Fremantle Football Club

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Fremantle
Full name Fremantle Football Club
Nickname The Dockers
Strip Purple, green and red guernsey with a white anchor, purple shorts, purple socks with green, white and red bands at top. For examples, see

Mero's Footy Jumpers
Founded 1994
Sport Australian rules football
League Australian Football League
First season 1995
Ground Subiaco Oval
Club song Freo Way To Go
President/Chair Rick Hart
Coach Chris Connolly
Captain Matthew Pavlich
2006 3rd of 16 after Rd 22, 4th of 16 after finals

Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed The Dockers and known unofficially as the Fremantle Dockers and informally as "Freo", is one of 16 teams in the Australian Football League. It was the second team from Western Australia to be admitted to the Australian Football League after the West Coast Eagles. The club is based in the port city of Fremantle, south west of Perth at the mouth of the Swan River.

The club is coached by Chris Connolly and on December 13, 2006 announced that Matthew Pavlich will captain the side in 2007 [1]. High profile current players include former captain Peter Bell, vice-captain Josh Carr, Jeff Farmer and Paul Hasleby.

Contents

[edit] History

See Also Australian rules football in Western Australia

The first Australian rules football match to be played in Fremantle occurred in the 1880s [2] and the city quickly became a stronghold of the code, with Fremantle based teams winning 24 of the first 34 WAFL premierships [3]. For over 100 years it has been represented by two strong clubs in the West Australian Football League: East Fremantle and South Fremantle. However it was not represented in a national club competition until 1995, eight years after the foundation of rival Western Australian football team, the West Coast Eagles.

The AFL announced on December 14 1993 that a new team would enter the league in 1995 and be based in Fremantle. The names "Fremantle Football Club", "Fremantle Dockers" and club colours were announced on July 12 1994. Their first training session was held on October 31 1994 at Fremantle Oval.

Not long after the team was launched, Levi Strauss & Co., which produces Dockers brand clothing, challenged the club's right to use the name "Fremantle Dockers". As a result, the club discontinued use of the "Dockers" nickname in 1997. However, the team is still known unofficially as "The Dockers", both inside and outside the club.

The team endured some tough years near the bottom of the premiership ladder, until they finished fifth after the home-and-away rounds in 2003 and made the finals for the first time. The elimination final against eighth placed Essendon at Subiaco Oval was then the club's biggest ever game, but ended in disappointment for the home team, with the finals experience of Essendon proving far too good. They then missed making the finals in the following two seasons, finishing both years with 11 wins, 11 loses and only 1 game outside the top 8.

After an average first half to the 2006 season, Fremantle finished the year with a club record 9 straight wins to earn themselves 3rd position at the end of the Home & Away season, a club record 15 wins in a year and a double chance for their September finals campaign. In the qualifying final against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium, the Dockers lead for the first three quarters before being overrun by the Crows. The following week (September 15) saw the club win its first ever finals game in the semi-final against Melbourne at Subiaco Oval. The club subsequently earned a trip to Sydney to play in its first ever preliminary-final the following Friday night (September 22) at Telstra Stadium against the Sydney Swans, where they lost by 35 points.

On the 8th of October Peter Bell stood down from the captaincy of Fremantle and will be replaced by Matthew Pavlich for the 2007 season.

Fremantle is the only currently active club the AFL that has not won a premiership, following Port Adelaide's win in 2004.

The club is also the only team never to have played in a drawn match, despite a controversial Round 5 match against St Kilda at Aurora Stadium in Launceston, Tasmania in 2006. The Saints trailed by a point when the final siren sounded, but the field umpires failed to hear the siren. St Kilda then scored a behind, levelling the scores, before the siren was sounded a second time. Immediate protests from Fremantle players and officials failed to have any effect, causing controversy throughout Australian rules circles. However, the AFL overturned the result the following Wednesday — the first time this had occurred since 1900 — and awarded the win and four premiership points to Fremantle.

