West Coast Eagles Community and Game Development team recently made a 3-hour road trip to the brisk but beautiful Manjimup in Western Australia’s South West region. 

Team members Sam Rotham, Brad Dalziell and Janelle Marangon were were joined by locally-based South West Community Coordinator Josh Cassidy and Great Southern Community Coordinator Brad Nisbett to deliver a suite of West Coast Eagles education and community engagement programs over two jam-packed days. 

Rick the Rock flew in to support the delivery of the Eagles Rock My School program to approximately 600 students across East Manjimup Primary School, Manjimup Primary School and Kearnan College (primary students). 

The teams split to deliver the SOAR Female Wellbeing Series and Eagle Insight programs to approximately 100 students at Kearnan College (senior students) and Manjimup Senior High School. High school students from both schools were educated on nutrition and recovery, leadership and culture, and employment in the industry modules as part of the curriculum-aligned programs. 

To culminate the visit, a West Coast Eagles Female Academy clinic was hosted at Manjimup Imperials Football Club. This session saw 20 youth female footballers from across the Lower South West region come together to develop their skills in a purposefully designed program for female players, with the session acting as an appetiser for further female programs to be offered in the area later in the year and ongoing.

Shelley Scott, coach of Warren Blackwood Bombers said the female football players were appreciative of the opportunity to experience and embrace the skills and expertise from West Coast team.

"The Bombers and the junior girls were excited to show the team their skills and who knows they might have uncovered a generation of future AFLW stars!," said Shelly.

The West Coast Eagles would like to thank each of the schools, teachers, students, participants, clubs and the broader community of Manjimup for accommodating a fun, educational and meaningful visit to the region. 

This visit was made possible thanks to the support of Eagles Rock My School partner Hawaiian and Youth Engagement Partner BHP, as well as the ongoing support of West Coast Eagles members who enable the club to provide free and accessible community and game development programs to communities across WA. 

Visit our Regional page for more information about our programs.