‘Carn West': West Perth supporter Daniel Avery's iconic cry has a cult following around the WAFL

West Australian

14-05-2025

It's a voice that can't be silenced.
And each weekend it reverberates around WA Football League grounds in support of West Perth.
Daniel Avery's deafening 'Come on West, Go West' has been synonymous with the red and blue now for decades.
He belts it out like Pavarotti more than 20 times a game.
'Before I yell, I always take in a deep breath and it all comes from the diaphragm up,' he said. 'Not from the throat because you damage it.
'The older I get, I don't get as hoarse anymore. Some days after a game I'm ready to yell again for another game, some days not.'
His cry can be heard from the Whinnen Dempsey Stand at the Falcons' Joondalup ground and from other suburban grandstands whether West Perth are in front on the scoreboard or behind.
It ramps up a notch when the team's losing and don't be surprised if his 'Carn West' sounds out when 'the opposition is kicking for goal'.
But don't cross him. When a Swan Districts supporter told him to tone it down several years ago, Daniel told him he'd made a mistake and that he'd be yelling louder. The supporter left.
And a security guard in the Demons' grandstand at Lathlain Park came off second best when he threatened to remove Daniel.
'Dad and I were sitting next to each other,' Daniel recalled. 'Dad was on the aisle and the security guard came up, tapped me on the leg and said 'quieten down'.
'And I looked up at him and said 'mate that's not going to happen'.
'He said 'well, I'll have to kick you out'. And then the West Perth reserves boys – they were just above me (in the stand) - said to the security guy 'well if you're going to kick him out, you gotta kick all of us out'.
'And he just faded away in the background.'
Daniel also volunteers at the club, helping the reserves team and running water for the league side in the pre-game warm-up.
'This is just my family I can't tell you how much I love West Perth,' he said.
Club veteran Aaron Black says Daniel has a cult following among the players.
'He's the epitome of what footy clubs are made of,' Black said.
'He's a supporter and a fan first and foremost. And a positive supporter and influence on the playing group.
'That speaks volumes about the guy he is and the players love him for it.
'Like all volunteers, Dan volunteers his time to come in and give water to the boys and creates random nicknames that stick.
'Yeah, a special type of person to do that kind of stuff.'
Daniel, 54, is a longtime horticulturist at the City of Swan, rides his horse Bailey in Gidgegannup, Bullsbrook and at Kwinana Beach, and recites his poetry at country festivals and to the West Perth players.
It's a lifetime of achievement after the medical profession told his parents when he was born with cerebral palsy that he would never walk or talk.
'If I can give even one person a bit of inspiration from a person that was supposed to do nothing; told mum and dad put him in the wheelchair, sit him in the corner, he won't be able to walk, talk, feed, toilet himself,' Daniel said.
'To get up to do what I do now, my poetry and everything I do at West Perth, even if I give someone inspiration… from what I've said or done, that's awesome. That's what it's all about.
'The world is all about
helping each other
.'
Daniel's a keen student of the game, and can often be seen reaching for the binoculars like Bruce McAvaney to track his Falcons on the far side of the oval.
He can reel off many favourite players:
'Aaron Black and back in the day, Paul Mifka; he was one of the best I reckon.
'Nelly Nel (club legend Shane Nelson). What Joey Hinder did in the 2022 grand final against Claremont and Corey Rundle what he did.
'On grand final day they only had eight games between them.
'And Rundle runs off Jye Bolton who is supposed to be the best for Claremont - but we had a kid on him and he kicked two goals on him. So That's awesome. But many more (players) too.'
He's aware of his cult-like status at the club and across the league.
'A lot of people know me around the WAFL from other clubs because of my voice,' he said.
'It's all about the voice, it's not about me.'
Daniel Avery, humble. An institution at West Perth and an inspiration to many.