Editorial: How fragile and fleeting success can be as two Eagle greats were forced out of the game

An iconic play almost seven years ago cemented their place in AFL folklore and yesterday West Coast faithful packed Optus Stadium to farewell two of their favourite sons. The crowd rose to their feet and waved frantically as Dom Sheed and Jeremy McGovern did a walking lap of honour at the halfway point of the Eagles’ home game against Adelaide yesterday. With their families on the field the stadium echoed with three cheers, a moment the pair will surely treasure forever. Fittingly they were first out the tunnel as they welcomed their former teammates onto the field, who donned ‘golden thread’ t-shirts during the warm-up to commemorate the pair’s involvement in the club’s fourth flag seven years ago. Forever immortalised into AFL history, the duo were at either end of the club’s most famous play, the coast-to-coast movement that clinched West Coast the premiership cup in the 2018 grand final. McGovern took a crucial intercept mark starting a chain that ended with Sheed, who was in the south-east pocket of the MCG as the clock counted down past two minutes in the 2018 decider. A single kick with the greatest amount of pressure on it in the club’s storied history, and indeed, among the most pivotal moments in the sport’s history. Sheed sensed the moment. He understood the assignment. And his drop punt from the boundary to give West Coast a lead that they wouldn’t surrender for the remaining 105 seconds of the match became the stuff of instant legend. The moment captured the imagination of an entire State. The stuff of childhood dreams. And a far cry from the devastation that must have been felt by the forced retirement from the game both loved, just seven years later. Four fans tried to recreate the moment yesterday, with the punter wearing Sheed’s number four kicking perfectly to split the middle, in what was arguably one of the crowd favourites of the afternoon. It’s an end of an era for the club, and a reminder to all of the sacrifices elite players make and the toll our national game takes on the body. In a cruel twist, the pair who played a combined 362 games for West Coast were forced into medical retirement this year. McGovern’s career was ended by the AFL concussion panel in June, less than a year after his maiden club champion award, while Sheed called time later that month after being sidelined with an anterior cruciate ligament injury in what became his final season. The pair have been open about how much they will miss pulling on the boots and running out in front of the Eagles faithful each week, with Sheed recently paying tribute to fans who have stuck with the club during a tough couple of years. But indeed, after all the joy have given to their supporters in return over the last decade it’s only fitting that they got the farewell they deserved. Both McGovern and Sheed have hinted they would like to retain some kind of role in football. And the game would be better for it if they do. Responsibility for the editorial is taken by WAN Editor-in-Chief Christopher Dore