The West Coast Eagles recently had the honour of welcoming its inaugural members to the Gold Beneath our Wings member recognition sundowner to say thank you for 30 years of loyalty to the club.
Members were invited to attend a tour of the club’s inner sanctum, including the warm up room, the home of the infamous post-match Gatorade shower; the players’ race, where guests were invited to re-enact a run on to the oval; the players’ lounge, where players relax between training sessions; and both the cardio and weights gyms.
After the conclusion of the tour, members were invited up to the John Worsfold Room at Domain Stadium for their sundowner function, hosted by MC Glen Jakovich.
The first guest speaker for the evening was West Coast Eagles’ outgoing chairman Alan Cransberg. The former Swan Districts footballer reminisced about playing Collingwood in a special exhibition match at Waverley Park in 1982 and discussed his memories of the formation of the West Coast Eagles in 1986.
Jakovich later welcomed inaugural West Coast Eagles captain and AFL Hall of Famer Ross Glendinning to the stage. A familiar face to everyone in the room, Glendinning touched on why he made the move from North Melbourne to Perth for the inception of the club and just how different the game of AFL was back in the late 80s.
He also brought in a pair of his old playing shorts to demonstrate that every aspect of the game, including the uniform, had changed significantly over the past 30 years. He also cheekily discussed which inaugural players could and couldn’t still fit into their original guernseys.
Following on from Glendinning’s address, guests were treated to about a preview of the weekend’s upcoming Carlton Draft Derby from current players Brad Sheppard and Eric Mackenzie. They both provided insight into the function of the back line this year.
The West Coast Eagles would like to thank its 30-year members for all their years of dedication and support for the club. We look forward to many more successful years to come.
If you would like more information about the club’s Beneath our Wings member recognition program, please click here.
