The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and first competed in 1987 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football League. The club plays its home games at Optus Stadium and has its headquarters at Lathlain Park. WA Football wholly owns the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Football Club, the AFL's other Western Australian team.
The West Coast Eagles are one of the most successful clubs in the AFL era (1990 onwards). They have won the equal third most premierships (four, along with , second to and third to Brisbane) of any club in that time and were the first non-Victorian team to compete in and win an AFL Grand Final, achieving the latter feat in 1992. The Eagles have since won premierships in 1994, 2006 and 2018. They are one of the most profitable and influential clubs in the league, and as of 2021 have the second-highest membership total with 107,079 members.
West Coast also fields a women's team in the AFLW competition and a reserves team in the WAFL.
History
West Coast Eagles seasons Year No. P W D L % 1987 22 11 0 11 97.87 1988 23 13 0 10 111.85 1989 22 7 0 15 86.69 1990 26 17 1 8 118.44 1991 26 21 0 5 162.21 1992 25 18 1 6 125.91 1993 22 13 0 9 115.81 1994 25 19 0 6 132.19 1995 24 14 0 10 122.87 1996 24 16 0 8 125.20 1997 24 13 0 11 111.24 1998 23 12 0 11 109.42 1999 24 13 0 11 106.76 2000 22 7 1 14 92.37 2001 22 5 0 17 65.95 2002 23 11 0 12 97.96 2003 23 12 2 9 117.36 2004 23 13 0 10 103.76 2005 25 19 0 6 123.96 2006 26 20 0 6 120.44 2007 24 15 0 9 111.73 2008 22 4 0 18 65.88 2009 22 8 0 14 93.30 2010 22 4 0 18 77.09 2011 25 18 0 7 130.32 2012 24 16 0 8 124.18 2013 22 9 0 13 95.28 2014 22 11 0 11 116.86 2015 25 18 1 6 148.20 2016 23 16 0 7 130.00 2017 24 13 0 11 105.712018 25 19 0 6 121.40 2019 24 16 0 8 112.5 2020 5th 18 12 0 6 117.04 2021 9th 22 10 0 12 93.2 2022 17th 22 2 0 20 59.8 2023 18th 23 3 0 20 53.0 2024 16th 23 5 0 18 68.1 202518th23102260.12026*16th23401969.2
1986–1989: Formation and first years
The West Coast Eagles were selected in 1986 as one of two expansion teams to enter the Victorian Football League (VFL) the following season, along with the Brisbane Bears.WEST COAST: Part Two (1986 to 2007) – Full Points Footy. Archived by the National Library of Australia. Retrieved 16 July 2012. Ron Alexander was appointed as the team's inaugural coach in September 1986, with the inaugural squad, comprising a majority of players from the West Australian Football League (WAFL), unveiled in late October. The Eagles benefitted from a strong WAFL competition and very loose transfer restrictions relative to later expansion teams, with early success seen as a key factor to promoting the new national competition.Brief history – West Coast Eagles. Retrieved 14 July 2012. Ross Glendinning, recruited from , was made the club's first captain as one of the few players with previous VFL experience. The team's first senior match in the VFL was played against at Subiaco Oval in late March 1987, with West Coast defeating Richmond by 14 points.Inaugural Team (Round 1, 1987) – West Coast Eagles. Retrieved 14 July 2012. Having won eleven games and lost eleven games for the season, the club finished eighth out of fourteen teams. At the end of the season, John Todd, the coach of in the WAFL, replaced Alexander as West Coast's coach.Honour Roll – West Coast Eagles. Retrieved 15 July 2012. The club made the finals for the first time in 1988, but lost form the following season, winning only seven games to finish 11th on the ladder.West Coast: Season Summary – AFL Tables. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
1990–1999: Malthouse era and dual premierships
Todd was sacked at the end of the 1989 season, and was replaced by Mick Malthouse, who had previously coached .Stevens, Mark (2011). The years of Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse: Part 1 – The Telegraph. Published 28 September 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2012. With the competition having rebranded itself as the Australian Football League (AFL) at the start of the 1990 season, West Coast finished third on the ladder at the conclusion of the home-and-away season, and progressed to the preliminary final before losing to , having been forced to play four consecutive finals in Melbourne.Foreman, Glen (2011). From class of 1990 to this year's surprise packets: Eagles history is repeating – Perth Now. Published 2 July 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
John Worsfold replaced Steve Malaxos as captain for the 1991 season, and the club finished the season as minor premiers for the first time, losing only three games. In the finals series, West Coast progressed to the grand final, but were defeated by by 53 points. Peter Sumich kicked 111 goals during the season, becoming the first West Coast player to reach a century of goals, as well as the first-ever left-footer.West Coast Goalkicking Records – AFL Tables. Retrieved 15 July 2012. In 1992, West Coast finished fourth on the ladder, but again progressed to the grand final, defeating by 28 points to become the first team based outside Victoria to win a premiership.1992 Premiership Team – West Coast Eagles. Published 16 July 2012. Having slipped to third in 1993, the club finished as minor premiers the following season, and went on to again defeat Geelong in the grand final to win its second premiership in three years.1994 Premiership Team – West Coast Eagles. Retrieved 16 July 2012. In 1995, a second AFL team based in Western Australia, the Fremantle Football Club, with the two clubs' subsequent rivalry branded as the "Western Derby".Heritage Icons: The Western Derby – Constitutional Centre of Western Australia. Retrieved 16 July 2012. West Coast made the finals in every year that remained in the 1990s, but failed to reach another grand final, with a fourth-place finish in 1996 their best result. Worsfold retired at the end of the 1998 season, and was replaced by his vice-captain, Guy McKenna, who served as captain until his retirement two seasons later.Townsend, John (2011). The secret men's club that binds Eagle trio – The West Australian. Published 3 June 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
