Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Waalitj Marawar (West Coast) coach Andrew McQualter has given a concerning update on veteran key defender Jeremy McGovern ahead of a trip to Adelaide.
It comes as the first-year head coach revealed Adam Selwood had been working with the club’s WAFL side in the weeks before his sudden death.
The Eagles saluted for their first victory of the season on Sunday, taking down Euro-Yroke (St Kilda) at Optus Stadium by 28 points.
The win even came without their defensive general in McGovern, and they may need to battle without him again on Saturday against Kuwarna (Adelaide) with the 33-year-old still in concussion protocols more than two weeks after taking a blow to the head against Narrm (Melbourne).
“Gov’s still in concussion protocols at the moment, and we will just see how this week progresses,” McQualter revealed on 7NEWS.
“The medical team will have full authority over that, and they’re experienced in that space.
“We’ll work with them and Gov through the week.”
It would be a third week on the side lines for the five-time All-Australian.
McQualter also said small forward Matt Owies was likely to miss multiple weeks after being subbed out in the first half against the Saints with ice on his calf, but that he expected ruckman Matt Flynn to pull up well from a shoulder complaint.
The Eagles’ emotional victory came in the wake of the tragic death of Selwood only a day before, and McQualter said the club would be supporting players and staff as an ongoing process across the coming months.
“This is going to be ongoing for a little while for a lot of people,” he said.
“There were a lot of deep connections with Adam for people throughout our organisation, and he had such a big impact on a lot of people.
“Even as recently as a couple of weeks ago, (he was) helping out with our WAFL program, and he’ll be sorely missed.”
Sunday’s victory was also a first since moving west for McQualter, the club producing their worst-ever start to a season with nine straight defeats.
And McQualter said he was proud his players could rise to the occasion on an emotional afternoon in front of the home fans and earn their reward for hard work across the past fortnight.
“It was a really difficult day for everyone involved and the football club,” he said.
“We just spoke to our players about playing the game in the right spirit, being great teammates, and that’s what our guys were able to do yesterday, and that produced a win for us.
“It was terrific reward for our guys. They’ve been toiling hard over the last four or five weeks.
“We’ve put a lot of work into our game, and we’ve been starting to build a bit of belief without getting a win.
“But to be able to put a fair bit of it together for four quarters and get that result, I’m really proud of the players.”
