Greg Egan was knocked back by two clubs, offered bourbon and a feed of fish by two others, and went on to share in five premierships. He had a big influence in each of the flags, just missing out on a Simpson Medal in one, and winning awards as best on ground in two others.  His capacity to perform on the big stage makes one wonder how he wasn’t selected to play Interstate football.  It would be hard to find a sterner test of  mettle than the pressure-packed 1996 WAFL grand final, surely one of the best ever, when, in a high class thriller of a game,  Egan took on East Perth’s imposing ruck battery of Jeff White and Ryan Turnbull single-handedly and triumphed. A superb performance by Claremont team mate Todd Ridley, who kicked seven goals, saw the full forward awarded the Simpson Medal after the Tigers prevailed by two points.  A high leaper, the six foot four Egan had plenty of taller ruckmen to contend with during his league career. He was also a good contributor around the ground, his marking ability completing the package.  Son of long time Cockburn juniors coach Barry Egan, who played at South Fremantle, and nephew of Laurie Hunt, who represented East Fremantle, Greg was a promising player at Cockburn, which was in South Fremantle’s district. “When I didn’t receive an invitation to train at South, I was contacted by East, tried out with their colts, and was cut by coach, Ross Keegan,” he recalled. “On the way home after being told the news I chucked the boots out of the car window and resolved never to play the game again.” “A month passed by, and a mate of my brother dropped around, suggesting I have a run at North Fremantle. After my grunted reply in the negative he added: “They have a prize of a bottle of bourbon for best player.” So I went down there, won the bourbon, and stayed.” Starting with the colts, Egan soon worked his way into the A Grade side, and played at the black and whites for three years, winning a club fairest and best in 1995, and gaining selection in a WA Amateurs side that played South Australia in Adelaide. Claremont were chasing a ruckman, and they invited Greg to try out with them in the 1996 season. After half a dozen reserves appearances, Egan made his league debut in round seven against East Perth. In what turned out to be a preview of the grand final of that year, he had a tough initiation against White and Turnbull.    The Royals took the honours comfortably that day with a fifty four point margin, and looked even at that early stage likely premiers. But the Tigers were still gelling, with players in their ranks such as Chris Lewis, Don Pyke, and Todd Ridley, and when the two sides met again it was Claremont who reversed the previous result with a three goal win. They repeated the dose in the last qualifying round with a thirty one point margin, but it was East Perth who reigned supreme in the second semi final with a brilliant sixteen point win, setting the scene for what was to become a great grand final. Egan continued his good form to head the Claremont goalkicking in 1997, but at the end of the seasonEast Fremantle coach Tony Micale contacted him, asking if he’d consider a transfer to Moss Street. “I’d  always had a soft spot for East Fremantle,” Greg said, “but I didn’t think there’d be any hope of being cleared anyway, so I finally said yes. The clearance was done without a hitch, with East forking out twenty thousand dollars.” Donning the blue and white, Egan continued in good style at his new club, and was part of another premiership, once again being among the best on ground, booting three goals in a forty three point victory over West Perth, Adrian Bromage being awarded the Simpson Medal.  “I remember thinking: “How good is this?” Greg said. “Twenty four years old and two premierships.”  After another season at East under Wayne Blackwell, Egan decided to quit the WAFL stage and play some less demanding football. He was looking at offers from  Victorian country leagues when he got a knock on the door. “You have to give it to those blokes at Cervantes,” laughed Greg. “They found out somehow that I was a mad fisherman, and this bloke’s on my doorstep with an esky chock a block with dhufish and crays, and a pen and paper.” “Where do I sign,” I said, and that was the beginning of three wonderful years at the Cervantes footy club. It proved to be a fruitful exercise for Egan as well, with the club winning three flags in a row, in the process two Roger Tonkin Medals as best player in the grand final going his way. He also was runner up for fairest and best in one of those years.  Returning to North Fremantle in 2002, Egan found he wasn’t enjoying the city competition as much as he had at Cervantes. “For some reason all of a sudden I was falling foul of the umpires, and spent time under suspension,” he recalled. “I travelled overseas after that, and in 2007 played my last season for South Bunbury, just missing out on another premiership when Harvey-Brunswick knocked us off  in the grand final. But I enjoyed it down there.”   Greg and Andrea Egan have a boy( Thomas) and a girl (Abigail). A plasterer by trade, Egan works in house renovating. As already mentioned his three main interests are “fishing, fishing, and fishing.”He gave Ryan Turnbull his nomination as hardest to beat, while going for Chris Lewis as best player he’d played with.  Greg Egan was not only a fine ruckman, but one who performed when the chips were down. Part of five premierships in six years, he was one of the best at his trade in the WAFL over his four seasons of league football, which ended far too early, at the age of twenty five. He played thirty six games for East Fremantle and an identical number at Claremont. “I do have some regrets about pulling the pin too early, but then I think about the times at Cervantes, which were terrific,” he commented. Selection for Western Australia, which somehow eluded him, could well have come his way if he’d stayed a few more