Against the establishment: How the Eagles got up in 1986

I came across this yesterday which I found incredibly interesting: the story of how the West Coast Eagles came into being. It appears that it was a real struggle for them to get up playing in the new 'national' competition, but once they did they didn't look back. The main issue or theme running through was basically the big fight against tradition and long-term interests that some parties would do anything to protect. Both the VFL and WAFL clubs were trying to maintain the status quo against the backdrop of financial difficulties. The interests of the national competition had to prevail for all parties concerned but the result would be the death of 100 plus years of independent state competition. So be it. The game has only moved from strength to strength since.



Part 2 here.

Part 3 here.