West Coast Eagles

The West Coast Eagles is one of the latest clubs to join the Australian Football League and is also the youngest among all Rules Football teams. The team was founded in the August of 1986 and is based at Subiaco Oval in Perth. Although the West Coast Eagles are one of the youngest teams in the Australian Football League, they have emerged to be one of the most successful teams playing the game, often outshining their older rivals. In spite of Subiaco Oval being their home ground, in its early days the team had to play games at the WACA, because Subiaco Oval was not in good shape then. The team's saga of glory began very soon after its formation and 1992, 1994 and 2006 saw the Eagles emerge as winners of the league championships. They also made their Grand final appearances in 1991 and 2005, when they ended as runner ups.

The team owes its formation to the desperate bid on the part of the West Australian Football League to revive rules football in Western Australia. The situation so stood that there were no teams in the VFL to represent Western Australia and no good players from this part to take part in the league. Salvation came when the VFL faced financial constraints and agreed to include one team from the region and revive its financial situation. The best way to achieve this was to carve out a team from Western Australia and include them in the VFL, thus leading to the formation of a new team at Brisbane. The club was officially named the West Coast Eagles in a flashy ceremony in 1986 and the team colors and the new squad was announced. It was a mixed squad consisting of players both from the WAFL and the VFL and was spearheaded by Ross Glendinning. They won their first official match against Footscray and gave hints of a shining future that lay ahead.

Under the coaching of the legendary John Todd, West Coast eagles improved drastically and 1988 saw the team emerge as a strong competitor in the VFL but 1989 disrupted this success temporarily when injuries led to a series of consecutive losses. The numerous losses also gave rise to talks of abandoning the team, but the West Coast Eagles revived their status and sealed many victories in the last season of 1989. The 90's saw a new winning streak affect the players of the team and the team transformed into a serious rules football team under the coaching of Mick Malthouse. But true victory came under captain John Worsfold when a spirited West Coast Eagles side won a record number of games. After a very successful 1991 season, the Eagles managed a legendary win in the 1992 finals beating hawthorn in a truly classic setting. The feat was once again repeated by the club in 1994 when they won against Geelong.

However, after the stupendous show of the 90's, the West Coast Eagles faced a slump in performance under the guidance of Ken Judge in 2000 but the situation was sought to be remedied when the team was put under the coaching of John Worsfold, the most successful captain of the team. Worsfold made a losing team win the premiership title of 2006 and left many critics, fans and supporters surprised.