163-732: Michael Raymond Malthouse (born 17 August 1953) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach, who played for the St Kilda Football Club and Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). After finishing his playing career, Malthouse embarked on a distinguished coaching career with Footscray , West Coast , Collingwood and Carlton . He guided the Eagles to their first two AFL premierships in 1992 and 1994 , and then led Collingwood to their 15th VFL/AFL premiership in 2010 . Early in
326-638: A dominion , leagues were also established in the major cities. This renewed popularity helped encourage the formation of the Australasian Football Council , which in 1908 in Melbourne staged the first national interstate competition, the Jubilee Australasian Football Carnival , with teams representing each state and New Zealand. The game was also established early on in the new territories. In
489-529: A series of close games between the two clubs that resulted in a total difference of thirteen points across six games, an AFL record. 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
652-412: A central and outer post (worth one point, otherwise known as a "behind"). During general play, players may position themselves anywhere on the field and use any part of their bodies to move the ball. The primary methods are kicking , handballing and running with the ball. There are rules on how the ball can be handled; for example, players running with the ball must intermittently bounce or touch it on
815-517: A century. State of Origin rules, introduced in 1977, stipulated that rather than representing the state of their adopted club, players would return to play for the state they were first recruited in. This instantly broke Victoria's stranglehold over state titles and Western Australia and South Australia began to win more of their games against Victoria. Both New South Wales and Tasmania scored surprise victories at home against Victoria in 1990. The term " Barassi Line ", named after VFL star Ron Barassi ,
978-399: A coaching handover deal the equivalent of a sacking? Malthouse said: “Yeah, I do, I have always thought that”. Malthouse then stated that the director of coaching job description role he had agreed to in the middle of 2009 was nothing like how it was going to look in actuality at the end of 2011. “I must have spoken to Nathan Buckley, I can’t remember when, and he said ‘Look, I don’t want you in
1141-530: A further sensational mark by first year player Liam Ryan saw Dom Sheed score a goal from a tight angle to put the Eagles 4 points in front. The Eagles went on to win 79 to 74, claiming their fourth premiership in front of 100,022 at the MCG . Luke Shuey won the Norm Smith Medal. The Eagles started their 2019 premiership defence in indifferent fashion, suffering three heavy defeats in the first six weeks of
1304-419: A game for either medical or tactical reasons. Players on the playing surface can be swapped with those on the interchange bench at any time. They must though pass through a designated "Interchange Area". In the event a player fails to pass through this area correctly, or if too many players from one team are found to be on the ground at a time, a free kick will be awarded to the opposing side. While there
1467-703: A game more suited to adults and Australian conditions, the Melbourne Football Club published the first laws of Australian football in May 1859. Australian football has the highest spectator attendance and television viewership of all sports in Australia, while the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's only fully professional competition, is the nation's wealthiest sporting body. The AFL Grand Final , held annually at
1630-474: A game that is virtually unrecognisable is testament to his insatiable appetite to compete and win". Former West Coast Eagles CEO Brian Cook , who worked with Malthouse at the helm of Malthouse's tenure as senior coach of West Coast Eagles stated "His dedication and his determination are old-school values which he certainly had as a young coach. He was very consistent and very dogmatic and always had his own way about how he wanted his players to train and play. He
1793-403: A key forward, Josh Kennedy , and several draft picks. Darren Glass , the club's full-back since the retirement of Ashley McIntosh in 2003, was then appointed captain. 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. The three-year period between 2008 and 2010 was the longest time in
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#17327977843021956-463: A local plasterer, and his wife Marie (née Canty), the year after their marriage. He also has a younger sister, Gerardine. Recruited from North Ballarat , Malthouse started his football career with St Kilda in 1972, playing 53 senior games including three finals. After being told by then-senior coach Allan Jeans that he would struggle to get a game in the senior side due to a surfeit of similar-skilled players, he departed for Richmond midway through
2119-399: A mark is taken, a small protected zone is established on the field, extending 10 metres (11 yd) either side of "the mark" and the player who marked the ball, with a small protected corridor between "the mark" and the player. The opposition player is permitted to jump, but is not allowed to move from their position on "the mark". Any other movements result in a distance penalty (50 metres in
2282-483: A more heavily stylised wedge-tailed eagle. The club's current and former logos have all incorporated a stylised eagle's head, always facing east (i.e. towards the right, where east appears on most maps) to represent the eagle eyeing off its prey in the eastern states. As part of the AFL's Mascot Manor program, a bald eagle club mascot , Rick "The Rock", was created in 2003 to promote the club to junior players. The mascot
2445-441: A place in the finals after Essendon were relegated to ninth position after being penalised for their well-documented supplements scandal . A one-point win over Port Adelaide in the final round prevented North Melbourne from overtaking Carlton on percentage. Carlton subsequently defeated Richmond in its elimination final, thus making Malthouse the most successful finals coach ever. However, Carlton under Malthouse were eliminated by
2608-512: A player breaks a rule, a free kick is awarded to the opposing team, from the location that the misconduct occurred, or the ball's current location—whichever is closer to the team's scoring zone. As when a mark is taken, this location is called "the mark", and the same protections regarding the space apply. West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth , Western Australia. The club
2771-566: A proposed hybrid code of Australian football and rugby league , the predominant code of football in New South Wales and Queensland, was trialled without success. In Queensland, the state league went into recess for the duration of the war. VFL club University left the league and went into recess due to severe casualties. The WAFL lost two clubs and the SANFL was suspended for one year in 1916 due to heavy club losses. The Anzac Day match ,
2934-888: A pupil at Rugby School in England, and returned to his homeland a star athlete and cricketer. Two weeks later, Wills' friend, cricketer Jerry Bryant , posted an advertisement for a scratch match at the Richmond Paddock adjoining the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). This was the first of several "kickabouts" held that year involving members of the Melbourne Cricket Club , including Wills, Bryant, W. J. Hammersley and J. B. Thompson . Trees were used as goalposts and play typically lasted an entire afternoon. Without an agreed-upon code of laws, some players were guided by rules they had learned in
3097-399: A record of 12–5 at the end of Round 18. Despite being undefeated at their Perth home ground during the regular season, the Eagles bowed out in the first week of the finals after an upset one-point defeat to Collingwood in the first elimination final at Optus Stadium. The 2021 season proved to be the end of a successful era for the Eagles. West Coast struggled to find their best form throughout
3260-447: A row, again to Brisbane, this time by a margin of 50 points, where the final score was Brisbane Lions 20.14 (134) to Collingwood 12.12 (84). In the 2004 season , Collingwood's on-field performance under Malthouse dropped when they finished thirteenth with eight wins and fourteen losses. In the 2005 season , Collingwood went from bad to worse when they finished fifteenth (second-last) on the ladder with five wins and seventeen losses. In
