Eagles veteran hangs up the bootsLOYALTY in football is not dead. That fact was borne out yesterday when David Wirrpanda recounted his early days at West Coast, the cub he was recruited to as a teenager in 1996 and to which, 14 seasons later, he has said goodbye.
Wirrpanda (pictured), who has announced his retirement from AFL football, said he had given himself three years to stay at West Coast after arriving in Perth as a precociously talented, and pony-tailed, 16-year-old from Victoria.
West Coast fans are glad Wirrpanda abandoned his plans for he had became a fan favourite among the Eagles faithful, sticking with the the club as its on-field fortunes plummeted in the late 1990s and earlier this decade, before rising again, culminating in the 2006 premiership, its third.
Now, after 227 games, two grand finals, one premiership and one All-Australian jumper, Wirrpanda is hanging up his boots.
"I thought if I did go back to Victoria football would not be first priority, my family would and that was one of the sacrifices I had to do to better myself as a person and to give myself the best opportunity in staying with West Coast," Wirrpanda said. "There were temptations there, I won't lie, but at the end of the day this club did everything for me and I wanted to do the best I could in return.
"And that was just to be a loyal servant and be a positive example and role model for not only the community but for the players in the system as well."
Like most retirees, Wirrpanda saw the writing on the wall much earlier. That message was that his beloved Eagles were moving in another direction. Wirrpanda said his decision had come months ago after a mid-season heart-to-heart with coach John Worsfold.
"I just wanted to be realistic of where I stood within the playing squad and to be honest at the beginning of the year I thought I was more of a chance to play on," he said. "But the way the boys came on towards the end of the year really did open my eyes up to the direction the younger blokes are taking their footy.
"I thought to myself, for this club to go further I have to sacrifice my position in order for the younger blokes to get more experience. It was different for me at the beginning (of my career) because I couldn't really cement a spot because of Ben Cousins and Phil Matera, so David Hart did me a favour and retired.
"Now I'm returning the favour to Shannon Hurn and young Scooter (Scott Selwood)."
Wirrpanda's final AFL game will forever be the Eagles' defeat at the hands of Adelaide at AAMI Stadium. He missed West Coast's final match for the season last Friday night to attend the birth of his first child, a boy.
"While all that was happening I was witnessing my son coming into the world and all of a sudden the footy stuff went out the window within two or three minutes and I completely forgot about my footy world," he said. "To be honest it's not a scary, daunting day for me today."
Wirrpanda's focus now would turn to his family, and his
David Wirrpanda Foundation, which helps Indigenous children achieve their potential.
Wirrpanda is the fourth Indigenous AFL player to retire this season, along with other one-club legends Peter Burgoyne (Port Adelaide), Michael O'Loughlin (Sydney Swans) and Matthew Whelan (Melbourne).
DARREN MONCRIEFF
Darren@AboriginalFootball.com.au
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Last Modified on 15/09/2009 19:30