West Coast Eagles to temporarily change name to Waalitj Marawar amid revealing First Nations jumper

There’ll be no missing the Eagles in Sir Doug Nicholls Round, with the club unveiling their colourful First Nations guernseys.

It comes as West Coast prepare to temporarily change their name to Waalitj Marawar across the two weeks of celebrating Indigenous culture, following a similar move from the likes of Fremantle and Melbourne in previous years.

The jumper design was produced by “one-eyed Eagles supporter” and niece of legendary actor Ernie Dingo, Loretta Egan, who explained it was Dingo who put her in touch with the club to produce this year’s design.

“He rang me up and asked if I would do it, and I said ‘my Lord, yes of course’,” Egan said.

“The ‘Ngularl’ is the Wedge-Tailed Eagle in Wajarri language, surrounded by the map of WA - the home of the Eagle - where it stands proud and strong, facing east ready for anything that comes its way.”

Egan also had help from former club champion Chris Lewis, who added in the four stars to represent the club’s four premierships.

“The circle in the centre represents the Eagles’ nest. The U-shapes around the circle represent people sitting around the home of the Eagles,” she said.

“The Eagle tracks up the top signify the Eagles players leaving their mark wherever they play. The other circles represent other AFL clubs.”

In addition to wearing the guernsey, West Coast will also be changing its name during the Sir Doug Nicholls Round to Waalitj Marawar, meaning ‘Eagles of the West’ in Noongar.

The club said it would be exploring a more permanent First Nations identity going forward.

The Eagles will wear the guernsey during their clash with Melbourne at Optus on May 19 and against Adelaide on May 26 at the Adelaide Oval.

The jumper is already on sale for members, with the sale being opened up to the general public on 9:30am Wednesday.