3423-505: A second-tier status. The VFA merged with the former VFL reserves competition in 1998, adopting the VFL name. State of Origin also declined in importance, especially after an increasing number of player withdrawals. The AFL turned its focus to the annual International Rules Series against Ireland in 1998 before abolishing State of Origin the following year. State and territorial leagues still contest interstate matches, as do AFL Women players. In
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#17327977843023586-464: A select few ways as defined by the Laws of Australian Football, published by the AFL. The ball can be propelled in any direction by way of a kick or a clenched fist (called a handball )—deemed a correct disposal. Failure to dispose of the ball in one of these two methods will result in a free kick to the opposing team. If the ball is not currently in a player's possession, it can be moved legally through
3749-454: A senior VFL coach so soon after, although he had harboured intentions to coach at some level. Nonetheless, he was able to lay out his basic philosophy: My plans are all orientated on a team game. [...] I'm not looking for individual performances: I'm looking for consistency and at players who can coordinate off and on the field — particularly on the field. During his time at the Bulldogs he
3912-620: A similar situation existing in Western Australia in the sport, the VFL pursued a more national competition. Two more non-Victorian clubs, West Coast and Brisbane , joined the league in 1987 generating more than $ 8 million in license revenue for the Victorian clubs and increasing broadcast revenues which helped the Victorian clubs survive. In their early years, the Sydney and Brisbane clubs struggled both on and off-field because
4075-498: A slightly modified version of the Victorian game in 1879. The South Australian Football Association (SAFA), the sport's first governing body , formed on 30 April 1877, firmly establishing Victorian rules as the preferred code in that colony. The Victorian Football Association (VFA) formed the following month. Clubs began touring the colonies in the late 1870s, and in 1879 the first intercolonial match took place in Melbourne between Victoria and South Australia . To standardise
4238-473: A supporter fightback, and Malthouse was criticised by his assistant coach Terry Wheeler for not sticking by his club during its time of need. Wheeler then replaced Malthouse as Footscray Football Club senior coach. Malthouse then replaced John Todd as West Coast Eagles senior coach, at the end of the 1989 season , after Todd was sacked when the Eagles struggled and finished eleventh on the ladder with seven wins and fifteen losses. For ten years from 1990, he
4401-406: A technique known shepherding when the ball is within 5 metres (5.5 yd) of an opposition player. Shepherding involves the use of a player's body to push, bump or otherwise block an opposition player, providing they do not have possession of the ball. If a player takes possession of the ball that has travelled more than 15 metres (16 yd) from another player's kick, by way of a catch within
4564-584: A third time in 2006, with seventeen wins from 22 games. In the 2006 finals series , the club lost the qualifying final to Sydney by one point, but after defeating the Western Bulldogs and the Adelaide 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. The two grand finals in 2005 and 2006 were part of
4727-427: A uniform code known as "Victorian rules". In 1866, the "first distinctively Victorian rule", the running bounce , was formalised at a meeting of club delegates chaired by H. C. A. Harrison , an influential pioneer who took up football in 1859 at the invitation of Wills, his cousin. The game around this time was defensive and low-scoring, played low to the ground in congested rugby-style scrimmages. The typical match
4890-674: Is Slow but the Earth is Patient . Malthouse joined 3AW and Seven Network in media roles after finishing coaching at Collingwood. In 2012, La Trobe University appointed Malthouse as a Vice Chancellor's Fellow. As a leader and mentor, Malthouse works with staff, students and the community and leads the development of sport at the university – including programs to support La Trobe's academic programs in sports journalism, sports management, physiotherapy podiatry and other sports related academic programs. Malthouse wrote an opinion piece, "Academia and Experience", about his approach to his new role which
5053-538: Is a position in most AFL clubs give to a well-known supporter of the club. West Coast's website lists "longevity of service", "passion for the club", "contribution to the community of Western Australia" and "the level at which they are recognised in their chosen profession by the community" as criteria for the position. Number-one ticket holders generally serve for two years. West Coast's official colours are royal blue and gold. The club had previously used navy blue in place of royal blue between 1995 and 2017, but returned to
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5216-583: Is also responsible for sponsoring FootyWILD, a program similar to Auskick held in KwaZulu-Natal , a province of South Africa . The club's official team song is "We're the Eagles", composed by Kevin Peek , a former member of the progressive rock band Sky , and initially recorded at Peek's studio in Roleystone . The current version of the song goes as follows: The original 1987 version, which
5379-476: Is also traditionally played at home games after wins. The West Coast Eagles had its original primary training and administration base at Subiaco Oval from 1987 until 2019, the club then moved its primary training and administration base to Mineral Resources Park in 2019. Players who have played 150 games for the club are automatically inducted as life members of the club. Other players, administrators and coaches that have made an outstanding contribution to
5542-405: Is analogous to a basketball center and as such rucks are typically the tallest player on the team. Lifting teammates is not allowed so the ruck may only jump to reach the ball. If the ruck does not take possession of the football, it must must be tapped or fisted, which is known as a hit-out. An effective hit-out that passes the ball to a teammate is known as a hit-out to advantage. In the event
5705-444: Is in part named after the song. A real wedge-tailed eagle, Auzzie, has flown around the field before matches at West Coast home games since 2007. In 2018, the Eagles' home guernsey saw a return of the club's former 'royal blue' design used prior to 1999, updated to feature the club's new logo. The club's away strip, which already used a variation of the design with the royal blue and gold colours swapped around, as updated to feature
5868-481: Is known about these early one-off games, evidence does not support a causal link with Australian football. In Melbourne , in 1858, in a move that would help to shape Australian football in its formative years, private schools (then termed " public schools " in accordance with nomenclature in England) began organising football games inspired by precedents at English public schools . The earliest match, held on 15 June,
6031-460: Is known as the Goal Line. Around the perimeter of the field, two white lines are drawn between the set of behind posts in an arc-shape, marking the field of play. Other field markings include: The 50m arcs, centre square, centre circle and goal square are used at the beginning of each quarter or after each goal. With each team permitted a maximum of six players in each 50m arc, with one in
6194-470: Is no set uniform, the basic equipment for Australian football consists of a guernsey, shorts, socks and boots, with additional pieces of apparel such as headbands and gloves additionally being permitted. Players may wear certain pieces of protective equipment, such as helmets or arm guards, if approved by the relevant controlling body. Mouthguards are strongly recommended for all players. Players are not permitted to wear jewellery, or other materials which
6357-493: Is officiated by at least five match officials, known as an umpire . These match officials are placed into three categories based upon their roles and responsibilities, with varying minimum numbers of Umpires required depending on position: At AFL level, a video score review system is utilised. Only umpires are permitted to request a review, and only scoring shots and potential scoring shots are permitted to be reviewed. An Australian rules football may only be propelled forward in
