West Coast Eagles: How the VFL created a monster | AFL Team Builders

Alongside the Brisbane Bears, West Coast was the face of the VFL's bold expansion into non-Victorian territory. Initially, they were feared and despised by both sides of the country, and while it didn't take long for the Eagles to be an on and off field powerhouse, the early days were filled with challenges and controversies.
In this third episode of AFL Team Builders, inaugural figureheads John Walker (CEO), Ron Alexander (coach) and Ross Glendinning (captain) detail just how difficult the early days were for the ground-breaking Eagles.
Hosted by Niall Seewang
Produced by Phoenix Trinidad
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EPISODES:
Sydney Swans: LIVE
Brisbane Bears: LIVE
West Coast Eagles: LIVE
Adelaide Crows: July 23
Fremantle Dockers: July 30
Port Adelaide Power: August 06
Gold Coast Suns: August 13
GWS Giants: August 20
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[@Scotty_Thomo]

Great doco, lads 👍 our history makes me a proud WCE supporter: 7 GF's for 4 premierships, that despite a history, especially early days, of Victorian biases, lack of concessions, home finals in Victoria. A great club 💙🦅💛

[@timmogensen6101]

the best club!

[@BDub2024]

The Eagles joined to save WA football industry, and only the EAgles and Dockers exist for the WA footy industry and WAFL. To barrack for a team 2000km is ridiculous.

[@brucerogers2943]

Nice work on the West Coast Eagles, and thank you. BUT Our first Premiership was 1992 not 1991. Second 1994.

[@owendavies7452]

Most hard earnt Premiership in the AFL as well. It was like the Force Vs The Dark Side IMO 😅

[@seanchristie7150]

Fantastic bit of AFL history

[@n1ck1985]

What a story! Great job on this series fellas.

[@matthewhutchinson1167]

Outstanding work man. Keep up the good work.

[@BDub2024]

West Coast Eagles was the original team for anyone that love the WAFL and supported WA football. Bizarrely increasingly over time, people returned to Victorian supported teams. Especially those that didn't like Malthouse's temperament and those who tended to be conservative and preferred the status quo pre AFL. But fact is that VFL was ripping off WA footy and without the Eagles the WAFL and WA football industry would have gone under. If you're a believer in WA football and a Sandgroper then there should be little alternative but to barrack for the Eagles or Dockers - its that simple. To barrack for the 16 other teams, is basically supporting a club 2000km away who rarely plays in Perth and tries to avoid it where possible. And furthermore does anything in its power to weaken the WA footy industry.

[@paulwilliams-or8hq]

Bs you support who you want

[@sdro1o]

Great work, this was very insightful.

[@smartoperator7716]

Good work on these videos

[@user-vz5cq7ey2c]

It's just how I've perceived the situation, but the Eagles in the 1987-1999 period were like certain groups fighting for the right to vote. Even in 1994 and West Coast winning the minor Premiership and hosting rights of the preliminary. Melbourne based clubs spat the dummy cause it was played in Perth. We had finals earned in 1996 and 1999 stolen sadly.

[@StuAus]

Imagine the AFL doing an equality study back then hahaha.

[@chinathesideyoudontsee8157]

I heard that not only did the Eagles need to pay $4 million they also had to pay for the flights and accommodation of all Victorian teams who traveled to WA for the first couple of seasons !

[@paulfromperth5713]

I think “Perth” should be added to the West Coast Eagles logo and on the top back of the jumpers. I don’t mean change the name of the club just adding the Perth name. People overseas do not know where the club is from.

[@mikespearwood3914]

Why are people overseas relevant? And "West Coast" is pretty self-explanatory. The bigger confusion is clubs like Footscray calling themselves "Western". Now followed by "Western United" in the A-League. Try explaining THAT to a foreigner!

[@trship6274]

I don’t understand the Graeme Moss story - he didn’t play for the Eagles…

[@Scotty_Thomo]

@@trship6274 seemed like an unnecessary aside story

[@ZeroHangerAFL]

Moss was the GM of the WCE in 1987 - probably could have been explained better!

[@jlrob85]

Always found it funny they were never called the Perth Eagles

[@jlrob85]

The talent pool isn’t big enough for a 19th team. Gold Coast and North should merge and move to Tassie and both Sydney teams should merge. 16 teams max

[@paulfrench7179]

Fold north bulldogs or the saints first

[@paulfrench7179]

All weak as piss in spite of that Hail Mary premiership in 2015

[@malmakk1509]

What a load of crap. For a national comp, we need two clubs in SE Queensland.

[@eddielong8663]

Dude. Stop trying to be cool. You know that the Devils are a done deal now and there's no overturning it. The State made it crystal clear that it's either brand new club or nothing. And the AFL finally listened. They won you lost. Get over it.

[@sandrafowler6717]

West Coast will keep Harley Reid, North Melbourne can't afford him.

[@warrenpitt6205]

No dockers?!!

[@ZeroHangerAFL]

Coming soon! ⏳⚓

[@FoLlOwThEwHiTeRaBbIt1]

WHO?

[@Rassskle]

The VFL did create a monster with the AFL and new teams.....and then stupidly handed the controls to an interstate loser, a wallflower. ( think he was Sth Australian but might have been from WA ). Everything Ross Oakley touched turned to shyte.....worse if he originated it. Every team i know of had just as difficult a start as The Eagles, and most VFL clubs had it even tougher. No way they would make it easy for a new club to be established easily. To make it to the top you must earn it. All the VFL expansion clubs did it a lot tougher than the Eagles or any other interstate club that followed. Footscray ( the Western Bulldogs ) are still fighting to be established, Nth Melbourne got themselves established in the 1970's via dubious political manouvering, but are now back to square one.....now the political support is no longer propping them up. Fitzroy built themselves into a powerhouse from nothing.....a poor club in the poorest of locations that succeeded until politics and bad management killed it. Sth Melbourne was originally gilded with gold leaf , until bad management turned the gold to marzac. Then politics ( Jeff Kennett ) sold the club out in favour of his preferred Soccer club . Jeff tried to do worse to Hawthorn but the members defeated him. Then the Hawthorn board was bought out by Kennett and his gangster bosses from the Demons, and Kennett was made president of Hawthorn, the club he had just tried to destroy by giving it and all its wealth ( property ) to the Demons. There was never any sale here, the Melbourne Footy Club was to inherit all of Hawthorns recent success, history, glory and wealth for nothing.....a gift. Thank god the members voted NO while the vichy committee was demanding and then pleading for the YES vote . I hope none of those traitors ever got paid what they were promissed for a YES vote.

[@jeremybean-hodges6397]

"Everything Ross Oakley touched turned to shyte.....worse if he originated it." Thoroughly disagree. When Oakley took over, in 1986, the clubs (and the VFL) were in massive trouble. Footscray, Richmond, Fitzroy and the Saints were all rattling tins; Melbourne and Geelong were not in great shape either. The wealthy clubs basically shared the flags. When he signed off at the end of 1996, most of those clubs were on a positive financial footing, the draft and salary cap had started to equalise the system, and the competition had become nationally dominant. Players were now full-time professionals, and the white elephant of Waverley was on the way out for the city-centric Docklands.