AFLW: West Coast Eagles’ banner struggles to stay intact for club’s maiden finals match in horror conditions

West Coast’s finals banner only just survived Melbourne’s horrible finals weather in time for the AFLW team to run through it as they prepare for their historic clash against Carlton at IKON Park.

Rain has fallen all day and a strong wind hasn’t stopped as November felt more like the middle of July.

The Eagles don’t usually have a banner, but the club was keen to increase the hype for their first ever AFLW final.

The cheer squad raised it early and the wind and rain instantly started tearing it apart. By the time they raised it again for the players to run through, it had copped a battering.

But the banner somehow survived long enough for them to charge through as fireworks went off around them.

It came as fans made sure they were rugged up for the historic occasion, with the Eagles looking to go better than their men’s team from 1988 and secure a win in their first-ever finals match.