After finishing a strong season atop the ladder as minor premiers the pressure was on the Eagles heading into Sunday, but a key victory against the East Perth Royals in the preliminary final set up a grand final showdown against the Perth Demons.
With the grand final on the line in the preliminary final the stakes were high for both sides, but it was East Perth who brought the pressure early, capitalising on the Eagles’ nerves to take an early lead in the match.
Skipper Ben Green steadied the ship to finish the quarter however, booting all six goals to steal back momentum in a late surge that gave the squad a handy 25-point lead at quarter-time.
The game turned back into East Perth’s favour as their sharpshooters kept them in the contest to level up the scores before a late goal from Green gave the Eagles a small buffer heading into the main break.
The third quarter highlighted just how much both teams wanted that spot in the big dance, going goal-for-goal early before the Royals put the reigning premiers to the sword to shift momentum and take a seven-point lead into the final break.
East Perth scored the first goal of the final quarter and the Eagles were facing the real prospect of a surprise elimination, but they stood up when needed with some terrific defensive efforts from Tristan Thomson keeping the squad in reach as the score sat at level pegging with less than a minute left.
Insert the skipper, as a massive mark from Green with only seconds left to play and any score providing a lead for the Eagles saw him take a set shot after the final siren, going through for a very handy behind and giving the Eagles a one-point victory alongside a spot in the WAWFL grand final for the third straight year.
West Coast Eagles - 6.2. 8.4 11.5 15.9 (99)
East Perth – 2.1 7.4 12.6 15.8 (98)
After an enormously challenging preliminary final the Eagles steeled themselves for another gruelling contest against their arch-rivals in Perth, a team in which they’d played in the past two grand finals going one apiece and providing bragging rights for this years winner.
Perth started the contest furiously, slotting through the first goal of the match before the Eagles replied with one of their own as fierce tackle pressure and an even midfield battle kept fans on the edge of their seats.
The Demons lead at the first break sat at six as the tug-of-war in the middle continued into the second, but the Eagles lifted to give their forwards a clean look as Tyson Knowles found himself on the end of some classy taps to set up a run of goals.
A key highlight from the match came when a fast-breaking play and offensive press from Perth left them heavily exposed on an ensuing turnover, giving the Eagles a chance to find their deep forward in Jason Kappler alone to finish off a roll-in goal and extend the lead to 12 heading into half-time.
The third quarter is often called the “Premiership Quarter”, and it lived up to the expectations as both teams rose in their intensity with Green extending the lead to 18-points before Perth dragged back momentum with three quick goals in under two minutes levelling the game at 60-all.
It was the back half of the third that provided the biggest window of opportunity for the Eagles to capitalise, as the Eagles ramped up another gear the Demons simply weren’t able to match turning defence into offence leading to a 37-2 run to finish the quarter.
The Eagles game plan was evident in the fourth, keep control of the ball, Perth pressed hard and continued to fight but it was the Eagles intercepting defenders and counterattacking play all but assuring the match.
Some final goals back-and-forth rose the score but with little time left and the final siren approaching the Eagles’ players knew they’d done it, finishing the match with a 32-point victory and securing back-to-back premierships in their most successful season to date.
West Coast Eagles – 4.2 8.6 15.7 19.10 (124)
Perth – 3.2 6.6 9.8 14.8 (92)
Two players were recipients of the Club’s Wheelchair Football awards as skipper Ben Green received his second Club Champion award after his dominant season, and Tyson Knowles being awarded the Coaches Award for his improvement in 2025.
The 2025 WA Wheelchair Football League could not be made possible without the WA All Abilities Football Association, a proud partner of the West Coast Eagles, and the Club looks forward to continuing to be part of the competition going forward.
2025 Wheelchair Football Premiership Squad
Ben Green
Tristan Thomson
Jason Kappler
Levi Bennett
Tyson Knowles
Paul Whitehurst
Dylan Maynard
Tin Yan Tse (Absent)
