Classy West Coast Eagles defender Brad Sheppard today called time on his distinguished AFL career.
After assessing medical advice and considering his long-term future, one of the mainstays of West Coast's accomplished defence under coach Adam Simpson will step away from the game to contemplate the next phase of his life.
After wrestling for his place in the team in the first four years of his career, the arrival of Simpson provided a fillip for the versatile Sheppard.
He played the opening game of the 2014 season, Simpson’s first as senior coach, with WAFL alignment club East Perth, but Sheppard then worked his way into the team as the round two sub, and then became an integral part of the highly-regarded Eagles defence.
In 2015, when the Eagles lost tall defenders Eric Mackenzie and Mitch Brown before half-time in round one, Sheppard blossomed in a defensive structure that was dubbed the Eagles web – a system based around the capacity of players like Sheppard, Shannon Hurn and Jeremy McGovern to read the ball in flight, back their judgement and intercept opposition attacks.
They were forced to play that style of game because they were usually out-sized, but they were rarely out-smarted as the Eagles advanced to the Grand Final.
While Hawthorn proved their masters on the big day, Sheppard had an outstanding September campaign and won the Player of the Finals award.
A key player in 2018, he was denied the opportunity to play deep into the successful finals campaign, suffering a major hamstring strain in the qualifying final against Collingwood.
On that night at Optus Stadium he was proving the master of Collingwood star Jordan De Goey before ripping his hammy as he pursued his opponent towards the boundary line.
That was not an isolated match-up triumph and nor was it unusual for Sheppard to blanket the opposition’s most dangerous small or mid-sized forward.
He was equally adept at minding the likes of Port Adelaide star Robbie Gray, Fremantle dynamo Michael Walters or the mercurial Eddie Betts at Carlton and Adelaide.
The bigger the job, the more Sheppard relished the challenge.
Just two seasons ago Sheppard was an All-Australian, his first such honour that was well overdue, as he shared the AFL team of year selection with ruckman Nic Naitanui and forward Liam Ryan.
Sheppard was again a solid contributor in 2021, but he was twice concussed in matches in the second half of the year – against Carlton at the SCG and Fremantle at Optus Stadium – and unfortunately has endured ongoing issues.
He retires as one of the great players in West Coast Eagles history; a 200-game star (216) and one of the most popular players of his generation for his unflinching commitment to the contest.
Drafted with pick #7 in the 2009 ballot, he retires as a man with universal respect at every level of the football club – evidenced when he won the highly-acclaimed Chris Mainwaring Medal as best clubman in 2020.
