Eagles flag hero reveals guilt at his famous kick

Sheed
Dom Sheed's career highlight was his match-winning goal in the 2018 grand final against Collingwood. -AAP Image

West Coast premiership great Dom Sheed enters AFL retirement tinged with guilt at the kick that made him famous.

The 30-year-old called time on his career on Tuesday, saying while his mind was willing to continue, his body told him otherwise.

"My body hasn't been able to hold up," Sheed told reporters, after announcing his retirement to Eagles teammates and staff.

"Mentally, I probably had more to give. But physically, absolutely not."

Sheed played 165 games since his 2014 debut but none this season after tearing the ACL in his right knee at pre-season training in February.

Alongside chronic foot pain, his ailments convinced Sheed it was time to end a career which entered AFL folklore in the Eagles' 2018 premiership.

His retirement comes a week after premiership teammate Jeremy McGovern quit, because of persistent concussion problems.

Late in the last quarter of the 2018 grand final against Collingwood, McGovern's mark deep in defence famously started a crucial chain of possession that ended with Sheed.

The left-footer kicked an outstanding goal from an acute angle as Magpie fans howled at him on the boundary fence only a couple of metres away.

Moments later, the Eagles won by five points for their fourth and most recent flag.

"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 with a smile.

"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."

Sheed said only after the Eagles' premiership triumph did the magnitude of his moment hit.

""It wasn't until after we won the grand final, (seeing) how much joy and happiness you can bring other people," he said.

"And that was really special for me, to actually bring happiness to others."

In his prime, Sheed was a key cog in West Coast's talent-packed midfield.

But from 2022-24 he only managed 24 senior games due to injuries.

"I leave the game being a life member of the footy club, a premiership player and most importantly I leave a better person," Sheed said.

"I am a pretty simple bloke. I wanted to be someone who trained hard and was a good bloke - I tried to keep it pretty simple."