West Coast midfielder Dom Sheed insists there is still plenty to play for in the back half of the season, with the opportunity for the Eagles to build momentum and confidence after a torrid campaign so far.
One of the many absentees from West Coast’s best 22 this year, Sheed is nearing a comeback at senior level and hopes to put his hand up to face Geelong after the AFL bye this weekend.
The 27-year-old has impressed in two WAFL Eagles performances since returning from a long-term ankle injury, picking up 18 touches against East Perth and then 27 last round against Swan Districts, and will face Claremont this Saturday to round out his preparation.
“Feeling pretty good at the moment, so I’ll play WAFL again this weekend and put my hand up for AFL selection the following week,” Sheed told Sportsday WA.
“Big couple of weeks coming up but looking forward to running out there. I think we’ll have 10-plus listed boys play WAFL on the weekend, so that’s exciting as well.”
The WAFL Eagles are winless so far this season after also suffering from the senior team’s lack of availability, but have played with spirit and resilience under coach Rob Wiley.
The silver lining has been plentiful opportunities for youngsters to get a taste of senior football, which should benefit the AFL and WAFL sides down the track.
“We’ve had a bit of a tough run with injuries and COVID, and that’s unfortunately trickled through the AFL team and all the way through to our WAFL team as well,” Sheed said.
“We’re looking forward to getting more players on the park.
“Hopefully we can really attack the back end of this season at both levels and get a few wins on the board to get a bit of momentum going into our next pre-season and season after.
“People think the season is done. Yeah, it’s true we can’t make finals, but what you can do is build a bit of confidence and a bit of a platform to go into next year as well.”
During his rehabilitation, Sheed has been helping raise awareness and funds for the Charlie Teo Foundation and brain cancer research since being closely affected by his mother-in-law Nikki's diagnosis.
“It wasn’t until we looked into it more about how common brain cancer actually is and how little research goes into it, it’s been devastating to see it first hand,” Sheed said.
“We understand a lot of families go through it and it’s not a very good thing to go through for Nikki herself and to see the family go through it.
“We’ve decided to do the Charlie Teo Foundation challenge, which a few of the West Coast boys ran 100km each for the month, which was great, we raised $25,000 there.”
Those wishing to donate can do so by following this link.
