The history books will show that the West Coast Eagles won the 2006 AFL premiership, but it was not a triumph built on one season.

The reward came this year, but the first strides to achieve the ultimate this game has to offer were taken several years ago. The theme when John Worsfold assumed the mantle as senior coach five seasons ago was that of incremental improvement.

And step by step the club manouevered itself to get in the position to strike.

It started by making the finals in 2002, accelerated by reaching the grand final in 2005 and then presented the greatest prize in one of the world’s toughest sporting environments with this year’s premiership.

And that  is  why  we are  so  proud  of  achieving the  club’s  third  premiership. It  has  taken  an enormous amount of dedication, vision and resilience for the club to rise to the status of No. 1.

And the West Coast Eagles are precisely that, the best. We have the best chief executive officer, management and staff in the AFL. We have the best coach and the best team and that is very satisfying.

We also have the best sponsors, members and supporters and we all enjoyed the journey to the 2006 premiership.