6520-783: Is used. The ball must be inflated to a pressure of 69 kilopascals (10.0 pounds per square inch). There are no defined laws regarding what material a ball must be made from, but standard AFL match-used balls are produced by Sherrin using cowhide leather. While there is no standard colour of the ball, red and yellow are most common and the only colours used at AFL level. Yellow is used for games beginning after 3 pm or in an enclosed stadium, due to its greater visibility, and to assist score reviews. Unlike other forms of football which are played on rectangular fields, Australian rules football playing fields are oval-shaped, and are between 135 and 185 metres (148 and 202 yd) long and 110 and 155 metres (120 and 170 yd) wide. At either end of
6683-439: The 2006 season , Collingwood under Malthouse returned to the finals series after finishing fifth on the ladder, but were defeated in the elimination final by Western Bulldogs by 41 points. In the 2007 season , Collingwood made the finals again, but were eliminated by the eventual premiers Geelong in the preliminary final by five points. In the 2008 season , Collingwood returned to the finals but were eliminated by St Kilda in
Mick Malthouse - Misplaced Pages Continue
6846-422: The 2010 season , Malthouse guided Collingwood to a premiership win after the first drawn AFL/VFL grand final since 1977 , where Collingwood claimed premiership success with a resounding 56-point win over St Kilda in the replay of the 2010 AFL Grand Final , where the final score was Collingwood 16.12 (108) to St Kilda 7.10 (52). This was the club's biggest ever win in a grand final and its first since 1990. In
7009-407: The 2011 AFL Grand Final to Geelong by a margin of 38 points, where the final score was Geelong 18.11 (119) to Collingwood 12.9 (81). The game was his final one as Collingwood senior coach, as Malthouse handed the coaching reins to assistant coach Nathan Buckley after the game, as part of the planned transition under the two year succession plan. Malthouse also stated that he would not be taking on
7172-542: The 2011 season , Malthouse guided Collingwood to another grand final, this time against the Geelong Cats. After a dramatic three-point win over Hawthorn in the preliminary final, he was shown on TV in tears in the coach's box after his side came from 17 points down at the final change to book their place in Malthouse's fifth grand final as Collingwood Football Club senior coach and his eighth overall. Collingwood lost
7335-474: The 2015 AFL season , Malthouse broke the long-standing record held by legendary Collingwood coach Jock McHale for the most VFL/AFL senior games coached, eventually finishing with 718 over 31 seasons. Since the end of his coaching career, Malthouse has continued his involvement in football through his media commitments, especially with ABC Radio . Malthouse was born in Ballarat, Victoria , to Ray Malthouse,
7498-432: The 2015 Grand Final , their first since 2006 , only to lose to Hawthorn by 46 points. The following season ended up being a disappointment, with the team failing to produce another top 4 finish in spite of a late form reversal. In their elimination final, the heavily favoured Eagles were defeated at home by the Western Bulldogs , who went on to claim the 2016 premiership. In 2017, West Coast finished in eighth position on
7661-497: The 5AA sports show with Graham Cornes and Stephen Rowe . In 2016, Malthouse replaced Dermott Brereton as a commentator of matches on SEN 1116 as well as being named coach of The Recruit . After being fired by SEN at the end of 2017, Malthouse joined the ABC as a commentator on its football coverage. Malthouse was quoted as saying he would like a senior coaching role with Cricket Australia. He has released an autobiography, The Ox
7824-595: The Melbourne Cricket Ground , is the second-highest-attended club championship event in the world . The sport is also played at amateur level in many countries and in several variations . Its rules are governed by the AFL Commission with the advice of the AFL's Laws of the Game Committee. Australian rules football is known by several nicknames, including Aussie rules, football and footy. In some regions, where other codes of football are more popular,
7987-493: The Sydney Swans in the semi-final in the 2013 finals series . Carlton struggled for the remainder of his tenure at the club. Under Malthouse they began the 2014 season with four consecutive losses and at the end of the 2014 season, Carlton finished with seven wins, one draw and fourteen losses en route to a 13th-place finish on the ladder. In the 2015 season , the club sat last with a record of 1–7 after eight rounds. As
8150-407: The field umpire has deemed to be either potentially dangerous or increase the risk of injury to other players. Australian rules football is played with an ellipsoid ball, between 72 and 73 cm (28 and 29 in) in long circumference, and 54.5 and 55.5 cm (21.5 and 21.9 in) in short circumference. For women's competitions, a smaller ball size of 69 and 53 cm (27 and 21 in)
8313-478: The 1976 season. At Richmond , Malthouse played 121 senior games, including six finals and the runaway premiership win over Collingwood in the 1980 Grand Final . He was noted for being a tough and solid defender. In 1982 Malthouse managed to play every game of the home-and-away season for the first time in his career, only to suffer a dislocated shoulder in the lead-up to the Grand Final. He missed out on
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#17327977843028476-612: The 2010s, the AFL signalled further attempts at expanding into markets outside Australian football's traditional heartlands by hosting home-and-away matches in New Zealand, followed by China. After several failed bids since the early 1990s for a Tasmania-based AFL team, the Tasmania Football Club secured the 19th AFL license in 2023, and is set to compete by 2028. In a standard match, a team may consist of anywhere between 14 and 18 players who may be permitted on
8639-416: The 2015 season, West Coast lost two of their opening three games and suffered injuries to key players. Despite this, they went on to lose only three more games for the rest of the home and away season, finishing behind local rivals Fremantle in second position. The Eagles went on to defeat Hawthorn and North Melbourne in the qualifying and preliminary finals by 32 and 25 points respectively to qualify for
8802-403: The 2018 grand final, West Coast again played Collingwood, who had upset Richmond in the first preliminary final the week prior. In a match dubbed an all-time classic, Collingwood led by as much as 29 points in the first quarter, but the resilient Eagles managed to claw their way back into the contest, and with just over 2 minutes left, a brilliant play set up by a Jeremy McGovern intercept mark and
8965-406: The 2018 home and away season second on the ladder with 16 wins and 6 losses – their best result since 2006 – earning the right to host the second qualifying final against third-placed Collingwood at Optus Stadium. Collingwood led for most of the close, hard-fought match, before the Eagles again pulled away in the last quarter to win by 16 points. In the 2018 second preliminary final, the Eagles faced
9128-411: The 2018 premiership. In 2019, the club reached 90,445 members, becoming the second club in history to pass the 90,000 mark and having the second highest membership in the competition. The club recorded more members than any other AFL team in 2020 (100,776) and 2021 (106,422). The highest individual crowd to watch a West Coast game at Optus Stadium is 59,608 which was between West Coast and Melbourne in
9291-402: The 2019 season. The reigning premiers recovered magnificently, winning 12 of their next fourteen matches, but missed out on a spot in the top four after an upset 38-point loss to Hawthorn in round 23. The Eagles finished fifth on the AFL ladder with a 15–7 win-loss record. They thrashed Essendon by 55 points in the first elimination final but their premiership defence was brought to a premature end
9454-830: The AFL's in general) efforts to develop the game outside of Australia , the club partners with a number of internationally based football clubs, providing them with guernseys and other equipment. There are currently Eagles-affiliated clubs (also referred to as "sister clubs") in Cambodia (the Cambodian Eagles), Canada (the Toronto Eagles ), China (the Shanghai Eagles), Italy (the Milano Eagles), and Sweden (the Karlstad Eagles). West Coast
