Mick Malthouse knew before the club embarked on its 10 season that the winds of change were gathering with the intensity of a stiff Fremantle Doctor.

Many of the club’s senior players had called a halt to their careers after the 1995 campaign and others who continued were nearing the end of glittering careers.

Long-serving vice-captain Michael Brennan, ‘cork in the ocean’ Peter Wilson, ruckman Paul Harding, tough forward Karl Langdon and utility player Paul Peos all retired. Of course the Wilson reference relates to the call from veteran Channel 7 commentator Dennis Cometti when Wilson scored a spectacular goal with a snap over his shoulder in the last term of the 1992 Grand Final.

While all of those players conceded that time was up on their playing journey others who departed included Craig Turley, who was traded to Melbourne, ruckman David Hynes and midfielder Tony Godden defected to Fremantle and Jason Spinks could no longer fight his battle with injury.

While that was the story of the departure lounge, with a number of premiership heroes and revered players bidding farewell, the arrivals terminal boasted some exciting replacements.

In the middle of the 1995 campaign young Wesley College star Ben Cousins announced that he would accept the invitation to join West Coast as a father-son selection. Cousins was in the unique position of being able to play with Geelong, Fremantle or the Eagles because his father, Bryan, played with the Cats and was also eligible to play with either WA club because they had equal claim  under father-son qualifications.

That he selected West Coast as his preferred destination was a boon for the club and he went on to win the 1996 AFL Rising Star Award, the only Eagle to achieve that distinction.

Also joining Cousins as part of an exciting intake of youth was half-forward Andrew Donnelly, who was cut by Sydney in 1994 after just one season on their list and never playing a senior game, as well as pre-draft selection David Wirrpanda, from Healesville in rural Victoria.

Wirrpanda had been a star with the Victoria Country team and was persuaded to uproot and move to Perth by recruiting staff led by Mick Moylan and Gary Merrington who visited the young Indigenous star before the draft.

To assist with Wirrpanda’s move west, his sister Aretha came with him to help him settle in his new home.

In addition to that, Phil Matera, the younger brother of champion wingman Peter, was secured with powerful young West Perth forward Brendon Fewster and Andy Lovell, the only mature player in the group, who was part of the deal that saw Turley transfer to Melbourne.

All of those players had a significant impact while others like Neil Marshall and Craig Smoker also played senior football.

Malthouse recognised, as the 1996 loomed that he would need to reinvent his game plan and cater to a changing list. That became even more evident before the season began and was emphasised further just a few rounds into the new season.

After an interrupted pre-season, Brett Heady was a little ‘underdone’ and was sent to play a WAFL practice game for Subiaco against Claremont in the lead-up to the season. The instruction was to take it easy, enjoy a match hit-out and to build from there.

Unfortunately, the kamikaze Heady played the game instinctively and could not curtail his brave, perhaps reckless approach to the game. He flew with the flight of the ball into an oncoming pack, dislocated his shoulder and was sidelined for six months.  

After a first round victory against Fremantle when the Eagles endured by 22 points, West Coast were pitted against Brisbane in the second game of the season at the WACA Ground. The Eagles had never been beaten by the Bears, but that changed when the visitors scored 26-point upset in their 15^th meeting.

During the last quarter of the derby, utility player Chris Waterman damaged a knee but when medical staff treated a teammate in the changerooms Waterman returned to cover for the loss. He had been ruled out for the game, but no one had told him and he had a partial tear of his ACL which was further exacerbated by his unsanctioned return to action.

Against Brisbane the news worsened, when captain John Worsfold and his close mate Guy McKenna both left the ground with knee injuries. Initially it seemed like McKenna was in most serious peril as he was taken off by stretcher.

Moments later Worsfold jogged from the ground, but their respective modes of exiting the arena defied the extent of their injuries. Worsfold would miss the season after requiring a knee reconstruction while McKenna missed just a couple of weeks.

So, for those young players, the injury situation ensured opportunities and Cousins made his debut in the round four match against Geelong – ironically a club that could so easily have had his services, having barracked for them as a kid.

At 17 years and 295 days he was the youngest debutant in West Coast Eagles history, but that distinction was short-lived.

A week later, when the Eagles played Carlton at Optus Oval, Wirrpanda entered senior football at 16 years and 268 days. Earlier in the week the club announced Malthouse had signed a two-year contract extension and it was hoped the news would generate a burst of enthusiasm and perhaps a victory against the reigning premier.

Unfortunately the Blues again endured by a behind – in controversial circumstances. In the third term rover Tony Evans was deep in defence and sensing the imminent threat from a swarm of Blues players, toe-poked the footy through for a behind.

Greg Williams was applying pressure on his Eagles opponent, threw his arms into the air to claim the goal and the goal umpire awarded it. That heart-breaking defeat left the Eagles sitting at 1-4 after five rounds and in a perilous state.

But Malthouse threw Peter Matera to half-back, where he provided great run and penetration, the young stars rose to the challenge and carried the club to 11 consecutive victories.

There was some remarkable wins in that stretch, including a round nine triumph against Hawthorn when the Eagles conceded 800 games and an average of 3.5 years to the Hawks, but carved out an impressive 34-point victory. Cousins, Donnelly, Wirrpanda, Ian Downsborough and Chad Morrison were all prominent.

Deep into that run the curse of wounded knee struck again when Jakovich, in a game against St Kilda at Subiaco Oval, gathered the ball on the half-back flank, pivoted to turn inside and collapsed to the ground clutching the right knee that buckled beneath him. He would join Worsfold for the arduous 12-month rehabilitation program.

Remarkably the Eagles continued to punch above their weight right down to the last qualifying game when a victory over Sydney would have landed a top two finish. The Swans, however, saw off the challenge and the Eagles were forced into a qualifying final against Carlton.

With Morrison curbing the impact of Anthony Koutoufides and Cousins in brilliant touch, West Coast endured by 55 points.

The Eagles then became victims of an out-dated agreement with the MCC that guaranteed a final every weekend of the finals series at the MCG. So, despite beating Carlton, and Essendon losing its first final, West Coast travelled to Melbourne to play the Bombers.

Kevin Sheedy, a master of manipulation, created the ‘us against them’ scenario, suggesting that Essendon was representing all of Victoria in this game and called for 90,000 locals to get behind the Bombers. The call to arms had the desired effect with 85,656 mainly Essendon fans watching them beat the Eagles by 77 points.