West Coast Eagles great Jeremy McGovern retires from AFL after multiple concussions

West Coast Eagles great Jeremy McGovern has played his final game after being urged to retire by the AFL's concussion panel.

It was revealed last month that McGovern, who has played 197 AFL games since making his debut in 2014, had been referred to the panel after suffering multiple concussions throughout his career.

His most recent came in early May, when he was nudged into a marking contest by Jake Melksham late in the second quarter of the Eagles' round eight loss to Melbourne, causing him to cannon into Demon Harrison Petty.

McGovern emerged from the impact dazed, but played on for a few minutes before being subbed out and placed into the league's "concussion protocols", ruling him out for the following game.

McGovern played 197 AFL games after being picked by the Eagles in the rookie draft. (AAP: Dave Hunt)

He has missed West Coast's past six games and was ordered last month to consult the AFL's concussion panel to determine his playing future.

McGovern's retirement makes him the fourth Eagle to stop playing due to concussion in the past five years, following Brad Sheppard, Daniel Venables and Luke Edwards.

A statement on the Eagles website confirmed McGovern's retirement on Friday morning.

It said McGovern's decision to retire had been made after "extensive consultation with his family, club leaders and medical staff".

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“It's been an absolute honour to pull on the West Coast jumper for the past 15 years and it’s something that I will forever be grateful for,” McGovern said.

“As much as this isn't the way I would have liked to go out, I respect the decision.

“I'm gutted I don't get to pull the jumper on and run out one more time, but sometimes this is the way the game goes, and I am forever grateful to the West Coast supporters who have also shown me love and respect."

'Bleed blue and gold'

McGovern said he would always be grateful to West Coast for drafting him, and said winning the 2018 premiership with the club was "every kid's dream".

"I would like to thank everyone who has been involved with my career over the journey," he said.

Eagles great Jeremy McGovern reads the play one final time Photo shows Jeremy McGovern jumps through the air trying to take a mark. As Jeremy McGovern sat crying in a meeting with his coach Adam Simpson before the 2014 AFL season, few would have predicted the career he would have. What happened next is testament to hard work, courage and an ability to read the play second to none.

"My family — Mum and Dad, my brother Mitch, my wife Madi and my three kids Hudson, Marlee and Lewie — have been my biggest supporters, as well as my friends who have been amazing through my whole time in the AFL.

"To the club, I can't explain how much you have given me over my time here and I can't thank you enough for drafting a fat kid from Albany and giving him a crack.

"I've always loved the game and winning a premiership is every kid's dream, but the lifelong friendships and relationships you build through footy mean more to me than anything.

" I will forever be indebted to West Coast and I will always bleed blue and gold. "

Speaking at a press conference on Friday afternoon, McGovern said he had been through every emotion over the past few weeks as the prospect of retirement loomed.

"I'm obviously sad to be leaving the game and finishing up doing something that I really, truly love — there's a lot of it that I don't love, but the actual game of football I do.

"As much as you hate to admit it as a player, you want to keep playing forever, but yeah, for me and my long-term health, it's definitely the right decision and I'm at peace with it."

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