- West Coast premiership great Dom Sheed retires
- Footy star suffered serious knee injury in February
West Coast premiership great Dom Sheed enters AFL retirement tinged with guilt at the kick that made him famous.
The 30-year-old from Kalgoorlie had played 165 games since his 2014 debut, but none this season after tearing the ACL in his right knee at February pre-season training.
‘It has been an absolute privilege to represent the West Coast Eagles, and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity this great footy club gave a skinny kid from Kalgoorlie,’ Sheed said.
His retirement comes a week after fellow Eagle Jeremy McGovern also called it quits because of persistent concussion problems.
McGovern’s intercept mark deep in defence famously started the crucial chain of possessions late in the last quarter of the 2018 grand final win over Collingwood.
Sheed was on the end of the play, marking and kicking an outstanding goal from a difficult angle, with Magpies fans howling at him on the boundary fence only a couple of metres away.
West Coast premiership great Dom Sheed (pictured) has confirmed his retirement from the AFL
The footy star (pictured with wife Brooke) tore the ACL in his right knee during February pre-season training
Shortly after, the Eagles won by five points for their fourth and most recent flag.
Sheed told Eagles teammates of his decision on Tuesday morning, later confirming the news in a club statement.
‘To play for the club I grew up supporting has been a dream come true, but the relationships you build and memories you share from footy are what I will cherish most,’ he said.
‘There are so many people I would like to thank for helping me along the journey, first and foremost my amazing family.
‘It hasn’t always been easy. There’s been plenty of ups and downs, and to finish up without being able to play alongside the boys this year due to injury has been tough.
‘But my family have been there for me every step of the way.’
At his prime, Sheed was a key cog in West Coast’s talent-packed midfield.
But from 2022-24 he only managed 24 senior games because of injuries.
From 2022-24 Shead only managed 24 senior games because of ongoing injuries
Shead (pictured right) kicked the winning goal in the 2018 grand final, in which West Coast pipped Collingwood by five points
‘I’m very fortunate. Right place, right time … and then to be able to execute and impact on the biggest day in footy is something I think about every five minutes,’ he said of the most famous moment of his career.
‘It has brought me a wide range of emotions over the years – some amazing ones and some down ones as well.’
Sheed revealed some guilt that his heroic kick largely overshadowed one of the great premiership deciders.
‘There’s a level of guilt that comes with it,’ he said.
‘When people talk about that game, they talk about that kick a lot.
‘It takes a lot of people to be able to make a grand final, to be able to win one, and I was a beneficiary of what was, in my eyes, one of the greatest grand finals ever.
‘It was special and I wouldn”t take it back, that’s for sure. I’m just grateful I was able to not kick it out on the full, to be honest.’
