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CHAMPION West Coast full-back Darren Glass has been taking almost all week to recover from AFL battle in his brave bids to keep playing.
He has contemplated retirement for the past month as severe groin soreness became intolerable.
Even last season as speculation raged that West Coast greatest servant John Worsfold would quit as coach, Glass considered retirement and bravely elected to play one more season to assist a smooth transition for new appointment Adam Simpson.
Glass, 33, could take it no longer and called time on one of the most distinguished playing careers in Eagles history on Thursday.
He departs as one of the finest players, leaders and ambassadors for his club and sport as well as truly one of the best blokes the Eagles and Western Australian footy system has ever manufactured.
If a best-ever Eagles team of great blokes was selected, Glass would be undisputed captain.
His shock retirement sparks another purge of champion players to end an era, with superstar ruckman Dean Cox also facing the unenviable call whether to extend his playing days beyond this season as West Coast stumbles through a horror season with just four wins and seven losses and almost certain to miss finals.
Glass played 270 senior games and sits third on the Eagles all-time list behind the 284 that Cox has played and another superstar – backman Glen Jakovich – who made it through 276.
Glass is so injury-ravaged now that the brilliant defensive warrior could not recover again and get up for an emotional last home appearance against Gold Coast on Saturday.
Ironically, Gold Coast is coached by another of the Eagles’ greatest-ever players and defenders in dual premiership gun Guy McKenna.
The dashing half-back played the last of his 267 Eagles engagements in an emotion-charged last home game in Round 22 of 2000 against Melbourne, as West Coast continued losing a batch of their 1992 and ’94 stars.