9617-464: The AFL). The player who was awarded the mark may then choose to either dispose of the ball over "the mark" or may choose to attempt disposal via a different method, in which case the field umpire will call "play on"—a verbal instruction to continue play. "Play on" may also be called if the umpire deems the player awarded the mark to be taking an unreasonable amount of time to dispose of the football. Once
9780-472: The AFLW using 17 minutes per quarter. For any given match, two timekeepers are appointed to officiate the duration. The timekeepers record all relevant statistics for the match, such as total quarter duration and score by each team. Additionally timekeepers are required to sound a siren prior to and at the conclusion of each quarter until such time they are acknowledged by the field umpires. To stop and recommence
9943-641: The ANFC, and later the Australian Football Championships (AFC) ran a night series , which invited clubs and representative sides from around the country to participate in a knock-out tournament parallel to the premiership seasons, which Victorian sides still dominated. With the lack of international competition, state representative matches were regarded with great importance. Due in part to the VFL poaching talent from other states, Victoria dominated interstate matches for three-quarters of
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#173279778430210106-512: The Blues" and "I was staggered at the Carlton board’s pre-occupation with past players and past premierships". Malthouse then further eleborated stating that "he had a lack of support from the board and he was reminded in one regular board meeting that the Blues had won 16 premiership cups. he quickly informed them that they had in fact won just a single AFL premiership (1995), which put the club in
10269-539: The British Isles, "others by no rules at all". Another milestone in 1858 was a 40-a-side match played under experimental rules between Melbourne Grammar and Scotch College , held at the Richmond Paddock. Umpired by Wills and teacher John Macadam , it began on 7 August and continued over two subsequent Saturdays, ending in a draw with each side kicking one goal. It is commemorated with a statue outside
10432-404: The Eagles finish 17th on the ladder with 2 wins and 20 losses, avoiding the wooden spoon by percentage. The 2023 season was West Coast's worst season in history, losing five games by more than 100 points on the way to an 18th-placed finish with 3 wins and 20 losses, thus claiming the second wooden spoon in the club's history. On 9 July 2024, following no improvement in on-field performances despite
10595-583: The Irish game evolved in a similar direction. Another theory, first proposed in 1983, posits that Wills, having grown up among Aboriginals in Victoria, may have seen or played the Aboriginal ball game of Marn Grook , and incorporated some of its features into early Australian football. There is only circumstantial evidence that he knew of the game, and according to biographer Greg de Moore's research, Wills
10758-752: The MCG at the Parade Hotel, owned by Bryant, and drafted ten rules: "The Rules of the Melbourne Football Club" . These are the laws from which Australian football evolved. The club aimed to create a simple code suited to the hard playing surfaces around Melbourne, and to eliminate the roughest aspects of English school games—such as "hacking" (shin-kicking) in Rugby School football—to reduce the risk of injuries to working men. In another significant departure from English public school football,
10921-503: The MCG, and the two schools have since competed annually in the Cordner–Eggleston Cup , the world's oldest continuous football competition . Since the 1920s, it has been suggested that Australian football may have been derived from the Irish sport of Gaelic football . However, there is no archival evidence in favour of a Gaelic influence, and the style of play shared between the two modern codes appeared in Australia long before
11084-576: The Melbourne rules omitted any offside law . "The new code was as much a reaction against the school games as influenced by them", writes Mark Pennings. The rules were distributed throughout the colony; Thompson in particular did much to promote the new code in his capacity as a journalist. Following Melbourne's lead, Geelong and Melbourne University also formed football clubs in 1859. While many early Victorian teams participated in one-off matches, most had not yet formed clubs for regular competition. A South Yarra club devised its own rules. To ensure
11247-409: The SANFL's Port Adelaide (1997), the only pre-existing club outside Victoria to join the league. In 2011 and 2012, respectively, two new non-Victorian clubs were added to the competition: Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney . The AFL, currently with 18 member clubs, is the sport's elite competition and most powerful body. Following the emergence of the AFL, state leagues were quickly relegated to
11410-462: The WAFC. The last minority shareholders were bought out in 2000. During the 2010s West Coast paid approximately $ 3 million in rent to the WAFC for the use of Subiaco Oval , and 50–70% of overall profits. In 2001, a South African investment company, Southern African Investments Limited, had proposed a AUD$ 25-million deal for a 49-percent stake in the club, with the bid being rejected in 2003. In 2011, it
11573-546: The WAFL, replaced Alexander as West Coast's coach. 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. Todd was sacked at the end of the 1989 season , and was replaced by Mick Malthouse , who had previously coached Footscray . With the competition having rebranded itself as the Australian Football League (AFL) at
11736-581: The annual game between Essendon and Collingwood on Anzac Day, is one example of how the war continues to be remembered in the football community. The role of the Australian National Football Council (ANFC) was primarily to govern the game at a national level and to facilitate interstate representative and club competition. In 1968, the ANFC revived the Championship of Australia , a competition first held in 1888 between
11899-585: The award. 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 Adelaide . They progressed to the grand final against Sydney , where they were defeated by four points. 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 finished as minor premiers for
12062-582: The back ), interference when marking, and deliberately slowing the play are discouraged with free kicks, distance penalties , or suspension for a certain number of matches depending on the severity of the infringement. The game features frequent physical contests, spectacular marking , fast movement of both players and the ball, and high scoring. The sport's origins can be traced to football matches played in Melbourne , Victoria , in 1858, inspired by English public school football games . Seeking to develop
12225-596: The best player availability in three seasons, the club announced that Adam Simpson had been sacked as coach. The West Coast Eagles have been owned by the West Australian Football Commission (WAFC) since 1989. The club was originally owned and operated by Indian Pacific Limited, a publicly listed company that was delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange in 1990 after 75% of the shares were bought out by
12388-697: The boilovers of the season, Hawthorn weathered the best the Eagles threw at them in the first quarter and eventually ran out winners by 23 points. As a consequence, the Eagles would have to make three consecutive trips to Waverley Park to get to the Grand final. During his tenure as senior coach of the West Coast Eagles, the club under Malthouse made the finals every year, including 1992 and 1994 premierships and 1991 grand finalists as runners-up. Final minor premiership ladder positions were 3rd, 1st, 4th, 6th, 1st, 5th, 4th, 5th, 7th and 5th (1990–1999). At
12551-464: The burden like baggage". Team Team Individual Malthouse is married with four children, including sports reporter and AFL boundary rider Christi Malthouse . Malthouse spent time as a guest media commentator for SEN 1116 . In 2012, he was a media commentator for the Seven Network and radio station 3AW and a journalist for The West Australian . In addition, he has appeared weekly on
12714-442: The case of Sydney , denial of access to grounds, the influence of university headmasters from Britain who favoured rugby, and the loss of players to other codes inhibited the game's growth. In 1896, delegates from six of the wealthiest VFA clubs— Carlton , Essendon , Fitzroy , Geelong, Melbourne and South Melbourne —met to discuss the formation of a breakaway professional competition. Later joined by Collingwood and St Kilda ,
