West Coast Eagles

The top ten West Coast Eagles players of the 21st century

Are these the ten best Eagles to have played this century?

Published by
Zero Hanger

Throughout the final years of the 1990s, AFL clubs across the land looked backward rather than forward, with selectors, historians and superstars converging to name their Teams of the 20th Century.

So, as we near the quarter-time mark of the 21st century, what better time to run the rule on which players are likely to feature when the selectors of tomorrow get together in several decades' time?

While every club has an array of deadset legends that can be called on, we here at Zero Hanger have employed the following rules of selection:

  • Only statistics recorded and achievements accrued since the start of the 2000 AFL season will be acknowledged.
  • All statistics and awards must have been accrued while playing for the club in question.
  • Any player selected must have played at least 100 senior games for their respective club since the start of the 2000 AFL season.

Next up, we head West to decide which ten Eagles have flown highest this century.

OTHER LISTS: CROWSLIONSBLUESPIESBOMBERSDOCKERSCATSSUNSGIANTSHAWKS,DEESROOSPOWERTIGERS, SAINTS, SWANS

Jack Darling (2011-present)

4 x leading goalkicker (2012, 2018, 2019 and 2021)
1 x All-Australian (2019)
1 x premiership player (2018)
277 games, 510 goals, 1.8 goals per game

While odd moments have punctuated points of Darling's career, any case to leave the key forward off this list should be ignored due to his sheer number of goals.

While playing second fiddle to Josh Kennedy for almost the entirety of his days as an Eagle, Darling has played it finely, slotting 510 goals - just four goals behind Peter Sumich and a share of second place on West Coast's all-time leading goalkicker ladder.

PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA - MAY 20: Jack Darling of the Eagles celebrates after scoring a goal during the round nine AFL match between the West Coast Eagles and the Richmond Tigers at Optus Stadium on May 20, 2018 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Will Russell/AFL Media/Getty Images)

Matt Priddis (2006-2017)

1 x Brownlow Medal (2014)
1 x best and fairest (2013)
1 x All-Australian (2015)
240 games, 26.2 disposals per game, 149 Brownlow votes, 0.6 votes per game

From the rookie list to rare air, as one of only three Eagles to have earned Brownlow honours, Priddis was always going to take his place on this list.

Although several other Eagles have turned out on more occasions than Priddis, the gun midfielder took each of his opportunities on offer and enjoyed a more-than-solid peak, averaging 28.4 disposals and a Brownlow vote every week between the start of 2013 and the end of the 2015 season.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 22: Matt Priddis of the West Coast Eagles poses with the 2014 Brownlow Medal at the 2014 Brownlow Medal Dinner at Crown Palladium on September 22, 2014 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Shannon Hurn (2006-2023)

2 x All-Australian (2018 and 2019)
1 x premiership player (2018)
333 games, 5.35 marks per game, 4.15 rebound 50s per game

If the ball was flying high and long into West Coast's defensive third at any stage this century, chances are the Sherrin ended up in the safe hands of Shannon Hurn.

Although never the most loquacious bloke when before the microphones, Hurn let his footy do the talking, stopping opposition thrusts, starting his own and becoming just the third Eagle to lead his side to premiership glory back in 2018.

MELBOURNE, VICTORIA - SEPTEMBER 29: Eagles head coach Adam Simpson and Shannon Hurn of the Eagles hold up the premiership cup after their win during the 2018 AFL Grand Final match between the Collingwood Magpies and the West Coast Eagles at Melbourne Cricket Ground on September 29, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/AFL Media/Getty Images)

Nic Naitanui (2009-2023)

2 x best and fairest (2020 and 2021)
3 x All-Australian (2012, 2020 and 2021)
213 games, 26.1 hitouts per game 

With a pair of Worsfold Medals and a trifecta of All-Australian blazers, Naitanui worked well to solidify himself as one of West Coast's greatest ever ruckman across the course of an oft-interrupted 15-season career.

While sound under a high ball and a tap work wizard at stoppages, the former first round selection often finished off his own hard work, racking up more than four clearances across his 213-game career.

PERTH, AUSTRALIA - JULY 06: Nic Naitanui of the Eagles enters the arena during the 2019 AFL round 16 match between the Fremantle Dockers and the West Coast Eagles at the Optus Stadium on July 06, 2019 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Jeremy McGovern (2011-present)

4 x All-Australian (2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019)
1 x premiership player (2018)
172 games, 6.8 marks per game, 3.3 rebound 50s per game

From hefty draftee to a decorated, and immovable, pillar at the back, McGovern has eked everything out of himself along his path from youngster to veteran.

Completing his apprenticeship under master defenders in Messers Glass and Hurn, McGovern has gone on to act as the senior head down back, leading the ilk of Barrass and Duggan, earning a quartet of All-Australian blazers in the process.

PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA - JULY 16: Jeremy McGovern of the Eagles celebrates after scoring a goal during the round 17 AFL match between the Fremantle Dockers and the West Coast Eagles at Domain Stadium on July 16, 2017 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Will Russell/AFL Media/Getty Images)

Darren Glass (2000-2014)

3 x best and fairest (2007, 2009 and 2011)
4 x All-Australian (2006, 2007, 2011 and 2012)
1 x premiership player (2006)
270 games, 3.6 marks per game

Glass by name, but steeled by nature, across the course of his 15-season career in royal blue and gold, Glass proved an impregnable force behind the ball, routinely setting the Eagles up for success.

While never the most celebrated Eagle, even in his pomp, few, if any, gave more to the club's cause than the former skipper from the Avon Region.

PERTH, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 27: Past Eagles players Darren Glass and Dean Kemp drive a lap of honour with a premiership cup during the round 23 AFL match between the West Coast Eagles and the Adelaide Crows at Domain Stadium on August 27, 2017 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Dean Cox (2001-2014)

1 x best and fairest (2008)
6 x All-Australian (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2012)
1 x premiership player (2006)
290 games, 22.9 hitouts per game 

Throughout the first 24 seasons of the 21st century, no Eagle has earned more All-Australian nods than Cox.

A tower of a man, one also blessed with brilliant ball skills, the Western Australian acted as a constant in an, at times, erratic team, providing his star-studded midfield with first use of the ball more often than any of his rivals ever could.

And with 169 goals to his name, Cox was also no slouch when floating forward across his 14-season stint in blue and gold.

PERTH, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 01: Todd Goldstein of the Kangaroos and Dean Cox of the Eagles contest the ruck during the round 11 AFL match between the West Coast Eagles and the North Melbourne Kangaroos at Patersons Stadium on June 1, 2014 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Chris Judd (2002-2007)

1 x Brownlow Medal (2004)
1 x Leigh Matthews Trophy (2006)
1 x Norm Smith Medal (2005)
2 x best and fairest (2004 and 2006)
2 x All-Australian (2004 and 2006)
134 games, 21 disposals per game, 1.02 goals per game, 94 Brownlow votes, 0.7 votes per game

Had Judd stayed an Eagle for the entirety of his decorated career, there is absolutely no doubt that the gun midfielder would have finished atop this list.

Brought west with the Eagles' opening pick of the 2001 Super Draft, the Victorian wasted little time in marking his mark, dominating in the middle and before goal during his early years in blue and gold.

While his stay at Subiaco would only last six seasons, Judd left no stone unturned, winning just about everything on offer to him, including leading West Coast to their third flag in 2006.

PERTH, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 12: Chris Judd and Daniel Kerr of the Eagles celebrate winning the round 19 AFL match between the West Coast Eagles and the Kangaroos at Subiaco Oval on August 12, 2006 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Josh J. Kennedy (2008-2022)

2 x Coleman Medal (2015 and 2016)
8 x leading goalkicker (2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2022)
3 x All-Australian (2015, 2016 and 2017)
1 x premiership player (2018)
271 games, 712 goals, 2.6 goals per game

Ironically becoming an Eagle as part of the deal that saw Chris Judd become a Blue, Kennedy would fledge fully as an Eagle, etching his name into recent records as one of the greatest key forwards of his era.

Routinely, the Western Australian would lead the Eagles' goalkicking each season, and on two occasions, the entire league, with Kennedy proving himself to be perhaps the most bankable deadeye when it came to completing set shots.

A fan favourite and professional to the end, Kennedy ended his 271-game stay out west in elite fashion, booting eight goals in his final game before the adoring Optus Stadium crowd.

MELBOURNE, VICTORIA - SEPTEMBER 29: Josh Kennedy of the Eagles celebrates a goal during the 2018 AFL Grand Final match between the Collingwood Magpies and the West Coast Eagles at Melbourne Cricket Ground on September 29, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/AFL Media/Getty Images)

Ben Cousins (2000-2007)

1 x Brownlow Medal (2005)
1 x Leigh Matthews Trophy (2005)
4 x best and fairest (2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005)
4 x All-Australian (2001, 2002, 2005 and 2006)
1 x premiership player (2006)

While he acts as the Eagles' answer to Icarus, for all of his off-field misdeeds and misery imparted and worn, there can be no denying that Cousins was one hell of a footballer when on song.

White-hot from the get-go, Cousins claimed Rising Star honours in the mid-90s, going on to cement himself as a star of the game before the turn of the millennium.

However, once the 20th century ticked into the 21st, Cousins continued to elevate, eventually ending his days as an Eagle with a swathe of awards, but in dire need of a fresh start.

Despite the glitz, the glamour and the stacked highlights reel, Cousins' career, and the continued spiral upon conclusion, act as one of the game's true cautionary tales.

PERTH, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 19: Ben Cousins of the Eagles poses with the 2005 Brownlow Medal after being announced as the winner during the West Coast Eagles Brownlow Medal Dinner at the Burswood Casino September 19, 2005 in Perth, Australia.(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
Published by
Zero Hanger