A sea of blue and gold-clad West Coast fans have gathered to celebrate the Eagles’ monumental victory in the 2018 AFL Grand Final.
The Eagles put together a dramatic come-from-behind victory against the Collingwood Magpies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in front of more than 100,000 fans on Saturday afternoon.
Returning to Perth’s foreshore on Sunday afternoon to show off their premiership cup, the team were met by more than 6000 die-hard supporters.
The West Coast Eagles have brought the premiership to Perth, coach Adam Simpson (left) and captain Shannon Hurn (right) hoisting it to the rabid crowd
More than 6000 fans came out to Perth’s Langley Park to welcome their Eagles home
They flew home from Melbourne earlier Sunday morning, pictured on the plane with super-fan Julie Bishop.
Rabid Eagles fans gathered at Perth’s Langley Park, cheering and singing as big screens played replays of their victory.
In the crowd on Sunday was Western Australian premier Mark McGowan, clad in an Eagles scarf despite being a notorious Fremantle fan.
‘The Eagles brought home the cup in one of the most amazing grand finals anyone has ever seen, it was magnificent, it was exciting, it was frustrating,’ he told ABC.
‘This cup is for you, it’s for WA, thank you so much for you support, thanks to the players, our footy club from the top down,’ Eagles coach Adam Simpson told the crowd.
The Eagles won the Grand Final in an incredible come-from-behind effort against Collingwood
Captain Shannon Hurn got the crowd going, promising to go back-to-back next year
Captain Shannon Hurn, who played a huge role of the back line in the decisive Eagles win, riled the crowd up further.
‘It’s been a fantastic season … we’ll do it again next year,’ he said.
West Coast did make it to back-to-back Grand Finals in 2005 and 2006, losing the first to the Sydney Swans but defeating them in the rematch a year later.
West Coast won the 2018 AFL Grand Final 79-74 after trailing for all but nine minutes
West Coast trailed for all but nine minutes of the Grand Final, with many ruling them out after conceding the first five goals of the match.
But a dominant third quarter and a last ditch goal by young gun Dom Sheed led the out-of-town Eagles to their first Grand Final win since 2006.
The final score was 79-74 in West Coast’s favour, after being down 31-2 in the first quarter.