12877-435: The clock, the field umpires are required to signal to the timekeepers to indicate when the clock should be stopped or restarted. Between each quarter, a break is observed to allow players a rest period. Two six-minute breaks are observed between the first and second quarters, and the third and fourth quarters. A longer 20-minute break is observed between the second and third quarter, commonly known as half-time . Each game
13040-399: The club announced a navy version of the royal blue jumper would replace the tricolour guernsey as the club's home uniform from 2016, and was used until the introduction of the current design. The Eagles rebranded to its current brand on 1 November 2017, ahead of the club's move to Perth Stadium from 2018. West Coast's uniform changes throughout their history: As part of West Coast's (and
13203-453: The club have also been inducted. No life members were inducted in 2001 or 2021. The following players, coaches and administrators are life members of the club: Source: In 1996 as part of the AFL's centenary celebrations, and the club's 10-year celebrations, the Eagles named a team of the decade. In 2006 the West Coast Eagles named a greatest team of the past twenty years as part of the club's twentieth anniversary celebrations: In 2011
13366-561: The club's administrators, Malthouse was sacked as Carlton Football Club senior coach. Malthouse was then replaced by assistant coach John Barker as caretaker senior coach of Carlton Football Club for the rest of the 2015 season. Years later in 2021, Malthouse reflected on his tenure as senior coach of Carlton in the Herald Sun and stated: "The biggest disappointment of my coaching career is that I should have looked further into Carlton’s lack of forward thinking, before I signed on to coach
13529-403: The club's former royal blue jumper, which was worn during their 1992 and 1994 premierships. Starting in 2010, the Eagles also wore a third, predominantly white guernsey in order to avoid visual clashes with teams who used similar colours. It was dropped as the club's designated clash jumper at the end of 2016, in favour of an updated version of their original 1987 guernsey. During October 2015,
13692-475: The club's history without a finals appearance. 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 Brisbane Lions in 1998 and 1999 to reach a preliminary final after finishing last the previous season. West Coast's strong form continued into 2012, losing the 2012 NAB Cup grand final to Adelaide and spending
13855-462: The club's inception. Judge was sacked on 5 September 2001, just days after a 112-point loss to Port Adelaide , 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 Carlton . The club made the finals in 2002, 2003, and 2004, but each time failed to progress past the elimination final. Ben Cousins
14018-417: The club's on-field performances deteriorated, there was intense media speculation about Malthouse's position, as well as the public relationship between Malthouse and club administration, most notably president Mark LoGiudice and CEO Steven Trigg, who had both been in the roles since mid-2014. On 26 May 2015, hours after giving a radio interview on Melbourne Station SEN in which Malthouse was highly critical of
14181-412: The club's original colours prior to the 2018 season. The club's current logo features the head of a wedge-tailed eagle in the royal blue and gold colours of the club with the words "West Coast Eagles" written underneath. It was introduced prior to the 2018 season and aimed to present a more realistic portrayal of an eagle than the previous logo. The previous logo, in use between 2000 and 2017, featured
14344-426: The clubs formed the Victorian Football League (VFL), which held its inaugural season in 1897 . The VFL's popularity grew rapidly as it made several innovations, such as instituting a finals system, reducing teams from 20 to 18 players, and introducing the behind as a score. Richmond and University joined the VFL in 1908, and by 1925, with the addition of Hawthorn , Footscray and North Melbourne , it had become
14507-417: The coaches’ box, which I can understand, but he should have said at the time when they signed the deal” Malthouse said. Buckley said "I don’t want you talking to the coaches on the bench; I don’t want you talking to the coaches. It is pretty hard not talking to the coaches when you are the director of coaching, so I thought he doesn’t want me to be director of coaching, There was no point in staying". Malthouse
14670-490: The code took hold during a series of gold rushes . Likewise, when New Zealand experienced a gold rush , the sport arrived with a rapid influx of Australian miners. Now known as Australian rules or Australasian rules, the sport became the first football code to develop mass spectator appeal, attracting world record attendances for sports viewing and gaining a reputation as "the people's game". Australian rules football reached Queensland and New South Wales as early as 1866;
14833-437: The cost of an adult club membership was $ 283, the most of any club in the AFL. At that time, the waiting list was in excess of 20,000 people, or around four years. In July 2015, the club reached a record high of more than 60,000 members, which was the highest for a club in Western Australia, as well as being the sixth highest in the league. Membership expanded rapidly after the club moved its home games to Optus Stadium and won
14996-449: The early part of the season on top of the table. They eventually finished fifth and bowed out in the semi-finals to Collingwood . The Eagles went into 2013 as premiership favourites, although injuries and poor form saw the club finish in thirteenth position on the ladder, with the club losing its final three games by an average of 71 points. Coach John Worsfold resigned on 5 September 2013. Former North Melbourne player Adam Simpson
15159-498: The end of the 1999 season , Malthouse stepped down as West Coast Eagles senior coach and was replaced by Ken Judge as West Coast Eagles senior coach. Recruited to the Magpies by Collingwood president Eddie McGuire , Malthouse replaced Tony Shaw as Collingwood senior coach following Shaw's resignation after the club finished last on the ladder (16th), claiming the wooden spoon for the 1999 season. Malthouse coached Collingwood to
15322-409: The field of play, it is deemed as a mark . To be awarded a mark, it must be deemed that the player sufficiently controlled the ball and took possession prior to it being touched, touching the ground, or in the case of a contest, being spoiled by an opponent. Upon a mark being taken, one opposition player may choose to stand on the point on the field where the mark was taken, known as "the mark". When
15485-413: The field, two sets of posts are erected in a straight line to indicate the scoring areas on the field, each with two kinds of posts, named the goal posts and the behind posts respectively. The goal posts are placed first, located 6.4 metres (7.0 yd) apart from each other, with a behind post being placed a further 6.4 metres to the side of each goal post. The name for the field line between two goal posts
15648-416: The fifth-placed Melbourne Demons, a team whose impressive end-of-season form had begun with a victory over the Eagles at Optus Stadium in round 22. What was touted as a close-fought match instead became a blowout. West Coast led 10.9.69 to 0.6.6 at half time, Melbourne becoming the first team since 1927 to fail to score a goal in a half of finals football. West Coast eventually won by 66 points, 121 to 55. In
15811-426: The finals in eight out of his twelve seasons in charge including grand final appearances in 2002, 2003, 2010 (twice) and 2011. In Malthouse's first season as Collingwood Football Club senior coach in the 2000 season , Collingwood finished fifteenth (second-last) on the ladder with seven wins and fifteen losses. In the 2001 season , Collingwood under Malthouse just missed out on the finals, where they finished ninth on
15974-436: 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. Malthouse left West Coast at the end of the 1999 season to take up the senior coaching position with Collingwood , and
16137-404: The finals series, West Coast progressed to the grand final , but were defeated by Hawthorn 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. In 1992, West Coast finished fourth on the ladder, but again progressed to the grand final, defeating Geelong by 28 points to become
