Great Southern footballer Angus Dewar makes his Eagles debut nearly six years since he last played AFL

Three-time WAFL premiership defender Angus Dewar had to wait nearly six years but he returned to the AFL on Sunday, part of a brave West Coast Eagles side that went down to North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium. Raised in Ongerup, Dewar played juniors with Royals and Albany before beginning his WAFL career with Claremont. He was drafted by Hawthorn in 2010 and managed only 25 AFL games during a golden era for the Hawks. Earlier this month Dewar was named as an Eagles COVID contingency list player and then late last week got the nod to line up against the Kangaroos in round two. He was among 14 changes from their side in round one, 12 of them forced to enter COVID health and safety protocols, and joined fellow Great Southern products Jeremy McGovern and Declan Mountford in Eagles colours on the day. Dewar produced a reliable performance in defence, winning some one-on-one contests and helped repel the Kangaroos on several occasions. The 29-year-old finished with seven disposals, two marks, three tackles, two score involvements and 270m gained. Dewar’s last AFL game came way back in round 17 of 2016, playing for the Hawks against Sydney. Eagles coach Adam Simpson praised the efforts of his side after the 15-point loss and spoke about the effort his top-up players made on such short preparation. Simpson presented Dewar with his Eagles jumper on the ground before the game but Mountford was not formally presented with his after getting the late call-up when Jackson Nelson was injured during the warm-up. McGovern was outstanding for the Eagles in adversity, collecting 18 disposals and nine marks to go with 11 intercepts and 397m gained.