THE PLAYERS who will take West Coast forward have a responsibility to make sure the unique leadership contributions of three retiring greats continue to ripple through the club for years, according to defender Jeremy McGovern. 

The departures of champion trio Shannon Hurn, Luke Shuey and Nic Naitanui should also ensure every player "leaves nothing on the table" when the Eagles close their season against Adelaide on Saturday night. 

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McGovern has played his entire career along the three stars since arriving as a rookie in 2011, serving in Hurn's leadership group, as a vice-captain to Shuey, and alongside Naitanui in that role. 

While all will leave significant holes as players, McGovern said their three unique leadership styles would be particularly hard to replace straight away. 

"I can pretty much put my whole career and everything I've learnt about leadership down to what I've learnt from Bunga (Hurn). In all aspects," McGovern told AFL.com.au this week. 

"We've had an amazing connection through my whole career on the footy field, and leadership-wise he was the guy who I'd always go to, and he was the guy who would always come to me at the right time. 

"That's a skill as a leader and he is in the top echelon I have ever seen to do it in that way. He does it for a lot of players, and he does it well for a group as well. 

"For anything leadership and life in general, Bunga is the man I'm going to."

Shuey's leadership style, McGovern said, was to be reliable and able to stand up in the big moments as a player while also being understanding with his teammates. 

He was a leader from the time McGovern arrived, despite only being two years older, and grew to be "the spirit of our footy club". 

"Whether it was organising get-togethers, footy trip stuff, driving standards, getting around the boys at training, he had such a good balance between loving his footy and the mateship of it," McGovern said.  

"If I ever kicked a goal or did something that was a bit out of the ordinary, you look at the tape and Luke Shuey is normally the first one to get there and celebrate that with you … that’s the spirit side that he was extremely good at. 

"He would recognise in those moments to build you up, either with a hug or a high five or a look in the eye with a wink and a nod, and he did that through his whole career with all the boys."

Revered as a game-changing ruckman, Naitanui's leadership was spoken about far less through his brilliant career, which included five years in the leadership group (2018-2022) and as vice-captain last year.  

But McGovern believes the dual club champion was the most influential person he ever played with.

"Not just because of what he does on the field, but also him as a person. When he spoke, he spoke volumes," the defender said.

"When we needed something, Nic was the guy who was going to give us that lift and every time he walked out onto the footy field, the whole club walked taller because of his presence. 

"He wasn't one of those leaders who had to say much, it was just follow me boys, jump on my back, and I'll take you where we need to go. Then when he did have something to say, it was powerful."

McGovern described the retiring trio as "legends of our footy club" and the three players he would be telling his kids that he played with. 

A big-hearted footballer who loves his teammates, McGovern said he had struggled to look Hurn in the eye when the premiership skipper first shared his retirement news with him. 

Saturday night will provide an opportunity for the group to celebrate three of the great careers in club history. 

"You hope these things last forever and I played so much footy with Bunga down back my whole career and I think he knows how much he means to me," McGovern said. 

"The tough thing with those boys is they never make it about them, but I'll pin them down and tell them how impactful they've been.

"The best way for me to show that and for the group to show that though is to go out there this weekend and leave nothing on the table. 

"I'm sure this weekend there will be a piece of everyone left out there on the footy field for those boys."