West Coast Eagles’ grand final champion Dom Sheed brings AFL premiership cup to Denmark-Walpole Football Club

The AFL premiership cup made its way to Denmark-Walpole Football Club last week, in the company of West Coast Eagles champion Dom Sheed. The cup’s tour has taken in numerous grassroots clubs in a bid to bring the elite game to the sport’s heartlands and it proved a huge success over two days at McLean Park. It arrived in time for a whole-of-club training evening on August 7 which included a host of activities, including a competition to recreate Sheed’s winning goal in the 2018 grand final. Mental health organisation headspace Albany gave talks to the junior players, explaining how they could spot and help their teammates if they were struggling and how to combat bullying and build resilience. Sheed, who was farewelled by the Eagles at the weekend after announcing his retirement this year, was in Denmark with the cup on August 9 and said the tour had brought him back to his roots. “I was born in Kalgoorlie, and I love coming out to these towns,” he said. “They have a fantastic oval here and it’s nice to be able to give back to the game by coming out to these places. “It makes me feel I’m back home where I grew up.” Passing the cup around the dressing room inspired the Denmark-Walpole senior men’s team to a Great Southern Football League win over North Albany. Denmark-Walpole president Sam Keenan said the cup had been a perfect addition to the club’s other activities on Saturday. The Ben Napier Medal and the Jono Woods Shield were awarded to the best players in the league match, remembering a young talent and a club stalwart who both died before their time.