Luke Shuey

Shuey remains head of Eagles’ nest

The Norm Smith medallist will lead on at Lathlain, but a hand over could be on the horizon.

Published by
Ed Carmine

West Coast midfielder Luke Shuey will lead the club for a third season after being retained as Eagles captain on Wednesday afternoon.

Shuey was granted the honour after his peers voted to keep the 2018 Norm Smith medallist in the post.

While familiar with the position, the dual best and fairest winner will have the support of interceptor Jeremy McGovern and tap work talent Nic Naitainui after the duo were named as his vice-captains.

The names of Tom Barass, Liam Duggan and Oscar Allen complete the six-man leadership group after spearhead Josh Kennedy opted to step down from his formal role in 2022.

Speaking to the club's media department, head coach Adam Simpson explained that with his balanced approach to his game, Shuey remained their shoe-in to lead the Perth powerhouse once more.

“The players strongly endorsed Luke in the role for a third successive season,” Simpson told westcoasteagles.com.au.

“He is a highly respected player and person within the club and it came as no surprise that his peers again supported his appointment."

While Shuey himself is yet to comment in the wake of the decision, the 31-year-old stated during the past fortnight that if his body could not continue to withstand the rigours of AFL football, he would look to pass the baton in the near future.

"It's interesting, you do need your captain out there playing, ideally," Shuey stated in January.

"If this was this time next year and I had another season where I hadn't played too much footy, it (handing over the captaincy) would definitely be something I'd consider.

"But at the moment I've still got to be confident I'm going to get my body right and be able to play a lot of footy this year."

RELATED: Another injury setback for Eagles skipper

Having missed 19 games across the past pair of seasons due to lower-body injuries, the Victorian has, sadly, become reasonably acquainted with the sidelines.

And after succumbing to another hamstring injury last week, Shuey remains behind the eight ball for a third successive campaign.

Still, as reported by AFL Media, the 2018 draftee was able to jog laps during West Coasts' Monday session at Lathlain Park.

Shuey and the Eagles are currently set to face Adelaide and Fremantle in pre-season clashes this month ahead of their season opener against Gold Coast scheduled for Sunday, March 20.

However, Western Australia's stringent border laws are likely to create fixturing chaos between now and then.

Published by
Ed Carmine