West Coast Eagles
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Template:Infobox aus sport club Image:WCEagleslogo.jpg
The West Coast Eagles Football Club is an Australian Rules Football club that is a member of the Australian Football League.
The club is based at Subiaco Oval in Perth, Western Australia and was formed in August 1986 when the AFL (then the Victorian Football League) decided to include teams from Perth and Brisbane for the 1987 season.
The Eagles won their first official match, a pre-season game against Footscray (now Western Bulldogs) on March 3, 1987. They made their first Grand Final in 1991, and became the first non-Victorian football club to win a Premiership in 1992 and won again in 1994, defeating Geelong on both occasions. Peter Matera and Dean Kemp won the Norm Smith Medal for best on ground in the grand final in 1992 and 1994 respectively.
In 1995, the Fremantle Football Club was formed, heightening competition for the West Australian audience and forming a fierce rivalry to become the Western Derby.
Chris Judd was the first West Coast player to receive Australian Rules Football's highest individual award, the Brownlow Medal, for being the best and fairest player in the AFL in 2004. He also won his first club Best and Fairest award in the same year. In 2005, the Brownlow medal was awarded to captain Ben Cousins, the raging favourite, and teammate Daniel Kerr finished one vote behind, the first time since the 1920's that players from the same team finished 1st and second.
The West Coast Eagles are currently coached by former Premiership captain, John Worsfold and was captained by mid-fielder Ben Cousins till the 20th of February 2006 when Cousins resigned due to off-field problems with the law. On Wednesday March 1, Chris Judd was announced as the replacement captain.
The Eagles spent most of the 2005 season on top of the league table (ladder), but were beaten at home in the final round of the season by then-second-placed Adelaide, who replaced the Eagles at the top of the ladder. They defeated the Sydney Swans in a qualifying final and Adelaide in a preliminary final, and lost to Sydney in the 2005 AFL grand final. Chris Judd, an Eagles fans favourite and a former Brownlow winner, was awarded the Norm Smith Medal for best on ground in the Grand Final.
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Membership Base
In 2005, the Eagles had 42,137 members (seating capacity), a waiting list and an average homeground attendance of 39,750, making them one of the most supported teams in the AFL competition.
Team of the Decade
In 1996, when the AFL was celebrating its 100th year, the West Coast Eagles were celebrating their 10th, and so named a team of the decade:
| Backs: | David Hart | Michael Brennan | Ashley McIntosh |
| Half Backs: | Guy McKenna | Glen Jakovich | John Worsfold |
| Centres: | Peter Matera | Dean Kemp | Chris Mainwaring |
| Half Forwards: | Brett Heady | Mitchell White | Craig Turley |
| Forwards: | Chris Lewis | Peter Sumich | Tony Evans |
| Followers: | Ryan Turnbull | Don Pyke | Dwayne Lamb |
| Interchange: | Chris Waterman | Steve Malaxos | Peter Wilson |
Individual Awards
Best and Fairest
Brownlow Medal winners
- Chris Judd (2004)
- Ben Cousins (2005)
Leigh Matthews Trophy winners
- Ben Cousins (2005)
Sandover Medal winners
- Steve Malaxos (1984) (Claremont)
Norm Smith Medal winners
- Peter Matera (1992)
- Dean Kemp (1994)
- Chris Judd (2005)
Coleman Medal winners
- Scott Cummings (1999)
AFL Rising Star winners
- Ben Cousins (1996)
Goal of the Year winners
- Mark Merenda (2001)
- Daniel Kerr (2003)
- Chris Judd (2005)
Mark of the Year winners
- Ashley Sampi (2004)
Club Jumpers
Template:Boxboxtop Image:West-Coast-6.gif Template:Boxbottom Template:Boxboxtop Image:West-Coast-8.gif Template:Boxbottom These are the 2006 jumper designs. The club's current sponsors are SGIO (Home) and Hungry Jacks (Away).
