Nic Naitanui, Josh Kennedy, Luke Shuey among Eagles stars taking end of season celebrations to Kalgoorlie Cup
There was no missing some familiar faces over the weekend with West Coast Eagles stars swapping rainy Perth for the Kalgoorlie Cup as part of their end-of-season celebrations.
Nic Naitanui was pictured with a slew of fans at the annual event that in the past has attracted more than 10,000 people.
Donning a colourful and casual shirt, above the knee shorts and some well worn sneakers, the towering ruckman was hard to miss in a crowd of dolled up racegoers.
Naitanui wasn’t the only player spotted in the country town, hosting a pre-event lunch “blockbuster” with teammate Josh Kennedy.
Premiership Eagle Kennedy took an equally casual dress code in shorts, sneakers and a print t-shirt.
Held at the Kalgoorlie City Football Club tickets for the event were $50 which included an auction and raffle.
The duo were reportedly drinking into the early hours of the morning at The Gold Bar, one of Kalgoorlie’s most popular drinking holes with tourists and locals alike.
A party-goer said they did a “shoey with Luke Shuey”, a reference to drinking a beverage from a shoe. Perth’s F1 ace Daniel Ricciardo is synonymous with the celebration, which he performs from the podium.
It comes after a big week for the West Coast players, who travelled to Kalgoorlie for their end of season trip following a disappointing season.
With a talented list the Eagles were expected to contend in season 2021 but fell well below expectation and failed to even secure a finals berth.
The Eagles won just two of their final nine games of the season to crash to ninth spot with a 10-12 record.
Despite the ageing list and question marks over the game plan, Eagles coach Adam Simpson is confident West Coast can rebound in 2022.
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