West Coast Eagles’
inaugural playing squad (1987)
The official WPFC historian
Brian Atkinson states that West Perth sometimes did not receive its fair share
of state team representatives in years when the club made the finals. Atkinson comments
that: “The failure of any West Perth player to gain state selection in 1984 was
a matter of great controversy within the West Perth camp”, especially as the
club was in third place at the time the team was selected (only to eventually miss
the finals). The West Coast Eagles’ initial 35-man squad for season 1987 was
also disheartening for some West Perth supporters.
The five
West Perth players chosen were: John Gastev, Sean King, Dean Laidley, Paul
Mifka, and Dean Warwick with King being a later addition to the original
32-player squad which was first announced at the official launch at Perth’s
Merlin (now Hyatt) Hotel. These players were bright and promising youngsters
but arguably, with the exception of Laidley and perhaps Gastev, they had not
yet developed the consistency or backlog of strong performances to merit
selection. The five West Perth players in the initial West Coast squad were clearly
chosen, if not at random, then by people largely disrespectful or apathetic towards
the club.
Favourite
sons of the club, such as Phil Bradmore, Les Fong, and Peter Menaglio were
wilfully overlooked although their careers were still active and their playing
performances were still strong. Although Brian Atkinson “did not have any
strong feelings either way”[1],
he states “you would have to include Fong and Menaglio” as the top two players for
the club during the drought-era and prior to the formation of West Coast (i.e. 1976-86).
Both Fong and Menaglio were named in the club’s “Team of the Century”, Menaglio
on the left-wing and Fong as the first rover. Menaglio continued to play senior
football with West Perth up until the 1989 season so he was hardly “over the
hill” by late 1986. Bradmore’s birth-date is 2 April 1959; Fong’s is 24 August
1956 whilst Menaglio’s is 4 September 1958, making these three players 27, 30,
and 28-years-of-age, respectively, as at October 1986. (As mentioned, Menaglio
won the Breckler Medal for club fairest-and-best in 1984 whilst Bradmore won it
the following year. Menaglio was also equal runner-up behind the three tied
winners for the 1984 Sandover Medal. Les Fong was a close runner-up to Menaglio
in the 1984 Breckler Medal count and, from 1981-84, Menaglio and Fong shared
four Breckler Medals.) Fong top-scored for the club with 14 votes at the 1986
Sandover Medal count, won by Mark Bairstow of South Fremantle, although,
astonishingly, there were no West Perth players in the top 24 (yes, read that again, it is not a typo).[2]
 |
| Peter Menaglio (WPFC) |
Also
worthy of consideration for selection by West Coast in late 1986 were Corry
Bewick, Derek Kickett, and George Michalczyk. A newspaper report at the time
suggested that Darren Bewick, younger brother of Corry, was not chosen because
he had elected to remain in Perth for two more years to complete his teaching
degree.[3]
It appears that West Perth was unfashionable for the corporate set that was
running West Coast, compared to players from East Fremantle and Subiaco,
despite the fact that West Perth had beaten East Fremantle consistently in
1985. The disrespect shown to the club’s favourite sons, and especially to
Bradmore, Fong, and Menaglio, rankled with some West Perth supporters. It would
have been a mark of respect to Fong and to the club if Fong had been selected,
if only for one or two seasons, in the same way that Robert Wiley of Perth Demons
(formerly of Richmond) had been brought into the West Coast squad for 1987 at
the twilight of that player’s esteemed career.
West
Coast’s initial squad was chosen for the future and, in hindsight, we might
fail to realize how young the players were then since now, looking back, we
remember the distinguished VFL/AFL careers that many of that initial squad went
on to have. Even Phil Narkle was allegedly only 24-years-old despite already
having played at St Kilda for three seasons.[4]
(In fact The West Australian of 31
October 1986 was in error: Narkle was actually 25-years-old as at 31 October
1986. The ninth 2011 edition of The
Encyclopaedia of AFL Footballers at page 627 lists his birth date as being
29 January 1961.) Don Holmes (27-years-old), Glendinning (30), Turner (27), and
Wiley (31) were the only inaugural West Coast players aged over 25 as at 31
October 1986 according to The West
Australian.[5] It
seems that the general principle which guided selection was to only select
players aged over 25 if they had prior VFL/AFL experience. Bradmore’s prior
VFL/AFL experience seems to have been either forgotten or discounted. In
hindsight, at least, West Coast erred with its selection of the five West Perth
players in 1987 or it clearly picked
players that it had no real intention, in advance, of awarding game time to.
King and Mifka managed only one game each for West Coast and Warwick played
zero. Early Eagles squad members from Swan Districts such as Kevin Caton (1
West Coast game, 1988); Joe Cormack (10 games, 1988); Don Holmes (23 games,
1987-89); Brent Hutton (13 games, 1988-89); and Don Langsford (zero games) suffered
similar fates which further soured the relationship between Swans and West
Coast.
 |
| Derek Kickett, Les Fong (WP) |
At the
1986 Sandover Medal count Laidley was equal second among West Perth players
with 13 votes while Gastev was fourth highest with 11 votes. However, Warwick
and King were way down the list, polling only two votes each and coming in at
equal 15th for the club, while Mifka polled no votes at all. West
Perth supporters could be forgiven for having being somewhat mystified about
the five West Perth players selected. Had they been picked with only a bare
minimum of thought just to make up the numbers with the West Coast leadership
having had no serious prior intention of awarding any of them serious game
time? Were people like Ron Alexander and Graham Moss unduly influenced by old
WAFL club rivalries which led to them give insufficient thought to the
selection of West Perth players and insufficient respect to the players who had
played best for West Perth in the prior three seasons? West Perth’s 1986
Sandover Medal vote-getters’ list should have been given more respect and
consideration by the West Coast leaders.
 |
| Phil "Spock" Bradmore (WPFC) |
Apart from
Laidley, only Gastev later had anything resembling a successful VFL/AFL career
and the vast majority of his games (113 out of 143) were played with the Brisbane
Bears. Similarly, Laidley is better known today, as his Wikipedia page writes,
for his 99 games for North Melbourne rather than for his earlier stint at West
Coast. The 1994 West Coast premiership team featured zero West Perth players or ex-West Perth players. However, Craig
Turley did play 115 games for West Coast between 1989 and 1995 and was a 1992
premiership player. A further reason for the my initial dislike of West Coast,
which has mellowed only but slightly over the years, was the lack of West Perth
players in the team. I support any club playing against West Coast as they are
the temporary embodiment of my hopes and dreams.
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