The West Coast Eagles will this week celebrate its trail-blazing 1992 premiership team.

The Eagles defeated Geelong by 28 points in the Grand Final 30 years ago to become the first non-Victorian club to claim the flag.

Led by a brilliant display from Norm Smith medallist Peter Matera, who produced one of the greatest individual grand final performances in history with five goals from a wing, the Eagles recovered from a sluggish start to claim the mantle.

Trailing by four goals deep into the second quarter, the turning point came when pugnacious forward Tony Evans kicked successive goals to reduce the margin to just 12 points at the main break.

Together with champion forward Peter Sumich, who completed a stunning finals series with a bag of six, Brett Heady, who was swung into the midfield just before half-time, the guile of Dean Kemp and defensive efforts of Glen Jakovich and Guy McKenna the Eagles won 16.17 (113) to 12.13 (85).

Remarkably, the Eagles had just four goal-kickers with hard nut Evans posting three majors and Peter Wilson kicking two, including one miraculous snap over the shoulder as they erased the disappointment of losing to Hawthorn 12 months earlier.

The Eagles pioneers will be celebrated in the lead-up to Saturday’s round 13 clash with Geelong at Optus Stadium and will also be feted on game day.

Coach Mick Maltlhouse, star defender Guy McKenna and midfielder Don Pyke will make the trip west (though Pyke will not be available on game day). Unfortunately a recent heart attack means Matera is unable to travel from the property he now runs in country Victoria.  

This team, compromising wholly WA-produced talent, will be toasted at a lunch at the Crown Grand Ballroom on Friday while on Saturday they will be paraded before the game, giving the club’s faithful the chance to acknowledge them.

Fans are encouraged to arrive early as the 1992 players will be do a lap of Optus Stadium at around 2pm before forming a guard of honour as the current team makes its way onto the ground.

On a day when the club will also assist the fight against MND, with a dunking machine sending stars into an ice slurry, that will also have a 1992 flavour. The identity of those taking the plunge will be revealed as the week unfolds.

And additional reason to arrive early is that the WAFL Eagles will play Subiaco in a curtain-raiser at 11.05am.