West Coast great Jeremy McGovern has announced his AFL retirement, after a recommendation from the league’s Concussion Panel.
McGovern hasn’t played since the Eagles’ Round 8 clash with Melbourne, when he sustained a concussion after being accidentally nudged into a marking contest by Demon Jake Melksham.
Coming off the back of several other head knocks in the last few seasons, the 33-year old accepted the panel’s verdict that it was too dangerous for him to continue playing.
McGovern finishes with 197 games for the Eagles after making his debut as a rookie in 2014.
After a turbulent start to his AFL career, that included being banned from Eagles training in early 2014 after returning for pre-season in poor condition, McGovern quickly established himself as a key member of a strong team.
After starting his career as a forward, he was fatefully moved into defence amid a spate of injuries at the start of 2015, instantly becoming a crucial cog as the Eagles produced a stunning run to the grand final in Adam Simpson’s second year at the helm.
At his peak, he was one of the game’s greatest intercept-marking key defenders, winning All-Australian selection five times, including in four consecutive seasons from 2016-2019.
He was a key figure in the Eagles’ 2018 premiership, kicking the winning goal after the siren in a home-and-away match against Port Adelaide and taking an AFL record 77 intercept marks for the season – none more important than the mark to start the sequence late in the 2018 grand final that ended with Dom Sheed’s iconic goal to sink Collingwood in the final minutes of an epic decider.
After several injury-interrupted seasons, McGovern enjoyed a career renaissance in 2024, winning his fifth All-Australian blazer and claiming his first John Worsfold Medal as the Eagles’ best and fairest.
“It’s been an absolute honour to pull on the West Coast jumper for the past 15 years and it’s something that I will forever be grateful for,” McGovern said in a statement.
“As much as this isn’t the way I would have liked to go out, I respect the decision.
“I’m gutted I don’t get to pull the jumper on and run out one more time, but sometimes this is the way the game goes, and I am forever grateful to the West Coast supporters who have also shown me love and respect.
“To the club, I can’t explain how much you have given me over my time here and I can’t thank you enough for drafting a fat kid from Albany and giving him a crack.
“I’ve always loved the game and winning a premiership is every kid’s dream, but the lifelong friendships and relationships you build through footy mean more to me than anything.
“I will forever be indebted to West Coast and I will always bleed blue and gold.”