16300-627: The first match in Darwin . The game went on to become the most popular sport in the Territory and build the highest participation rate for the sport nationally. Both World War I and World War II had a devastating effect on Australian football and on Australian sport in general. While scratch matches were played by Australian " diggers " in remote locations around the world, the game lost many of its great players to wartime service. Some clubs and competitions never fully recovered. Between 1914 and 1915,
16463-508: The first team based outside Victoria to win a premiership. 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. 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 ". West Coast made
16626-666: The following week, losing to minor premiers Geelong by 20 points in the first semi-final. The 2020 season began with a lacklustre win over Melbourne in Round 1 in March, after which followed a hiatus due to the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 virus. Games resumed in June, with West Coast playing their games in a Queensland hub environment, going 0–3 in June to begin Round 5 in 16th place. From there, West Coast recovered to sit in 5th place with
16789-536: The formation of the Adelaide Football Club , the oldest football club in Australia outside Victoria. It devised its own rules, and, along with other Adelaide -based clubs, played a variety of codes until 1876, when they uniformly adopted most of the Victorian rules, with South Australian football pioneer Charles Kingston noting their similarity to "the old Adelaide rules". Similarly, Tasmanian clubs quarrelled over different rules until they adopted
16952-487: The game after not passing a gruelling fitness test. He retired in 1983. After Ian Hampshire unexpectedly quit as Footscray senior coach in early January, Malthouse decided to return from holiday with his family after hearing about the sudden vacancy on the radio. He was approached by club officials and on 13 January was officially appointed senior coach of Footscray for the next two seasons. Having only recently retired from playing, Malthouse had not been expecting to become
17115-435: The goal square and four players in the centre square with one in the centre circle. If this is breached, a free kick is awarded. A game lasts for 80 minutes, split into four-quarters consisting of 20 minutes playing time, with the clock being stopped for stoppages in play such as scores, or at the umpire 's discretion, e.g. for serious injury. Leagues may choose to employ shorter quarters of play at their discretion, such as
17278-680: The great coaches of all time". Former Collingwood Football Club football operations manager Neil Balme , who worked with Malthouse in Malthouse's tenure as senior coach of Collingwood stated "It's hard to say he's not unique because there aren't many like him. He loves the game and encourages people to be honest with what they say they're going to be. He's very much a footballer's footballer". Former Carlton Football Club captain Marc Murphy , who played under Malthouse, both praised and criticised Malthouse in Malthouse's tenure as senior coach of Carlton, stating "his time at Carlton, I don’t think he
17441-519: The ground . Throwing the ball is not allowed, and players must not get caught holding the ball . A distinctive feature of the game is the mark , where players anywhere on the field who catch the ball from a kick (with specific conditions) are awarded unimpeded possession . Possession of the ball is in dispute at all times except when a free kick or mark is paid. Players can tackle using their hands or use their whole body to obstruct opponents. Dangerous physical contact (such as pushing an opponent in
17604-399: The importance of these aspects of education real-world experience are being seriously overlooked by too many institutions." Malthouse has been described as a "remote and intimidating character, an old fashioned patrician whose passion for the game could never be questioned but whose love of its people was never expressed" and a "consummate football politician". "Malthouse's ability to adapt to
17767-424: The knees (a low tackle or a trip ) or above the shoulders (a high tackle ), the team with possession of the football gets a free kick. Furthermore, tackles deemed to be dangerous by the umpire and those conducted from front-on while an opposition player has their head over the football are deemed to be prohibited contact, and will incur a free kick against the offending player. Additionally, players may perform
17930-404: The ladder with eleven wins and eleven losses. In the 2002 season , Malthouse guided Collingwood to the 2002 AFL Grand Final but fell short and lost to the Brisbane Lions by a margin of nine points, where the final score was Brisbane Lions 10.15 (75) to Collingwood 9.12 (66). In the 2003 season , Malthouse again guided Collingwood to the 2003 AFL Grand Final but lost for the second year in
18093-481: The ladder, including defeating Hawthorn at Etihad and Richmond, the eventual minor premiers. However, injuries to star forwards Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling saw them struggle, losing 3 games in a row including to Sydney for a second this time at the SCG. Despite injuries, they managed to rebound and stabilise. The Eagles' form at the MCG had long been criticised, and round 17 against an in-form Collingwood who had won 7 of
18256-492: The late-1990s song has been used from 2018 to 2019. Ahead of the Eagles' appearance in the 2015 Grand Final, the West Australian Symphony Orchestra created an orchestral version of the song. In 2020, the club announced an updated version of the song, composed by Ian Berney and with vocals from Ian Kenny, both of Perth band Birds of Tokyo . " Eagle Rock ", a 1971 song recorded by Daddy Cool ,
18419-591: The league, and as of 2021 have more members than any other club with over 106,000. West Coast also fields a women's team in the AFLW competition and a reserves team in the WAFL . 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 . Ron Alexander was appointed as
18582-407: The low range for number of flags won since the AFL announced itself in 1990". "In another board meeting he was informed of a five-year plan to win a premiership. I was in my second year at the club and I was told we were already three years into a plan that I was completely unaware of. They asked for my assessment, but didn’t like the answer". "It came as a great shock to most of the board members that
18745-434: The most successful clubs in the AFL era (1990 onwards). They have won the equal second most premierships (four, along with Geelong and second to Hawthorn ) 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
18908-447: The new logo but otherwise remained relatively unchanged. Between 2000 and 2015, the club's home jumper design featured a stylised eagle on a tricolour of navy blue, white and gold. This jumper was introduced during the 2000 season along with a much-criticised ochre away jumper as part of a rebrand of the club to coincide with the new millennium. The ochre jumper was later dropped at the end of 2002 in favour of an updated version of
19071-568: The new national capital Canberra both soccer and rugby had a head start, but following the first matches in 1911, Australian rules football in the Australian Capital Territory became a major participation sport. By 1981 it had become much neglected and quickly lagged behind the other football codes. Australian rules football in the Northern Territory began shortly after the outbreak of the war in 1916 with
19234-401: The phasing out of many of the game's kicking styles and the increasing use of handball; while presentation was influenced by television. In 1982, in a move that heralded big changes within the sport, one of the original VFL clubs, South Melbourne, relocated to Sydney and became known as the Sydney Swans . In the late 1980s, due to the poor financial standing of many of the Victorian clubs, and
19397-472: The plan was totally unachievable in that time frame, and that in fact, until the constraints of contract management were lifted we were going to stay a middle-of-the-road team". "Too many players on an ageing list were overpaid or over-committed in lengthy contracts, in contrast to their ability. There was no room to move, or even to retain star power on the hit list of opposing clubs, and until we could afford multiple trades or multiple draft picks we were carrying
