The West Coast Eagles have secured Jack Viney and Trent Rivers after agreeing to a trade with Melbourne on deadline day of the Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period.
Viney and Rivers join the Eagles in a deal which sees Melbourne’s 2028 round two selection also heading to West Coast.
The Eagles parted with pick 45 in this year’s draft, round two and round four draft picks in 2027 and a round two draft pick in 2028 to complete the trade.
A renowned leader and tough onballer, Viney brings 238 games and 2021 premiership experience to West Coast’s emerging playing group.
The 32-year-old, who was co-captain at Melbourne from 2017-19 and has been vice-captain since 2020, won the Demons’ Club Champion award twice (2016 and 2024) while finishing in the top three on five other occasions.
Viney heads west on a two-year deal and will reunite with West Coast senior coach Andrew McQualter and midfield coach Sam Radford, who he has existing relationships with from their time at the Demons.
“Once it became clear Jack was potentially available we were keen to add his experience and leadership to our playing group and we’re excited he is joining our club,” Head of List Management and Recruiting Matt Clarke said.
“Jack’s reputation across the competition is as a person of the highest character who leads by example with his uncompromising standards and drive to be successful.
“He was a key part of a premiership team at Melbourne, and we believe he can have a significant and positive impact on our midfield mix and developing group on and off the field.
“We look forward to welcoming Jack, Charlotte and their three daughters – Mila, Chloe and Ella - to West Coast.”
Rivers played 140 games for the Demons, including the 2021 Grand Final victory, after being drafted with pick 32 from East Fremantle in 2019.
The 25-year-old averaged 20 disposals and more than 400 metres gained in 17 appearances last season after missing a period due to a knee injury.
Rivers, who has signed a five-year contract, also represented Western Australia in AFL Origin in February, collecting 24 disposals against Victoria.
“Trent is a player we have tracked for some time, and we’re excited he has joined our club,” Clarke said.
“He has shown at Melbourne he is a defender who can attack the game from half-back and he also has the versatility to play through the midfield.
“Trent adds more premiership experience to our squad and is in the right age demographic to contribute to our list for years to come.”
West Coast currently holds picks three and 23 in the first two rounds of next month’s Telstra AFL Draft and will gain a compensation pick in the likely scenario that the club’s first selection is pushed back by a bid in the draft.
“We were determined to keep our first two picks in this year’s draft and we will also receive a compensation pick, which would currently come in at pick 24, if our first pick is pushed back by an academy or father-son bid as is highly likely,” Clarke said.
“That will allow us to bring in some more high-quality young talent and we’re really excited about the type of players we could add to our emerging group in the draft as we continue our list build.”
