Tom Cole looked at his right wrist and pointed to the sky in tribute.
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The 21-year-old from Bendigo had mixed emotions - he had just become an AFL premiership player with the West Coast Eagles, but his dad wasn't there to witness it.
Russell Cole passed away in March this year after a battle with cancer.
Tom sports a tattoo on his right wrist with the number 66 and a king's crown, in honour of Russell's footy number.
After the final siren of Saturday's epic grand final win over Collingwood, Cole was embraced by fellow members of the Eagles' backline before his attention quickly turned to his family.
"We're pretty tight as a backline and we were all in close proximity, so we all just sprinted to each other,'' Cole said in the Eagles rooms on Saturday night.
"It was overwhelming with emotion with them for a bit.
"After it died down a little bit, I had a bit of time to reflect and I thought about my family and my old man.
"I pointed up to the sky. He's been on my wrist since the start of this year... he's played a massive part in my footy career.
"Had to reflect about everything he's done for me."
Russell guided Tom through his junior career.
After first playing with Warrnambool, Cole moved to Bendigo with his family where he played with St Francis of the Fields, Strathfieldsaye, Sandhurst and the Bendigo Pioneers.
On Saturday he became the 10th Bendigo Pioneer to win an AFL premiership medal behind Dean Solomon, Michael Braun, Adam Selwood, Joel Selwood, Josh Hunt, Rick Ladson, Brent Guerra, Jake Stringer and Dustin Martin.
"I can't put it into words, it's an amazing feeling and it's what we play footy for,'' Cole said.
"To get the result we did, I'm just so proud of the club and the boys."
Cole's grand final day didn't start the way he wanted.
After starting on the bench, his first touch of the ball was a dropped mark which led to a goal to Collingwood speedster Jaidyn Stephenson.
"I was a little bit nervous to start the game on the big stage,'' Cole admitted.
"I thought I read the play pretty well, but I just dropped the mark.
"I had to get over it pretty quick. We've got great leaders in the backline who helped me get over it pretty quick."
He did get over it quickly and went on to play his role in the Eagles' win. Cole had 13 possesions and six marks, including a crucial intercept mark in the final quarter which resulted in a 50m penalty.
"It was good to take that one in the last quarter and get the ball rolling forward,'' he said.
Saturday's grand final was just his 27th senior game.
It's been a whirlwind three years in Perth for Cole, with plenty of challenges on and off the field.
"You get homesick at times, particularly early in your career, it's a big move out of school,'' Cole said.
"I'm pretty happy in Perth and I'd love to stay there as long as I can."