Last weekend a group of West Coast Eagles representatives headed to Carnarvon to meet with locals following the devastation caused by Cyclone Olwyn after it wreaked havoc in the town, flattening banana plantations, family homes and community centres.
A delegation of West Coast Eagles representatives, headed by games record holder and current ruck coach Dean Cox, arrived on Saturday to engage the community and hopefully put some smiles on the faces of residents.
Gallery: All the action from West Coast's trip to Carnarvon
Joining Cox was emerging small forward Malcolm Karpany, champion wingman Phil Narkle, who was a member of the club’s inaugural squad in 1987, and former West Coast rookie Jarrod Oakley-Nicholls.
The club has a strong affinity with the region, holding its community camp in the town several years ago, after a similarly devastating system flattened everything in its path.
Over the course of the weekend, the entourage visited several of the heavily affected banana plantations and other areas of the town, as well as engaging in a community event on Saturday afternoon, presenting trophies at a local speedway meeting, all to hopefully give the Carnarvon residents a sense that the club is supporting them through the tough process of rebuilding.
Cox says the visit was short but he left feeling like he’d made a small difference to the people of Carnarvon.
“We had a great time up there, the people were fantastic,” he said.
“The banana plantations have been devastated, they’re going to be out of commission for nearly a year at least, so they’ve really taken a hit.
“But they’re resilient people, and lovely people, they were extremely welcoming to us and couldn’t have made us feel more welcome while we were there.
“We just hope we raised their spirits a little and just let them know that the club is here for them.”