19560-407: The player has disposed of the ball, or "play on" is called, normal play resumes. Rucking is the only specialist skill and is performed by a ruck, the term for designated players from each side to which umpire sends the ball to commence play. Only a nominated ruck may contest ball-ups and throw-ins. They are the only player allowed within the 10 metre circle at a centre bounce. Functionally the role
19723-429: The player penalised for ' holding the ball ', except if the umpire deems there was a lack of prior opportunity to do so. The ball carrier may only be tackled between the shoulders and knees from the front or side. If the player forcefully contacts the opposing in the back while performing a tackle, the opposition player will be penalised for a push in the back . If the opposition tackles the player with possession below
19886-436: The playing surface at any given time. Each team may have up to four interchange (reserve) players who may be swapped for those on the field at any time during the game. Although some leagues in less populated areas may use as few as 12 players. In addition, some leagues notably including the AFL, have each team designate one additional player as a substitute who can be used to make a single permanent exchange of players during
20049-411: The position as Director of Coaching at Collingwood after the loss and that he had made this decision six weeks earlier. In addition, while coaching Collingwood, Malthouse spent time as a guest media commentator for SEN 1116 . Year later in 2019, Malthouse told the Herald Sun of the circumstances of his departure from Collingwood as senior coach and was asked if he considered the club’s decision to seek
20212-668: The preeminent league in the country and would take a leading role in many aspects of the sport. The time around the federation of the Australian colonies in 1901 saw Australian rules undergo a revival in New South Wales, New Zealand and Queensland. In 1903, both the Queensland Australian Football League and the NSW Australian Football Association were established, and in New Zealand, as it moved towards becoming
20375-421: The preliminary final of 2018. The highest-attended home game at Subiaco Oval was against North Melbourne in the 2012 elimination final, which was attended by 41,790 people. In 2011, 455,899 people attended West Coast home games, equating to an average of 37,992 people per game. In 2018, West Coast had the second highest home ground attendance of any AFL club, averaging 53,250 for its 11 home games (the highest
20538-530: The premiers of the VFA and SAFA. Although clubs from other states were at times invited, the final was almost always between the premiers from the two strongest state competitions of the time—South Australia and Victoria—with Adelaide hosting most of the matches at the request of the SAFA/SANFL. The last match took place in 1976, with North Adelaide being the last non-Victorian winner in 1972. Between 1976 and 1987,
20701-489: The previous matches was seen as a stern test. The match was fairly close throughout, until the Eagles got on top in the last ten minutes of the third quarter to win by a commanding 35 points. The victory was bittersweet, however, as the All-Australian ruckman Nic Naitanui went down with an ACL for the second time after his 2016 injury, putting him out for the rest of the season. In round 20 star midfielder Andrew Gaff
20864-403: The season the club were labelled as "flat track bullies" due to beating lower placed teams by large margins, yet failing to defeat teams above them on the ladder. Midfielder Matt Priddis became the third Eagles player to win a Brownlow medal, winning the 2014 medal at the end of the season. On 7 December 2014, Shannon Hurn was appointed as sole captain for 2015 and beyond. At the start of
21027-446: The semi-final by 34 points. In July 2009, Collingwood Football Club president Eddie McGuire produced a succession plan in which Malthouse was to hand over the coaching reins to club legend and assistant coach Nathan Buckley at the end of the 2011 season. Also in the 2009 season , Collingwood under Malthouse made the finals again but were eliminated by the eventual premiers Geelong in the preliminary final by seventy-three points. In
21190-474: The siren courtesy of a Luke Shuey goal. The following week they were soundly defeated away by Greater Western Sydney , in front of the lowest finals crowd in over 100 years. Few predicted West Coast would contend in season 2018, with most having them outside the 8. After losing the inaugural game at the new Optus Stadium against the Sydney Swans, West Coast went on to win 10 in a row to surge to top of
21353-467: The sport across Australia, delegates representing the football associations of South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Queensland met in 1883 and updated the code. New rules such as holding the ball led to a "golden era" of fast, long-kicking and high-marking football in the 1880s, a time which also saw players such as George Coulthard achieve superstardom, as well as the rise of professionalism , particularly in Victoria and Western Australia , where
21516-472: The sport experienced a period of dominance in the former, and in the latter, several regions remain strongholds of Australian rules, such as the Riverina . However, by the late 1880s, rugby football had become the dominant code in both colonies, as well as in New Zealand. This shift was largely due to rugby's spread with British migration, regional rivalries and the lack of strong local governing bodies. In
21679-406: The sport is most often called AFL after the Australian Football League , while the league itself also uses this name for local competitions in some areas. Primitive forms of football were played sporadically in the Australian colonies in the first half of the 19th century. Compared to cricket and horse racing , football was considered a mere "amusement" by colonists at the time, and while little
21842-432: 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 Essendon , having been forced to play four consecutive finals in Melbourne . 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
22005-414: The substantial TV revenues they generated by playing on a Sunday went to the VFL. To protect these revenues the VFL granted significant draft concessions and financial aid to keep the expansion clubs competitive. The VFL changed its name to the Australian Football League (AFL) for the 1990 season , and over the next decade, three non-Victorian clubs gained entry: Adelaide (1991), Fremantle (1995) and
22168-613: The supremacy of the Melbourne rules, the first-club level competition in Australia, the Caledonian Society's Challenge Cup (1861–64), stipulated that only the Melbourne rules were to be used. This law was reinforced by the Athletic Sports Committee (ASC), which ran a variation of the Challenge Cup in 1865–66. With input from other clubs, the rules underwent several minor revisions, establishing
22331-460: The table. A thrilling finish against Adelaide in the last game at Subiaco was enough to put them into their third consecutive finals series under Simpson. Their percentage of 105.7% edged out Melbourne, who finished with the same number of wins and an almost identical percentage of 105.2%. Remarkably, their elimination final away against Port Adelaide ended up a tie after regulation time and was sent to extra time . The Eagles controversially won after
22494-587: 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. Ross Glendinning , recruited from North Melbourne ,
22657-412: The usage of other means, such as punching. While in possession of the ball, players may run with the ball, but are required to either bounce or touch the ball on the ground at least once every 15 metres (16 yd). Tackling is a technique employed by players used to force opposition players to dispose of the ball when they are in possession. Failure to dispose of the ball when legally tackled may see
22820-438: The year and ultimately missed the finals for the first time since 2014, finishing ninth on the ladder with 10 wins and 12 losses. With crosstown rival Fremantle finishing 11th, it was the first season since 2009 that neither Western Australian team featured in the finals series. COVID and an extensive injury list saw many key players sidelined and West Coast's performance decline rapidly over the next two years. The 2022 season saw
22983-429: Was "almost solely influenced by his experience at Rugby School". A loosely organised Melbourne side, captained by Wills, played against other football enthusiasts in the winter and spring of 1858. The following year, on 14 May, the Melbourne Football Club was officially established, making it one of the world's oldest football clubs . Three days later, Wills, Hammersley, Thompson and teacher Thomas H. Smith met near
