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.
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 the 33-year-old 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.
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