's twentieth anniversary celebrations:
Backs:David WirrpandaAshley McIntoshMichael Brennan
Half Backs:Guy McKennaGlen JakovichJohn Worsfold
Centres:Peter MateraDean KempChris Mainwaring
Half Forwards:Brett HeadyMitchell WhiteChris Lewis
Forwards:Phillip MateraPeter SumichTony Evans
Ruck:Dean CoxChris JuddBen Cousins
Interchange:Chris WatermanDrew BanfieldDon Pyke
Dwayne Lamb-
Coach:Michael Malthouse--

Team 25

In 2011 the West Coast Eagles named a greatest team of the past twenty five years as part of the club's twenty fifth anniversary celebrations:
Backs:David HartDarren GlassMichael Brennan
Half Backs:Guy McKennaGlen JakovichJohn Worsfold
Centres:Peter MateraBen CousinsChris Mainwaring
Half Forwards:Brett HeadyMitchell WhiteChris Lewis
Forwards:Phillip MateraPeter SumichTony Evans
Ruck:Dean CoxDean KempChris Judd
Interchange:Daniel KerrAshley McIntoshDon Pyke
Andrew Embley-
EmergencyDavid WirrpandaDwayne LambMatt Priddis
Coach:Michael Malthouse--

Individual awards

Hall of Fame inductees

The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996:
The Brownlow Medal is awarded to the best player in the competition during the home-and-away season as voted by the umpires:
;Winners:
;Runners-up:
The Leigh Matthews Trophy is awarded to the best player in the competition as voted by the AFL Players Association:
The Best Captain Award is awarded to the best captain as voted by the AFL Players Association:
The Best First-Year Player Award is awarded to the best first-year player as voted by the AFL Players Association:
The Norm Smith Medal is awarded to the player judged best-on-ground in the AFL Grand Final:
The Coleman Medal is awarded to the player who kicks the most goals in the AFL competition during the home-and-away season:
The AFL Rising Star is awarded to the best rookie player in the competition during a particular season:
The Goal of the Year is awarded to the player judged to have kicked the best goal during a particular season:
The Mark of the Year is awarded to the player judged to have taken the best mark during a particular season:
The All-Australian team is a representative team consisting of the best players during a particular season. Prior to 1991 it was awarded to the best players in each interstate football carnival.
YearEagles Players & Coaches Selected
1987Phil Narkle
1988Steve Malaxos
1991Guy McKenna, Chris Mainwaring, Peter Matera, Craig Turley, Mick Malthouse
1992Dean Kemp
1993Peter Matera, Guy McKenna
1994Peter Matera, Guy McKenna, David Hart, Glen Jakovich
1995Glen Jakovich
1996Peter Matera, Chris Mainwaring, Mitchell White
1997Peter Matera, Fraser Gehrig
1998Ben Cousins, Ashley McIntosh
1999Ben Cousins
2001Ben Cousins
2002Ben Cousins
2003Michael Gardiner, Phil Matera
2004Chad Fletcher, Chris Judd
2005Ben Cousins, Dean Cox, David Wirrpanda
2006Ben Cousins, Chris Judd, Dean Cox, Darren Glass, John Worsfold
2007Dean Cox, Darren Glass, Daniel Kerr
2008Dean Cox
2010Mark LeCras
2011Dean Cox, Darren Glass
2012Dean Cox, Darren Glass, Nic Naitanui, Beau Waters
2015Matt Priddis, Josh Kennedy, Andrew Gaff
2016Josh Kennedy, Jeremy McGovern
2017Josh Kennedy, Jeremy McGovern, Elliot Yeo
2018Shannon Hurn, Jeremy McGovern, Andrew Gaff, Adam Simpson
2019Shannon Hurn, Jeremy McGovern, Elliot Yeo, Jack Darling

VFL Team of the Year

Prior to 1991 the VFL Team of the Year was announced each year, consisting of the best players during that season in the Victorian Football League.
YearEagles players selected
1987Ross Glendinning
1988John Worsfold
1989Guy McKenna
1990John Worsfold, Chris Lewis

Players and staff

Squad

Coaching staff

Club officials

Rivalries

The club's strongest rivalry is with the Fremantle Football Club, the only other AFL club based in Western Australia. The two teams play off in the Western Derby twice each home-and-away season. Overall, 50 derbies have been played, with the Eagles winning 30 and Fremantle winning 20.West Coast currently hold the record for the most consecutive derby wins after winning their 10th in a row in round 7 of the 2020 AFL season. Derbies usually incorporate a sold-out crowd: the average crowd since the first derby was held in 1995 has been 39,910 people per game, with the average crowd for the past ten games 40,587 people per game, out of a total ground capacity of 43,600 people.
The club's earliest rivalry was with VFL powerhouse the Hawthorn Hawks. This rivalry stemmed from a series of memorable matches in the early 1990s, most notably the 1991 Grand Final. It was considered the first ever interstate rivalry in the competition, although it had fallen to irrelevance in later years. 24 years later in 2015, the two clubs met again in another grand Final, which Hawthorn won in convincing fashion.
Other rivalries include with, and a rivalry with the Sydney Swans, which stems from a series of six matches between 2005 and 2007, including both the 2005 and 2006 Grand Finals, in which the total points difference was 13, the lowest of all-time. This sequence included three one-point matches between the 2006 qualifying final and round one of the 2007 season.

Game and ladder records

Win-loss record

ClubTWLDWin%
482721056.32
†16132184.38
332211066.65
452421253.27
542825151.88
532529046.30
†1596060.00
503020060.00
532626150.00
1191186.36
1183072.70
522824054.90
543717067.90
502822056.10
341519044.45
442618061.46
493018162.24
512130041.18
553618166.09
Totals779442331657.07

AFL Women's team

In September 2017, West Coast Eagles were granted a license by the AFL to compete in the AFL Women's league from the start of the 2020 season. The club shares home games between Lathlain Park, Perth Stadium and Leederville Oval.

Squad

Season summaries

^ Denotes the ladder was split into two or more conferences. Figure refers to the club's overall finishing position that season.

WAFL team

After several years of lobbying by the club, in 2018 the West Australian Football Commission granted permission for the Eagles to field a reserves team in the semi-professional West Australian Football League. For many years beforehand the Eagles had been in an alignment with the East Perth Football Club, and Eagles players not selected for the AFL team were forced to play for East Perth. Under the terms of the agreement with the WAFC, the Eagles are required to play every home and away match at their opponent's home ground, a one-off sign-on fee of $90,000, and an annual contribution to the league of $800,000.

Season summaries

Sources: &