They held the premiership cup aloft together in 2018 and West Coast senior coach Adam Simpson says former skipper Shannon Hurn deserves every bit of recognition as he prepares to become the Eagles’ first 300-game player on Saturday.
An unassuming and understated character, Hurn has already been thrust in the limelight this season when he broke champion ruckman Dean Cox’s club games record in his 291st appearance against Greater Western Sydney in round 10.
Now the 33-year-old is set to add 300-game player to his career achievements, which includes All Australian blazers in 2018 and ’19, three Glendinning-Allan Medals and two top-three placings in the club champion award.
“I think he’s a little disappointed we couldn’t bundle it all (the attention) up a few weeks ago when he broke the record,” Simpson quipped on Channel Seven.
“He’s a very humble man, he keeps a low profile, but he’s got tremendous presence at the club and he’s a legacy player for us.
“Every accolade that comes to him he deserves; he just doesn’t like the attention.
“He just wants to get on with playing footy.”
Unfortunately, Hurn is set to break the milestone in front of an empty MCG against Collingwood with no fans allowed into matches in Victoria currently.
But that won’t matter to the team-first half-back, with the Eagles eyeing a crucial game in their bid to secure a finals berth for the seventh-straight season.
West Coast is holding seventh spot on the ladder, two wins clear of four clubs outside the top eight, but can ill-afford any slip-ups in the last four matches on the run home.
“We’re probably competing with six other teams at the moment and we’ve got a slight advantage with a couple of wins but that can dry up pretty quick,” Simpson said.
“Every game is huge now.”
The Eagles are expecting to lose electric small forward Liam Ryan (hamstring) for several weeks but could regain Jack Petruccelle from a similar issue, while important midfielder Jack Redden is also close to returning from a leg issue.
“I think Redden is probably the most likely. Petruccelle is half a chance as well. We’re still working through the injury list at the moment,” Simpson said.
“Unfortunately we’ll lose Liam for a few weeks. Still waiting on the scans, but it looks like a standard three-weeker to us.”
