West Coast Eagles secured a 17-point victory over GWS on Sunday, marking the one-year anniversary of the passing of club great Adam Selwood. The win snapped a six-game losing streak, with the final score reading 13.10 (88) to 10.11 (71).
Emotional Victory for Champion
Young Eagle Malakai Champion, who turned 20 on the day of the match, played a pivotal role with 11 disposals and two goal assists. The Indigenous round clash held special significance for Champion, who inherited Selwood's iconic No. 37 jersey when he joined the club as a Next Generation Academy pre-selection in 2024.
"He presented my jumper to me, and we would always chat," Champion said. "I had his phone number, and we would always text, and I was pretty shocked when it happened. On Sunday, it was Selwood's one-year anniversary since he passed away. It's on my birthday, so it's a pretty memorable day, and I'm pretty sure some of the boys had him in the back of their mind during the game."
Selwood's Legacy
Adam Selwood, a premiership player with West Coast, died by suicide at age 41, just months after his identical twin brother Troy also took his own life. Champion maintained regular contact with Selwood before his passing and described the emotional weight of the day.
"About three weeks ago the club told me I would be nominated as an NGA player. I cried, for me and for my mum. It's a huge honour and I'm so excited. I got to train with Liam Ryan and Tyrell Dewar a little last year," Champion recalled.
First Career Win
Sunday's victory was the first of Champion's seven-game AFL career. "It's probably a bit of icing on the cake because it's my birthday and Indigenous round," he said. "I'm just super grateful we put four quarters of effort in, and our main focus was starting off well in the first quarter, and we set ourselves up for the whole game. I feel so proud of these blokes. I know what we're capable of, and we produced it."
Looking Ahead
The Eagles now face a blockbuster MCG outing against Collingwood on Saturday night, where Scott Pendlebury will set a new VFL/AFL games record in his 433rd match. Eagles coach Andrew McQualter highlighted the occasion: "Our young players will get to play in a game that I imagine will have 90,000 to 100,000 people there for Harley Reid's 50th and Scott Pendlebury's record-breaking game. So a really special occasion and we can't wait to play in it."
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