Australian Rules-West Coast claim AFL title in Grand Final thriller (UPDATE 1)

The West Coast Eagles claimed their fourth Australian Football League (AFL) championship on Saturday, edging the Collingwood Magpies by five points in a classic Grand Final in Melbourne.

In front of a packed crowd of 100,022 fans at a heaving Melbourne Cricket Ground, midfielder Dom Sheed slotted the winning goal from an improbable angle with some two minutes left as the Eagles rode out 11.13 (79) to 11.8 (74) winners.

"What an unbelievable game," said Sheed. "You know we had some doubters through the year, we proved them all wrong."

The Perth-based Eagles traveled the breadth of the country for their triumph at the Grand Final's traditional home and rewarded their thousands of loyal blue-and-gold-clad fans at the stadium with their first premiership cup since 2006.

Midfield livewire Luke Shuey was awarded the Norm Smith Medal after amassing a game-high 34 disposals and booting a third-quarter goal that nosed the Eagles ahead.

"To our fans who have come out today, you guys have traveled thousands and thousands of kilometers to be here and we love you," said Shuey. "This one's for you."

West Coast's last trip to the championship match of Australian Rules football ended in a 46-point humiliation by the Hawthorn Hawks in 2015, a stinging reverse that haunted the Western Australians for much of the three years since.

The 12 players left from that side emphatically put those demons to bed as the Eagles reeled in a 29-point deficit early in the second quarter before holding their nerve in the thrilling final stanza.