He has experienced the highest of footballing highs, but for Dom Sheed the opportunity to celebrate reaching the 150-game milestone in front of family and friends will be another special occasion on his remarkable AFL journey.
Provided he overcomes a knock to his ankle, as expected, the 28-year-old will qualify for West Coast life membership at Optus Stadium this Saturday afternoon – 10 years after he was recruited via pick 11 overall in the national draft.
“I’m just so grateful to have played one game for this club, let alone 150 and earn life membership, so it’s going to be a special day for me personally and hopefully we can get the win,” Sheed told reporters on Tuesday.
In a twist of fate, the kid from Kalgoorlie is set to reach the milestone against Collingwood, the team he will always be inextricably linked with after his 2018 Grand Final-winning goal delivered the Eagles’ fourth flag.
That match will never be forgotten by anyone with blue and gold running through their veins, and Sheed etched his name into AFL folklore with his piercing set shot from the boundary.
While that moment is something he will reflect upon in greater depth at the end of his career, winning the flag obviously stands out as the most memorable match since the Subiaco product made his debut in round one, 2014.
“There’s a few games which come to mind. Your debut game is always one to remember against the Doggies, that was at home, then the prelim final against North Melbourne in 2015, a few against Port after the siren,” Sheed recalled.
“There’s been so many good games along the journey which I’ve been grateful to be a part of, but winning that flag definitely has to be the best.”
West Coast and Collingwood built a great modern rivalry playing in three finals across 2018 and ’20 before diverging on different paths.
The sides are set to meet again while sitting at opposite ends of the ladder, with the red-hot Pies heading west as premiership favourites under second-year coach Craig McRae.
While it presents a massive challenge for West Coast in five days’ time, Sheed said Collingwood’s trajectory gives the Eagles belief after a difficult few seasons impacted by lack of availability amid a transition of its playing list.
“Both teams have evolved since 2018 and they went down to 17th on the ladder, now they’re back up to the top and are going to be right in the hunt for a premiership and we’re in a transitional, rebuilding phase at the moment,” Sheed said.
“They AFL world can change so quickly so we take confidence away from that and (if) we stick our course and keep doing what we’re doing and stick to our plan we have no doubt we can contend in the next few years.
“It’s going to be an awesome experience for our younger blokes to come up against the best team in the competition at the moment,
“To do it on our home deck in front of hopefully a lot of West Coast fans with a more improved effort once again, hopefully take another step forward as a playing group and test ourselves against the best.”