2000–2005: Struggles, rebuild and Worsfold era
Malthouse left West Coast at the end of the 1999 season to take up the senior coaching position with , and was replaced by Ken Judge, who had been coach of .West Coast Honour Board – Australian Football. Retrieved 16 July 2012. The 2000 and 2001 seasons were marked by a rapid decrease in form after the loss of several key senior players, culminating in a 14th-place in 2001, at the time the worst in the club's history. Round eighteen of the 2000 season marked the club's final match at the WACA Ground, which had been used concurrently with Subiaco Oval since the club's inception.W.A.C.A.: All Games – AFL Tables. Retrieved 16 July 2012. Judge was sacked on 5 September 2001, just days after a 112-point loss to , their 10th loss in 2001 by over 60 points. He was replaced by the club's former captain John Worsfold, who had been serving as assistant coach at .O'Donoghue, Craig (2012). Blues were grooming Worsfold for top job – The West Australian online. Published 25 May 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
The club made the finals in 2002, 2003, and 2004, but each time failed to progress past the elimination final. Ben Cousins was made sole captain of the club in 2002, having shared the role with Dean Kemp the previous season. During this time, the team was boosted by a number of high picks in the AFL draft gained as a result of the previous poor finishes. Chris Judd, who had been taken with pick three in the 2001 National draft, won the Brownlow Medal as the best player in the competition in 2004, becoming the first West Coast player to win the award.Chris Judd claims West Coast's first Brownlow – The Sydney Morning Herald online. Published 21 September 2004. Retrieved 15 July 2012. In 2005, the Eagles won 15 of their first 16 games, and were 20 points clear on top of the ladder at stages, but they eventually slipped to second behind . They progressed to the grand final against , where they were defeated by four points.Victory to the Swans – The Sydney Morning Herald online. Published 24 September 2005. Retrieved 15 July 2012. Chris Judd received the Norm Smith Medal.
For the second consecutive year, the Brownlow Medal was won by an Eagles player, with Ben Cousins and Daniel Kerr finishing first and second, respectively.West Coast skipper claims Brownlow Medal – The Sydney Morning Herald. Published 20 September 2005. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
2006–2010: Third premiership, controversies and final misses
West Coast finished as minor premiers for a third time in 2006, with seventeen wins from 22 games.Wally's Grand Final Call – ABC Radio. Published 5 November 2006. Retrieved 16 July 2012. In the 2006 finals series, the club lost the qualifying final to Sydney by one point, but after defeating the and the Crows in the semi- and preliminary final, respectively, again progressed to the grand final, where the Eagles defeated Sydney by a point in an exact reversal of the score in the qualifying final.Schmook, Nathan (2010). That winning feeling – West Coast Eagles. Published 21 September 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2012. The two grand finals in 2005 and 2006 were part of a series of close games between the two clubs that resulted in a total difference of thirteen points across six games, an AFL record.Cordy, Neil (2012). West Coast Eagles v Sydney Swans: the greatest modern rivalry in the AFL? – Fox Sports. Published 13 July 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
The club finished third during the regular 2007 season, but after a series of late-season injuries lost both its games during the final series. During the past few seasons, the club had been impacted by a series of highly publicised off-field controversies involving allegations of recreational drug use, nightclub assaults, and links to outlawed motorcycle gangs. Michael Gardiner was traded after crashing his car while drunk, and Ben Cousins resigned the captaincy of the club prior to the 2006 season after being charged with evading a police breath test, with Chris Judd taking over as captain. Cousins was sacked at the end of the 2007 season after being arrested for possession of drugs,West Coast Eagles sack Cousins – Herald Sun online. Published 17 October 2007. Retrieved 16 July 2012. while Judd requested to be traded back to Victoria, and was traded to in exchange for a key forward, Josh Kennedy, and several draft picks.Chris Judd trade from West Coast to Carlton finally complete – Adelaide Now. Published 10 October 2007. Retrieved 16 July 2012. Darren Glass, the club's full back since the retirement of Ashley McIntosh in 2003, was then appointed captain.Champion defender Darren Glass new skipper of West Coast Eagles – Perth Now. Published 8 November 2007. Retrieved 16 July 2012. These controversies were followed by a series of poor seasons on-field, culminating in the club's first wooden spoon, after winning only four games in 2010.Schmook, Nathan (2010). Last-kick loss for Eagles – West Coast Eagles. Published 7 August 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2012. The three-year period between 2008 and 2010 was the longest time in the club's history without a finals appearance.
2011–2013: Breakthrough years
Despite predictions of another bottom-four finish in 2011, West Coast won 16 games to finish in the top four, becoming the first team since the in 1998 and 1999 to reach a preliminary final after finishing last the previous season.White, Simon (2011). Eagles on well-trodden flight path – The Sydney Morning Herald. Published 12 July 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2012.