Gov’s ability to read the play ranks him among the best defenders of the modern era

West Coast Eagles great Jeremy McGovern’s uncanny ability to work the angles on the football field to disrupt the ball coming into the forward line, had an almost scientific bent to it.

Defenders were raised to stand on the toes of forwards, so when McGovern started to ditch his opponent to run into space to intercept the ball, it was seen as football heresy.

West Coast Eagles veteran Jeremy McGovern dodges Charlie Spargo of the Demons during the round eight clash that would be his final AFL game played.Credit: Paul Kane/Getty Images

But soon the five-time All-Australia’s unselfish act of peeling off his player to halt another forward foray became pure instinct.

None more so than the 2018 Grand Final, when McGovern abandoned enigmatic forward Jordan De Goey to intercept Adam Treloar’s kick inside 50, which led to Dom Sheed’s clutch goal from the boundary line in the dying minutes.

It was one of the most dazzling mise-en-scene ever witnessed in a Grand Final.

But the reigning John Worsfold medallist should never have played in the MCG decider after suffering internal bleeding following a corkie in the preliminary final and spent time in hospital.

McGovern later revealed he had suffered torn oblique muscles and required six painkilling injections before he even ran out for the game.

Footballing folklore gets magnified over time, but it’s hard to imagine the Eagles winning the flag without his aerial prowess.

On Friday, McGovern announced he had played his last game after being forced into premature retirement through concussion.

Jeremy McGovern will be remembered as one of the greatest defenders West Coast, if not the AFL, has seen.Credit: Paul Kane/Getty Images

He suffered a head knock in the Eagles’ round-eight loss to Melbourne and was referred to the AFL’s concussion panel after failing to recover following the mandatory 12-day period.

McGovern told a media conference on Friday he was “gutted” he wouldn’t be able to pull on a West Coast jumper one more time.

“I’ve always loved the game and winning a premiership is every kid’s dream, but the lifelong friendships and relationships you build through footy mean more to me than anything,” he said.

“I will forever be indebted to West Coast and I will always bleed blue and gold.”

Where McGovern sits among the greatest defenders to have played the game will be mulled over by sentimental, soppy supporters for days to come.

But Champion Data’s Daniel Hoyne said last year that McGovern was ranked over Richmond’s dour defender Alex Rance as his generation’s best key back.

“Over the past 10 years, no one has taken more intercept marks, no one’s taken more contested intercept marks than this guy, so it’s not gifted to him, he’s winning it back in a contest,” he said.

“He is the absolute, complete key defender of the last 10 years.”

At his peak, the 197-game veteran was an unstoppable interceptor that became so influential on the field, that opposition teams were forced to tweak their game plans to quell his aerial acrobatics.

His 77 intercept marks in the Eagles’ 2018 premiership season remains the most ever recorded in a season.

But McGovern’s career almost stalled before it even got started. When he arrived at the Eagles from Albany with pick No.44 in the 2010 rookie draft, McGovern had the shabby look of a reserve player from a country league.

After finally being promoted to the senior list in 2013 after three years as a rookie, he was banished to train by himself by new coach Adam Simpson after returning from preseason overweight.

When the man affectionately known as the “Gov” finally made his debut in round 6 in 2014, he quickly established himself as a handy, lumbering forward.

The following season he was switched to down back and became the centrepiece of the Eagles famous “Weagles Web”.

By the end of 2015, he was the new intercept king on the block and would earn four straight All-Australian guernseys from 2016 to 2019.

McGovern struggled to stay on the park over the following four seasons, playing only 46 games. However, last year he claimed his fifth AFL All-Australian blazer and won his maiden West Coast best and fairest after another stellar year.

It’s difficult to pinpoint many flaws in McGovern’s game, but if he had one glitch, it was keeping pace with nippier, faster-leading forwards.

Pundits and pub-goers will argue for years to come where McGovern sits in the all-time greats of the game.

But few would deny that Gov’s shaman-like ability to read the play ranks him among the best defenders of the modern era.