Jezza’s Journal: West Coast Eagles star Jeremy McGovern speaks on his incredible game against GWS and all details of a busy week flying back into hub life

West Coast Eagles vice-captain Jeremy McGovern is keeping his home town Albany in as his club return to a Gold Coast hub. Read Jezza’s Journal every Thursday in the Advertiser. It was good to get another win before we jetted off for our second crack at hub life. The week was a busy one with everything that is happening. First and foremost, the game against GWS was not perfect. We had a few areas we were down a bit and didn’t play as good as we wanted for four quarters, but that happens in footy. Personally, I did whatever I could to help us get the win. I was just playing footy, I don’t read much into it. I ended up getting up there for a little grab. Usually I’m on the end of it with someone sitting on my shoulders so it was a nice change. When I broke my thumb, my body got a bit of a freshen-up. Taking an extra week or two with the thumb has given me the confidence to go for a few grabs and I was lucky I got to clunk a couple on the weekend. You have those days. Sometimes they stick and sometimes they don’t but everything lined up this time around. The post-match didn’t last long. Attention turned to us departing for Queensland. There were a few tears shed in the McGovern household before we flew out on Tuesday. We could be here for eight weeks, and a lot of the boys are banking on that charter flight if we make finals to get the families up here. The girls know what they are up for. It’s going to be tough for them and tough for us, but it’s what we’ve got to do. We are at a new resort, the Sanctuary Cove, and I was up yesterday having a look around, grabbed a coffee and checked out the multimillion-dollar boats on the waterfront. The room is fine, not as big as the Royal Pines, but still comfy enough. It has been a quick turnaround and we are playing today against Richmond. We did most of our preparation and a captain’s run yesterday, but it has mainly been training and recovery. We’ve had to adjust a bit with our weekly routine given the travel factor but the main focus for the next few weeks will be play, review, and recover, and play again. I don’t mind the sound of that because it means I don’t have to do as much training, which is great. Eight wins on the trot is great and we’d love to keep that going. It looks like the finals will be here in Queensland so it’s good we are here now, can get accustomed to it all, and play as many games on the Gabba as we can. Get the boys settled in and get everyone in a good headspace to really give this a shake. Finally, the 50-game milestone today for Liam Ryan. He is a great story, where he has come from and what he’s gone through with a few different off-field things. I’m personally extremely proud of the way he’s handled his journey. A premiership player, and now 50 games. Flying Ryan, he is to us. The boys love him and he brings heaps of energy. He is fun, cheeky and a big family man, and hopefully there are a couple more 50s for him coming up.