Five West Coast Eagles brought a smile to the faces of some devout fans at Princess Margaret Hospital earlier this week.

Sam Butler, Jonathan Giles, Mark Hutchings, Fraser McInnes and Nic Naitanui made a surprise visit to the hospital’s Megazone on Monday to touch base with some kids and parents doing it tough in the lead up to the festive season.

While most might assume the players were the star attractions of the visit, they were easily upstaged by another significant figure: Santa.

As the squad members signed autographs and posed for photos, children flocked to St Nick to get their final Christmas presents requests in.

Butler said the club’s visit to the hospital was one of the highlights of the year.

“It’s fulfilling to know that a brief appearance can bring so much joy to these kids,” he said.

“This is one of the easiest and most enjoyable community visits we do all year.”

Kylie Wilson, mother to recent liver transplant recipients Luke and Jesse, said her boys were thrilled to meet the five players.

The identical twins were visiting the hospital for a check-up following their surgeries at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead in Sydney.

“We met the Greater Western Sydney Giants while we were in Sydney and the boys were proudly wearing their Eagles shirts,” she said.

“The nurses would come in and yell, “Go the Giants!” and the boys would yell back “No, go the Eagles”.

She said the twins were especially thrilled to meet their favourite player, Nic Naitanui.

“They have been wanting to meet Nic for a long time,” she said.

“When the players arrived I told the boys they might have to wait another time to meet him, but he came in through the door behind the others and they were so excited.”