The West Coast Eagles Junior Reporters have signed off for season 2010, with budding journalists from schools across the state hanging up their microphones as the football season comes to an end.

Run in partnership with the Eagles Rock My School program, the Junior Reporter interviews have given primary students the unique opportunity to grill West Coast players, including rising stars Chris Masten, Ash Smith, Will Sullivan and Lewis Broome.

Selected by their classmates, bold youngsters were given the chance to ask the tough questions and gain personal insight from the players, with interviews covering everything from role models, weird football rituals and inside scoops on teammates.

ERMS co-ordinator Kim Hannah said the Junior Reporter program, introduced in 2010, had been a great extension of the values-based Eagles Rock My School educational visits.

“The whole idea of the Junior Reporters program was to give schools a chance to extend their media programs, which they run as part of their English curriculums,” Hannah said.

“The class would be able to go through the interview process together and then nominate someone with a bit of personality, who were going to ask questions that were a little outside the square and challenge the player, all with a bit fun thrown in.

“The good thing about the program was that we had classes visiting us from country places so we were able to have Exmouth Primary participate. The kids who attended were terrific; the questions had a cheeky fun edge and they were clearly excited by the opportunity and enjoyed the challenge.”

The success of the Junior Reporter interviews looks set to secure its place within the popular Eagles Rock My School program, the club’s main primary school educational initiative. Schools involved in ERMS are entertained with a 40-minute values education presentation by Hannah himself, or one of the schools team officers in former Eagles Brad Smith and David Hynes, with special appearances by club mascot Rick ‘the Rock’ Eagle. As part of ERMS, schools also receive a follow-up visit from a West Coast Eagles player who conducts either a football or reading clinic with students.

Each year, over 200 schools and 50,000 students are visited by the Eagles Rock My School program which is proudly supported by West Coast’s principal community partner BHP Billiton Iron Ore.