The West Coast Eagles swooped the rural town of Narrogin earlier this year as part of the AFL Community Camps program.

The annual camps have taken the football club all across our vast, brown state with the club visiting Albany, Kalgoorlie, Busselton, Esperance and Geraldton since the project began in 2003.

This year, the wheatbelt community of Narrogin turned on its hospitality during the two-day West Coast visit, kicking the camp off with a civic reception at the John Higgins Community Complex which included a special welcome from Noongar elder Beryl Kickett.

After the long bus ride, the players happily tucked in to the wonderful lunch provided and prepared for the many community activities planned.

A group of players including Ashley Hansen and Brett Jones made their way to Narrogin Senior High School for a special assembly, while Darren Glass and Andrew Embley took off to the Narrogin Nursing Home and enjoyed afternoon tea with patients and staff.

The Narrogin Hospital welcomed Matt Priddis’ group with open arms and turned on the charm, introducing the players to Narrogin’s youngest resident.

Quinten Lynch and Matt Rosa paid a visit to the Karrinya Frail Aged Hostel and chatted with some very dedicated Eagles supporters.

It was Beau Waters and Sam Butler who had the privilege of visiting Coral Ballantyne at her home.

The 94-year-old fan was taken by complete surprise when her heroes (and a hefty media contingent!) walked through the front door and quickly got down to business, offering tips and tricks to the boys on how to win the 2008 premiership.

The player group reassembled after the community visits for a solid training session at Narrogin Oval, welcoming youngsters from the Katanning Football Club onto the field, among them Lawrence Collard.

“It was great,” Lawrence enthused after his session with the pros. “An excellent experience to run around with the big boys, a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I reckon.

“I want to play AFL, hopefully. I’d like to move up to Perth next year. We’re zoned to South Fremantle down here; there’s millions of Collards playing for Souths!”

With Beau Wilkes earning his spot on the West Coast rookie list following a similar training session during the 2003 community camp in Albany, it may only be a matter of time before a Narrogin local joins the squad.

Following the training session, footy players, umpires, coaches and administrators from Narrogin and surrounding towns were given the opportunity to learn from the best in the business when West Coast players and staff led football forums targeting coaches, trainers and young players.

The locals made the most of their chance to gain an insight into the workings of a professional football club, discussing everything from tactics and strategies, to strapping and massage, to WAFL clubs and national drafts.

Later that evening, the town turned out in force to attend the panel night where club leaders Dean Cox, Ashley Hansen, Matt Priddis and Daniel Kerr answered hard-hitting questions fired by match committee chairman Tim Gepp.

The second panel of Quinten Lynch, Darren Glass, Peter Sumich and John Worsfold discussed the future direction of the club and our chances of winning the holy grail.

The player group were up early the next morning to welcome children from Narrogin and surrounding towns to a superclinic at Clayton Road Oval.

Boys and girls got up close and personal with their favourite West Coast players while learning vital football skills such as handballing, kicking and marking.

After a final autograph session the players piled back onto the bus, leaving the people of Narrogin with fond memories.

As a town which has produced the likes of Darren Glass as well as the Matera brothers, the players felt a strong affinity with such a strong footballing community and became completely immersed in the local scene over the two-day visit.

Senior coach John Worsfold said the team made the most of the opportunity to do something different after a tough pre-season.

“The players can get very close to the people of the town, because there aren’t thousands that are out there, and the people who do make the effort to come down get really close contact with the players, the kids especially,” he said.

“This is a time when the players can see the impact they have on communities and on people, so that’s a part they really enjoy. With the kids in the schools and the people in the aged hostels, that sort of thing, that’s the part they really love, just to see the smiles that they put on people’s faces.”