Mark Duffield: The AFL came of age when West Coast Eagles won their historic 1992 premiership against Geelong

The AFL’s national competition came of age on September 26 1992 — the day West Coast became the first team to send the premiership cup out of Victoria. It felt like revolution, but was really evolution. West Coast were playing in their fourth finals series. Sydney — re-located from South Melbourne, had played finals in 1986 and 1987 but were plunging towards the bottom by 1992. Brisbane, invented from the leftovers of other clubs, would not play finals until 1995. Adelaide had been respectable in their first two seasons in the competition but did not play finals until 1993. For a competition to have national credibility there had to be proof that non-Victorian teams could win it and West Coast always looked the most likely sources of that proof. They had played finals in their second season, made a preliminary final in their fourth and a grand final in their fifth year. But 1992 had a different feel to the club’s all-conquering home and away season of 1991 when they won the minor premiership with 19 wins and just three losses. West Coast started 1992 with injury issues and had lost three games and drawn one by round seven. The draw had come against lowly Brisbane at Carrara. One of their two wins had come against lowly Richmond at the MCG by a solitary point. Their conquerors in the first two months of 1992 included Sydney and Fitzroy, neither of whom finished anywhere near the eight. They played catch up most of the year. They won 12 of their next 14 games. But there were still concerns — form in the wet being one. Collingwood had toppled them at home in the rain. St Kilda had beaten them easily at Waverley and in round 23, with the top of the ladder on offer, they had been drowned by Footscray at the Whitten Oval on a day when snorkels and goggles might have come in as handy as boots and shorts and they were goalless at three quarter time. It meant they finished fourth and faced a sudden death eliminator against 1991 nemesis Hawthorn at Subiaco. It also meant doubt over whether they could win in Melbourne if it rained on grand final day. The elimination final against the Hawks remains one of the best games of football I have seen. West Coast got jumped, then steadied. It went all the way to the end. Peter Sumich and Karl Langdon kicked freak goals in the second term to get the Eagles back in touch but the two things clearest in my memory were the centre wing battle between Peter Matera and Darrin Pritchard and a strained hamstring to full back Michael Brennan that sent Ashley McIntosh to Jason Dunstall late in the game. When Matera’s three goals from 28 disposals took him over the top of Pritchard, the Eagles were on their way. McIntosh’s younger legs and closing speed got him to Dunstall on the lead a couple of times late in the game and the Hawthorn champion, who booted six straight, could not reclaim the game for his team. West Coast had some luck in the first week of finals with St Kilda’s upset win over Collingwood meaning their victory over the Hawks had pitchforked them from fourth straight into the second semi final. They handled the Cats comfortably in that game to earn a week off and a spot in the big dance and from there it felt like it was all about Melbourne’s fickle weather. Would it rain on the Eagles parade? It did rain at the parade — the grand final parade on grand final eve. It rained as West Coast had a light run on the MCG and it rained most of the night before the grand final. But on the big day the sky cleared and while the sun didn’t exactly shine on September 26, Matera, Sumich and Tony Evans did. Matera kicked five from his wing — three from outside fifty metres. Sumich kicked six and handballed Matera’s fifth to him in the goal square. Evans? The Cats were out by four goals in the second term before two clutch goals from the nuggety rover pulled West Coast to within two at the half-time break. From there the interstate “interlopers” as they had become known in Melbourne sent Brett Heady into the centre and with he, Matera and Dean Kemp starring, were always the most likely winners. It was a very West Australian premiership. Coach Mick Malthouse was Victorian but the 20 that played that day were developed in the WA system. And the dread Victorians had felt about an interstate team winning their precious flag was proved to be ill-founded. The crowd of 95,000 stayed and were gracious as the Eagles stepped on to the premiership dais. And while the sun did not exactly shine on grand final day, it did still come up the next day as the Cup left Victoria headed West. The national competition was still evolving. But it was alive and well.