DOM SHEED has been the toast of Western Australia since his life-changing Grand Final goal, and the West Coast premiership hero admits letting go of a glorious finish to 2018 hasn't been easy.
The 23-year-old has been blown away by the adulation, and is now arguably a bigger star than 1994 Norm Smith medallist Dean Kemp in their hometown Kalgoorlie.
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Sheed was the main attraction at a street parade through the mining town last month and was presented with keys to the city, 24 years after the honour was bestowed on Kemp.
In the months since the flag, Sheed has barely been able to walk down the street without being stopped to reminisce, has seen his face tattooed onto a fan's body and the celebratory beers have flowed freely.
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But with a new season coming into sharper view on the horizon, the Eagles midfielder knows it is well and truly time to move on.
"I hung around Perth for a while to make the most of it. It was a good few months and I enjoyed it with the boys and family and friends," Sheed said.
"I didn't know that it (my life) would actually change so much, but it's changed a lot. - Dom Sheed
"Perth, how small it is, they're footy mad. They just love it. The amount of happiness that you can bring to family, friends, fans was probably the thing that hit me the most.
"(I get stopped in the street) a bit, and that's why it's so hard to let go of last year, the premiership and what we were able to achieve.
"But we've got to find ways to move on with it, it's 2019 now. We'll take a lot of confidence out of what we did in 2018 but we've got to get on with it."
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After his excellent finals series – when he averaged 29 disposals - culminated in the biggest kick of his life, it was easy to forget that Sheed was dropped three times last season.
The door back into the side only reopened after Andrew Gaff's suspension and, while Sheed will forever remain in Grand Final folklore, he knows he doesn't have a mortgage on a spot in the best 22.
"I wouldn't say that. I finished the year off well and I'll take confidence from that, but footy is a funny game and it can change very quickly," he said.
"You're only two or three bad games off being back out of the team again and you've got a whole new bunch of draftees coming into the club wanting your spot and are hungry.
"I think when I'm playing my best footy and what I'm capable of I am (in the best 22)."
Sheed, who is out of contract in 2019 but hopes to re-sign sooner rather than later, still hasn't watched the entire Grand Final because he gets nervous sitting through Collingwood's five-goal opening salvo.
However, replays of his fateful goal have been impossible to avoid, and he has his teammates to thank for keeping his feet on the ground, especially Chris Masten.
But after Masten relinquished his time trial crown to ex-Pie recruit Josh Smith on Wednesday, the hard-running wingman can expect some backchat.
"He got beat for about the first time in about eight or nine years, so that was good, so I'll give that to him as well," Sheed said.