23146-417: Was Richmond, which averaged 61,175). The highest attendance for any game featuring West Coast was against Collingwood in the 2018 grand final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground , attended by 100,022 people. In terms of television audience, on average 519,000 people viewed West Coast Eagles games in 2011, with a high of 1,074,000 viewers for the round 16 game against Geelong . The number-one ticket holder
23309-556: Was a 20-per-side affair, played with a ball that was roughly spherical, and lasted until a team scored two goals. The shape of the playing field was not standardised; matches often took place in rough, tree-spotted public parks, most notably the Richmond Paddock ( Yarra Park ), known colloquially as the Melbourne Football Ground. Wills argued that the turf of cricket fields would benefit from being trampled upon by footballers in winter, and, as early as 1859, football
23472-485: Was allowed on the MCG. However, cricket authorities frequently prohibited football on their grounds until the 1870s, when they saw an opportunity to capitalise on the sport's growing popularity. Football gradually adapted to an oval-shaped field, and most grounds in Victoria expanded to accommodate the dual purpose—a situation that continues to this day. Football became organised in South Australia in 1860 with
23635-478: Was announced as the senior coach of the Carlton Football Club on 11 September 2012 for the next three seasons, when he replaced Brett Ratten as Carlton senior coach, after Ratten was sacked at the end of the 2012 season. In the 2013 season , the Blues under Malthouse initially finished ninth on the ladder with eleven wins and eleven losses, but were promoted to eighth place, therefore being granted
23798-450: Was announced as the team's new coach for the 2014 season . Darren Glass was initially renamed as captain, but retired from football after round 12. He was replaced by five acting co-captains for the remainder of the season – Shannon Hurn , Josh Kennedy , Eric Mackenzie , Matt Priddis , and Scott Selwood . West Coast had a strong preseason and won their opening three matches, although they eventually finished in ninth position. During
23961-528: Was between Melbourne Grammar and St Kilda Grammar. On 10 July 1858, the Melbourne-based Bell's Life in Victoria and Sporting Chronicle published a letter by Tom Wills , captain of the Victoria cricket team , calling for the formation of a "foot-ball club" with a "code of laws" to keep cricketers fit during winter. Born in Australia, Wills played a nascent form of rugby football while
24124-435: Was coined by scholar Ian Turner in 1978 to describe the "fictitious geographical barrier" separating the rugby-following parts of New South Wales and Queensland from the rest of the country, where Australian football reigned. It became a reference point for the expansion of Australian football and for establishing a national league. The way the game was played had changed dramatically due to innovative coaching tactics, with
24287-498: 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 . The West Australian Football Commission 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
24450-435: Was known for his tough stance on many players, including Doug Hawkins . The team's final standings in his years in charge were 7th (1984), 3rd (1985), 8th (1986), 7th (1987), 8th (1988) and 13th (1989). He impressed with his dedication and professionalism. Malthouse left the financially stricken club at the end of 1989, weeks before it announced its intentions to merge with Fitzroy ; the merger never ultimately went ahead due to
24613-544: 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
24776-430: 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 Richmond at Subiaco Oval in late March 1987, with West Coast defeating Richmond by 14 points. 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 Swan Districts in
24939-493: Was played after the 1992 and 1994 grand final victories, featured anti- Victorian verses ("For years, they took the best of us and claimed them for their own... So watch out, all you know-alls, all you wise men from the East") and a different musical structure. It was eventually altered in the late-1990s. The re-recorded version had new verses added by Ken Walther, who also composed Fremantle's 1995 team song. A modified version of
25102-437: Was probably one of the few in my time at Carlton who had positive experiences with him, I clicked really well with Mick, he taught me a lot and he has an amazing football brain, The way he sees things and the way he explains things, you'd go, ‘I would never have thought of it that way. But I will say he did have some different methods, He had some interesting methods, Mick, but from my end, it was pretty positive”. * Leon Davis
25265-483: Was published as a La Trobe University Opinion on 14 February 2012. In this he wrote that "'Education for the future needs a lot more than specialised knowledge and skills. It requires life experience. This is what La Trobe expects me to bring to my new role as Vice-Chancellors Fellow. It is a challenge I will relish. The aim is to place more emphasis on the non-academic side of campus life: practical experience, teamwork, leadership skills and community involvement. In my view,
25428-473: Was quite inflexible about that. He also had a large say on pretty much every aspect of the footy department. He seems to still have all those things today. I was a great admirer of the way he would focus on the one-percenters and make sure his players were completely professional in his way to carry them out. Mick always had the ability to attract players of great character but without huge amounts of talent and make them into great footballers. He'll go out as one of
25591-706: Was really in it for the right reasons. Then once it turned pear-shaped, it was all about him, unfortunately, at the end and I was left to be thrown at the bus quite a bit. He was obviously a terrific coach, but unfortunately at Carlton for us and for me and the boys who were there working so hard, it just didn’t work out. It was extremely difficult, but Mick was a very autocratic leader. It was all whatever he said basically goes. I could have my input, but I couldn’t get really any traction whatsoever". Former Carlton Football Club player Troy Menzel who played under Malthouse, praised Malthouse in Malthouse's tenure as senior coach of Carlton, stating “I got along really well with Mick, I
25754-463: Was replaced by Ken Judge , who had been coach of Hawthorn . 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
25917-438: Was replaced by Tyson Goldsack in the Grand Final replay Australian rules football Australian rules football , also called Australian football or Aussie rules , or more simply football or footy , is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field , often a modified cricket ground . Points are scored by kicking the oval ball between the central goal posts (worth six points), or between
26080-495: Was reported that the AFL had lobbied to take over the ownership of both the Eagles and the Fremantle Football Club from the WAFC. In 2023, the West Coast Eagles reported a $ 1.9 million operating surplus. In 2011, the West Coast Eagles had 54,745 members, which was a club record at the time, and the fourth-highest overall in the AFL. Membership numbers were limited by the capacity of Subiaco Oval , which held 43,500 seats, with 39,000 reserved exclusively for club members. In 2012,
26243-532: Was senior coach for the West Coast Eagles . In 1991 , the Eagles won their first 12 games of the season and finished minor premiers for the first time in the club's history with 19 wins, one of few teams in VFL/AFL to go through the entire home-and-away season on top of the ladder. They were granted a home Qualifying Final against Hawthorn , marking the first AFL final to be played interstate. In one of
26406-433: Was suspended for 8 weeks for a hit on Fremantle player Andrew Brayshaw. Following this many dismissed the Eagles, believing they were unable to win the flag. The following week there was a bright spot in a dark period, as Jeremy McGovern kicked a goal after the siren at Adelaide Oval to pinch the game from Port Adelaide, in similar circumstances to West Coast's win over Port in the 2017 elimination final. The Eagles finished
26569-411: 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, while Judd requested to be traded back to Victoria, and was traded to Carlton in exchange for
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