The West Coast Eagles will take the AFL Premiership Cup on a regional tour to provide country people with an opportunity to see first-hand the spoils of the recent grand final triumph.
Retired grand final hero Drew Banfield will be the central figure in a tour which has been sponsored by the Department of Sport and Recreation. On some sections of the program, which will see him travel to Esperance in the deep south, Kalgoorlie in the east and Karratha in the north, he will be accompanied by teammates.
Under the Department of Sport and Recreation 'Champions of the Region' scheme, the tour will take in regional centres where the AFL dream of some of the club's players began.
There is a strong country flavour in the West Coast squad with players like Banfield (Quairading), Rowan Jones and Mark Seaby (Mukinbudin), Daniel Chick (Northampton), Adam Hunter (Bunbury), Dean Cox (Karratha), Darren Glass (Northam) and Jaymie Graham (Kalgoorlie) all starting their football journey in rural WA.
Banfield, a dual premiership star who backed up his 1994 flag with a place in the 2006 team, is looking forward to heading to country areas, starting next week.
"I am from the country originally and I know how much it means to a lot of people for us to have won the premiership," he said. "For a lot of reasons most of them couldn't be at the grand final and it's a struggle for them to even get to Perth to watch us play during the season.
"So this is a good opportunity to take the Cup to them and to recognise the role they played in the premiership. It certainly could not have been achieved without the support of so many dedicated fans."
The State Government, through the Department of Sport and Recreation, is supporting the venture which will see the club begin the tour with a trip to Kalgoorlie next Monday.
"The government is happy to support the Eagles in sharing their great achievement with the people of the country," Minster for Sport and Recreation, John Kobelke said.
A highlight of the tour will be visits to local schools, where players will talk to students about the excitement of winning the cup, and the discipline and determination that it took. The players will also be emphasising the importance of regular exercise and how this can help kids achieve better grades in the classroom.
"We are hoping that this visit will also serve to highlight the fact that while it is great to win, sport and recreation can also play a major role in making our community a better place to live by bringing communities together and the Eagles win certainly did that," the Minister said.
Tour datesMonday, November 20: Kalgoorlie (Jaymie Graham and Drew Banfield)Tuesday, November 21: Esperance (Quinten Lynch and Drew Banfield)Wednesday, November 22: Bunbury (Adam Hunter and Drew Banfield)Thursday, November 30: Albany (Drew Banfield)Friday, December 1: Northam (Drew Banfield)Friday, December 4: Karratha (Drew Banfield)Tuesday, December 5: Geraldton (Drew Banfield)
