Almost 300 of the West Coast Eagles’ longest serving members recently attended the Beneath Our Wings Gold Sundowner, to celebrate their ongoing support of the club.

This very special function allowed the club to thank those members who have held membership continuously for 30 or more years, some as far back as the club’s inaugural season in the competition.

Guests were treated to complimentary canapés and had the opportunity to meet other long-term members, as they soaked up the atmosphere of the Mineral Resources Park function room.  

The formalities began with inaugural captain Ross Glendinning, as event MC, taking the members in the room back in time to the early days of the club.

Premiership player Nathan Vardy and rising star Oscar Allen attended the function for a Q&A with Glendinning, giving the guests the inside word on the latest at the club.

Vardy relived the famous final minutes of the 2018 grand final and discussed some of the club’s newest players and their emergence in the WAFL, while Allen spoke about his recent contract extension and the influence of some of the club’s senior forwards on his game.

After a short break, Operations and Wellbeing Manager Michelle Cowan took to the stage to discuss the AFLW program with Glendinning.

Beginning her professional football career at the age of 21 as an assistant coach at West Perth in the WAFL, Cowan took the crowd through her journey to becoming the inaugural coach of Fremantle’s AFLW team, before she donned the blue and gold in her current role at the Eagles.

Cowan discussed the importance of grassroots football in developing the women’s game and spoke about some of the newest Eagles recruits ahead of the upcoming AFLW season.

The evening was wrapped up with a door prize draw, with one lucky guest taking home a guernsey signed by the 2021 AFL team and coach.

More information about the club’s Beneath Our Wings member recognition program is available at https://am.ticketmaster.com/westcoasteagles/beneath-our-wings.