Contradictory. If there was one word to differentiate the failed campaign of 1991 to the triumph of 1992, other than premiership, then that is the one.

In 1991 the Eagles dominated the qualifying rounds, won their first 12 games and won the McLelland Trophy as minor premiers. They qualified to host the first final played outside of Melbourne, suffered a hiccup when losing to Hawthorn and were then out-played by the Hawks again in the Grand Final.

That was the story of the matches, but the contrast between those two seasons extended to off-field activities.

Leading into the 1991 qualifying final against Hawthorn, one of the club’s sponsors, 96fm, produced 40,000 masks depicting Craig Turley, who would go on to finish runner-up to Melbourne’s Irish import Jim Stynes in the Brownlow Medal.

But the football department got wind of the initiative and closed it down. Turley’s image was removed and replaced by the Eagles logo as the club tried to douse the hype around the premiership campaign and take the pressure off their pin-up star.

In the lead-up to the 1991 Grand Final, in another attempt to manage the hysteria in Perth, the club put a media ban on its players and also decided to boycott the Grand Final parade through the streets of Melbourne.

Eventually, the Eagles did participate in the parade, but the main squad was in transit when the cars were weaving through the city streets. Instead players who were not playing in the big game greeted fans alongside the Hawthorn cavalcade of stars.

If nothing else, the Eagles learned their lessons and rather than shielding the squad from the attention 12 months later they immersed themselves in the occasion. Despite a change in their travelling routine they arrived in Melbourne on the Thursday evening and soaked up the atmosphere.

And instead of isolating the players from the fans, they took the extraordinary step of walking from the team’s Hilton Hotel – across the road from the MCG – to the ground.

On the way to football’s mecca, which most of the squad could see from their rooms, the Eagles players were taunted by Geelong fans who were in the face of the visitors from the carpark to the changerooms.

Several players, including young gun Glen Jakovich and star midfielders Chris Mainwaring, Dean Kemp and Peter Matera would say later that it further steeled the resolve within the group to take the premiership cup out of Victoria for the first time.

Who would have thought a group of cheeky opposition fans running around the players with banners carrying the motif West Coast Wa…ers would help to motivate the team to the greatest moment in club history.

But there’s no question it was an additional spur and combined with the painful memory of defeat a year earlier played a small part in ensuring the Eagles won their first flag.

While the cub exploded out of the blocks in 1991, the 1992 season started in a stuttered mis-firing nature that saw the Eagles in 10^th position after six rounds, with just two wins and a draw.

It began badly with a disappointing loss to Sydney at the SCG, having beaten the Swans comprehensively in a pre-season clash a few weeks earlier, looked a little brighter a week later with a solid home win against St Kilda, but building momentum was problematic.

The Saints game was notable for the debut of silky-skilled half-forward Daniel Metropolis. He kicked six goals, his first about 40 seconds into the contest, and hit the scoreboard to maximum effect with his first four kicks in senior football.

The Eagles then lost to Geelong at home, could manage only a draw against Brisbane in John Worsfold’s 100^th game, and after winning a one-point thriller against Richmond at the MCG, ran into their nemesis, Fitzroy, at North Hobart Oval, losing by 20 points.

That match proved pivotal to the West Coast success. The players locked themselves away in the rooms post-match and a no-holds-barred assessment of that performance and the broader attitude, saw them turn things around.

Four times during the remaining games the Eagles won four games in a row to build genuine impetus into their year, although some of that momentum appeared extinguished when a sequence of wins mid-season was interrupted by a 66-point loss to St Kilda at Waverley.

The Eagles then had the challenge of playing the top-of-the-table Cats at Kardinia Park and followed one of their worst displays of the year with one of their best. A seven-goal opening term set them on the path to victory and they eventually won by 19 points.

West Coast finished the qualifying rounds with a solid victory against Carlton at home, again setting up with the win with a seven goal opening term. The win meant they finished in fourth position and under the final six system then in operation, they would host Hawthorn in one of two elimination finals.

Third (Collingwood) would also play the sixth-placed (St Kilda) team. The Saints upset Collingwood, the Eagles defeated Hawthorn for the first time in a final and then played Geelong, who dealt with Footscray, in the second semi-final.

The match against the Hawks was another epic encounter against a highly-respected foe. When the Eagles entered the competition they used the Hawks as their prototype and modelled themselves on the modern day superpower.

In a reversal of the game 12 months earlier, Hawthorn kicked the first four goals to take the early ascendancy, but the Eagles rallied on the back of the brilliant Dean Kemp and won a classic by 13 points.

Those results meant Hawthorn and Collingwood were eliminated, with Footscray playing St Kilda in the first semi-final and the Eagles confronting Geelong in their first finals series appearance at the MCG. This time the victory was built around the sublime performance of Peter Matera on a wing. He had 30 kicks, five handballs, seven marks and two goals to steer his team to a 38-point victory.

Peter Sumich also kicked eight goals, while Kemp was also masterful through the middle.

So, it was back to MCG a fortnight later for a re-match with the Cats, who had proven far too strong for Footscray in the preliminary final.

The Cats got away to a strong start and were out by four goals approaching half time. It was then that Karl Langdon and Tony Evans combined for two important goals that edged the Eagles to within 10 points at the long break.

Those inside the rooms that day say there was an absolute resolve within the group that they would win the game. And on the back of some Matera magic, who finished the game with five goals, the move of Brett Heady into the midfield and the influence of Kemp and Sumich the Eagles triumphed by 28 points – 16.17 (113) to 12.13 (85).

The Cup was heading out of Melbourne for the first time.

1992 Premiership Team

B	Chris Waterman	Ashley McIntosh	Guy McKenna
HB	Dwayne Lamb	Glen Jakovich	John Worsfold
C	Peter Matera	Craig Turley	Chris Mainwaring
HF	Karl Langdon	Michael Brennan	Peter Wilson
F	Tony Evans	Peter Sumich	Brett Heady
R	Paul Harding	Dean Kemp	Don Pyke
I	Chris Lewis	Mitchell White