Within the tight knit West Coast Eagles player group, and most professional sporting teams for that matter, replacing a teammate is hard enough for a qualifying match let alone a final. Or a grand final.
While every player has a powerful determination to succeed personally, most are also acutely aware of how it feels to be injured, or worse, omitted. Everyone feels for those who miss out.
When popular defender David Wirrpanda felt his hamstring tighten in the one-sided semi-final against the Western Bulldogs, he was surely wishing it was a different time of year. Not finals. There is never a good time to be sidelined, but some moments are more inconvenient than others. A year earlier he’d seen injury rob Michael Braun and Rowan Jones. How would his story unfold?
Having had a similar problem with his other hamstring a few weeks earlier, he knew the feeling. He also suspected he would have to miss the preliminary final as a precaution if he was any chance of playing in a grand final, should the side qualify.
It made for a perplexing issue and was in the hands of the match committee. The simple math in some senses made it even worse.
“It was nerve-wracking because there are a lot of things you have to weigh up,” Wirrpanda revealed. “My hamstring, the fact I’d missed a couple of games and if I did get up someone was going to miss out…so there’s all these things to consider.
“The hardest thing was probably more breaking back into the side than worrying about my hamstring. But other than that, I was just excited to be picked and ready to go.”
It was one of those situations where everyone – family, friends, coaches, teammates, supporters – wanted Wirrpanda to play, but didn’t want to contemplate who should or would be left out of the side to accommodate him.
Veteran Drew Banfield was the media’s guess. Ruckman Mark Seaby had missed the qualifying final against the Swans because of team balance. Defender Jaymie Graham, although a fine contributor for most of the season, had been dropped for the semi-final. Whoever it would be, would be desperately unlucky. But footy has the reputation for being cruel and someone was going to feel aggrieved.
A good spread of contributors in a hard-fought 10-point victory over Adelaide at AAMI Stadium in the preliminary final made the decision all the more difficult.
The fact was a fit Wirrpanda could not be overlooked. Not only was his experience and God-given ability far too valuable, Sydney’s brigade of small forwards warranted serious attention if West Coast was to fare well in this contest.
All he could worry about was getting himself right. Spare time was spent walking, jogging, running with head trainer Bill Sutherland and, after a lively final training session at Subiaco Oval, he’d done enough.
The call had to be made and so it was. Wirrpanda in, Graham out.
For a man of such generous character, a consummate clubman, Wirrpanda also ached in his moment of elation as he thought of his young teammate.
“He was one of my biggest motivations,” he said. “Jaymie’s a terrific bloke and deserved to play, that’s what it comes down to. And I knew that if I was going to play, I didn’t want to let the side down by re-injuring my hamstring.
“Jaymie was my motivation to do my job and play well and that’s one thing that’s hard to accept in footy. Hopefully we’ve got more opportunities down the track.”
One thing was for sure; Wirrpanda and the West Coast Eagles would return to the MCG. After the devastation of the 2005 grand final, re-visiting the venue in September was like coming face to face with an old foe. With or without Sydney.
“We had a lot of time to sit down and let it all sink in,” Wirrpanda said of 2005. “It was very disappointing last year. It’s always something you take in the back of your mind through a pre-season and you know you’ve got a long haul in front of you, but there’s so much disappointment we took in with us and made sure we had another successful year.”
The journey to this clash had added to Wirrpanda’s long road who, since moving from Victoria as a 16 year-old, had a premiership in his sights. Arriving at the club a year after the 1994 triumph, four points kept him from realising his dream in 2005.
His desire to taste the ultimate in team success remained. He played that way, too, right from the opening bounce when he uncharacteristically began the match in a forward pocket; the aim to no doubt unsettle Sydney’s defence with the pressure that he knows only too well as a backman.
Yet by the second quarter, Wirrpanda had gravitated to his regular home in defence which might also have proved to be a settling move for West Coast.
Take the early stages of that second term when, with the ball set for a Barry Hall lead, Wirrpanda filled the gap in front of the imposing big man to take the brunt of his attack and win the free kick. It was a courageous act and, again, West Coast surged forward.
Before the game he had worried about the contribution he would make, desperate to justify his inclusion. But, by the final siren, it was swallowed by the 11-year journey.
“It’s obviously the ultimate goal for any AFL player to be able to represent their club and play in a premiership and win it,” he noted. “To be able to sit down and think about it and let it all sink in, it’s actually the best feeling I’ve ever had.
“It means a lot to me, not just because we won a premiership, but just how big the club is to me as a person. West Coast has watched me grow up and it’s just played such a huge part in my life.”
For the 27 year-old’s family, the win on Victorian soil also marked a very proud occasion.
“They know how hard I’ve worked and they know me moving away from them was hard for them just as it was hard for me,” he said. “The best part of it is that I’ve shared the ultimate experience that I’ve been talking about with them since I was 12 and they were a part of it as well.”
