West Coast draftee Jobe Shanahan will make his AFL debut this weekend when the Eagles head to Marvel Stadium to face Collingwood on Saturday night.
Shanahan, who was recruited out of New South Wales last year, was taken with Pick 30 in the draft after a strong year with the Bendigo Pioneers, the Allies and Essendon's VFL program.
The teenager is able to play at either end of the field, with his 195cm frame making him capable of intercepting in defence or as a target in attack.
Speaking on the announcement of his debut, Shanahan revealed coach Andrew McQualter wagered his prospects of a maiden match this weekend at training.
โ'Mini' (McQualter) stopped everyone right when I was going to kick it,โ Shanahan said.
โHe said โif you kick this, you'll be playing AFL this weekend'.
โPretty shocked really. When he said that, I was really excited to be playing and to have all my family there means a lot.
โWhen all the boys got around me I got so excited, no clue what was going on but keen to get out there and have a crack on Marvel.โ
Shanahan will be West Coast's seventh debutant for 2025, with fellow first-year players Tom Gross, Bo Allan, Sandy Brock, Tom McCarthy and Hamish Davis also debuting, along with second-year tall Archer Reid.
The 18-year-old has played 10 WAFL games this year, averaging 9.9 disposals, 4.2 marks and 1.0 goals per game.
Shanahan has spent the past fortnight in defence for the Eagles' reserves, with his most recent outing against the Peel Thunder amassing a return of 20 disposals and eight marks.
โHe's probably played his best two games the last two games,โ McQualter said of Shanahan.
โJobe is a really talented player. He's starting to build his craft around contest.
โAt times he can look a little bit laconic, but he's a really good competitor Jobe, so we've liked that in his game.โ
West Coast face Collingwood at Docklands at 7:35pm (AEST) on Saturday.
