Fans flock to welcome back Eagles heroes

Luke Shuey could barely speak and Lewis Jetta cradled the premiership cup like a baby as more than 40,000 Eagles fans welcomed their heroes back to Perth.

Eagles

West Coast fans flocked to Langley Park in Perth to pay homage to the new AFL premiers. (AAP)

West Coast skipper Shannon Hurn had a simple message for the more than 40,000 fans who welcomed his team back to Perth on Sunday: Let's do this again next year.

The Eagles broke their 12-year premiership drought with a nail-biting five-point victory over Collingwood in Saturday's grand final and were welcomed home in style.

Thousands of West Coast faithful poured into Langley Park for the official West Coast's official homecoming on Sunday, and they hung on every raspy word from the squad.

The crowd erupted into laughter when North Smith medallist Luke Shuey addressed the crowd with the croakiest of voices.

Speedster Lewis Jetta also had the crowd in fits of laughter as he nursed the premiership cup like a loving father.

"Just keep it down. I'm trying to keep the baby nice and quiet here," he said before breaking into his trademark dance.

Hurn thanked the big crowd for coming out, saying the support meant a huge amount to the players.

"We got the job done over there, we managed to bring the premiership cup back home," Hurn said.

"A lot of people have been a part of this. We'll try to get you another one and bring it back next year."

Premiership coach Adam Simpson was also nursing a hoarse voice as he addressed the huge crowd.

"This cup is for you, it's for WA," said Simpson as cheers reverberated.

"Thankyou so much for your support. There's nothing but love and care for this joint.

"Our players, the way they performed on the weekend, they played with tremendous heart and spirit."

Midfielder Dom Sheed ensured his name would be etched into AFL folklore by kicking the winning goal from deep in the pocket.

He said he simply "put it through the big sticks".

"It's been a rollercoaster journey for myself and for the footy club," Sheed said.

"We had a lot of doubters the whole year. We stuck fat and got there in the end."

However, not all of the premiership celebrations were good natured.

Video emerged on social media on Saturday of a man offering a dead Magpie to his dog.

Another man then stomps on the dead bird multiple times, before giving it a quick bite and chucking it aside.

"There are idiots out there. Those guys are clearly stupid," WA Premier Mark McGowan said.

"People who engage in animal cruelty - I think everyone has a pretty dim view of them. I'm sure police will deal with them.

"Some people don't have respect for other forms of life. I think 99.9 per cent of us do."

Eagles players are set to continue their celebrations over the next few days, a parade through the city is planned.


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Source: AAP


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Fans flock to welcome back Eagles heroes | SBS News