Older, wiser, larger and slower? You bet. As the acronym for the West Coast Eagles past players suggests, like everyone else, elite athletes can gain a kilo or two and lose a few hair follicles through the passage of time. 

 

Can they still pull a crowd? Absolutely!

 

When the West Coast Eagles past players (OWLS) rallied together in the name of charity and one of the great men to represent the club, to play Fremantle’s Old Salts on Sunday evening, more than 32,000 fans filed into Subiaco Oval to see the spectacle.

 

With entry set at a $5 donation to Telethon for adults and children admitted free of charge it was always going to attract an audience, but few would have anticipated an attendance of that magnitude.

   

They came in their droves for this inaugural Chris Mainwaring Tribute Match in honour of a West Coast great and a Channel 7 stalwart, who devoted so much of his energy for the charitable cause.

 

They came to see whether Dean Kemp still possessed the silky skills that stood him out from the pack a decade ago, whether Peter Matera had retained any degree of his explosive pace, to witness Scott Chisholm, “The Prince of Pockets” back at Subi for the first time in an eternity and to watch the man simply known as Clive. Of course, he has a surname, but few people needed to use Waterhouse as a distinguisher.

 

For a game that was pulled together rather quickly, it gained rapid momentum and commitment. Aside from past greats of the two WA clubs, a couple of celebrities also made themselves available.

 

Channel 7 presenter Ernie Dingo, as passionate about the Eagles as any man, was in town for Telethon and quickly volunteered to play. WA’s world champion boxer Danny Green arrived in a suit to hand over a cheque as part of the fund-raising marathon and finished up on a half-forward flank.

 

He ran on with his customary boxing gloves, before shedding them a minute later. Adrian Barich wore a Tina Turner-inspired wig, similar to the mullet he donned as a player. Barich actually played Tina in a players review 20 years ago and was quite convincing, though his pins were better back then.

 

It was that kind of night.

 

Fremantle jumped out of the blocks and kicked the first four goals, but then pulled up, leaving a lot of their younger, more-recently retired players on the pine, while wily veterans like Andrew McGovern, Craig Callaghan, Todd Ridley, Leigh Wardell-Johnson, John Hutton and Tony Godden carried the load.

 

After that initial onslaught the umpires also intervened.

 

At that point Zac Mainwaring was injected into the middle and in the act of clearing the ball forward, was man-handled by an unknown, unseen Docker. Umpire Peter Repper spotted the transgression, however, awarded the kick to Mainy’s son and promptly awarded consecutive 50-metre penalties against Fremantle for miming abuse.

 

Young Zac grabbed his opportunity and converted from the goal line. Regardless of the contrived nature of his goal, it was a moving moment and despite the heroics of past stars, will be the enduring image of this match.

 

Others included a goal to Mainy’s older brother Brett, who dodged and weaved to convert in the third term, while Nick Panos, whose father won the bid on a radio station promotion, also enjoyed a moment in the spotlight by kicking a major.

 

It was a light-hearted gallop around the paddock that rekindled fond memories of deeds past. The Matera brothers, Kemp, Brett Heady, Troy “demolition ball” Wilson, Peter Sumich, Peter Wilson, Ashley McIntosh, Phil Read, Michael Braun and Mitch White were among 40-odd OWLS to make an appearance and delighted fans with their skills, albeit executed at a slower pace.

 

And the Fremantle faithful enjoyed seeing Clive, Peter Miller, Troy Longmuir, Mr Fremantle aka Shaun McManus, Quenton Leach, Troy Cook, Stephen O’Reilly and Daniel Bandy strut their stuff.

 

In the end the OWLS won comfortably, but the result was inconsequential.

 

 

For the record, though, some details follow:

 

Goals – OWLS: Phil Matera, T Wilson, Heady, P Wilson 2; B Mainwaring, Z Mainwaring, Sumich, Read, Panos, Hepburn, J Spinks, Peos 1.

Best – OWLS: Heady, Kemp, Peter Matera, W Matera, P Wilson, Banfield.

 

Bill Sutherland Medal – Brett Heady

Gary Dhurrkay Medal – Leigh Wardell-Johnson