[edit] The Western Derby

Main article: Western Derby

Fremantle's biggest rivalry is with the other Western Australian team, the West Coast Eagles, who they play twice each year in the home and away season, in fiercely contested "Western Derby" matches (Derby is pronounced dERby in Western Australia). West Coast were victorious in the first nine games, before Fremantle won in round 16, 1999. Since 2000, however, it has become more even, with Fremantle winning 6 of the 14 games and in 2006 the Dockers won both derbies in a season for the first time. These games are reminiscent of the Fremantle Derby games between East and South Fremantle in the WAFL. A Fremantle Derby Grand Final in 1979 holds the WAFL attendance record of 52,781.

[edit] The Club

Fremantle Football Club has its training and administration facilities at Fremantle Oval. The club encourages fans to attend Monday night training sessions, when players remain on the field after training to meet their supporters and sign autographs.

The team's home games are played at Subiaco Oval. Between 1995 and 2000 they also played home games at the WACA Ground.

[edit] 2007 squad

See also Fremantle Football Club drafting and trading history for the complete list of Fremantle's draft selections, delistings and trades
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Rookies:


[edit] Captains

[edit] Coaches

[edit] Club Awards

The Doig Medal is the Fremantle Football Club's annual fairest and best award. Currently, after each of the 22 home and away matches, the Fremantle coaching staff rate each player from 0-7 (with 7 being the best). At the end of the year the votes are tallied and the Doig Medal Night is held to announce the winner. Variations on the voting system have been used in past years. The awards ceremony has been held at the Fremantle Passenger Terminal (1995), Challenge Stadium (1998-1999), Fremantle Oval (2000-2001), the Grand Ballroom at Burswood Entertainment Complex (2002-2005) and the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre (2006).

The Beacon Award is presented to the club’s best new talent. To be eligible, a player must be under the age of 21 years on or before 31 December of the previous year and have played less than 10 games at the start of the season (matching the AFL Rising Star criteria).

Season Doig Medal Winners Beacon Award Winners Best Clubman Leading Goalkicker
1995 Peter Mann Scott Chisholm Peter Mann (33)
1996 Stephen O'Reilly Gavin Mitchell Kingsley Hunter (33)
1997 Dale Kickett Mark Gale Kingsley Hunter (32)
1998 Jason Norrish Brad Dodd Chris Bond & Jason Norrish Clive Waterhouse (30)
1999 Adrian Fletcher Clem Michael Ashley Prescott Tony Modra (71)
2000 Troy Cook Paul Hasleby Dale Kickett & John Rankin Clive Waterhouse (53)
2001 Peter Bell Dion Woods Leigh Brown Justin Longmuir & Matthew Pavlich (28)
2002 Matthew Pavlich Paul Medhurst Shaun McManus Trent Croad (42)
2003 Peter Bell Graham Polak Troy Longmuir Paul Medhurst (50)
2004 Peter Bell Andrew Browne Matthew Carr Paul Medhurst (41)
2005 Matthew Pavlich David Mundy Troy Cook Matthew Pavlich (61)
2006 Matthew Pavlich Marcus Drum Luke Webster Matthew Pavlich (71)

[edit] Club guernsey and sponsorship

The Fremantle Football Club uses the anchor symbol as the basis for all of their guernseys or jumpers (unlike other sporting codes it is rarely called a jersey, shirt or kit). The home jumper is purple, with a white anchor on the front separating the chest area into two panels, which are coloured red and green to represent the traditional maritime port and starboard colours. The current alternative or clash guernsey is all white with a purple anchor.

One game each year is designated as the Purple Haze game, where an all-purple jumper with a white anchor is worn. This game is used to raise money for the Starlight Foundation.

Since 2003, the AFL has marketed one round each year as the Heritage Round. Until 2006 Fremantle wore a white guernsey with 3 red chevrons, to emulate the jumper worn by the original Fremantle Football Club in 1885. In 2007, however, the selected round has Fremantle playing Sydney, who also wear red and white, so an alternative design will be used.

For all past guernsey designs, see Mero's Footy Jumpers website.

Guernsey Details
Season Manufacturer Front Logo Back Logo Current Home Guernsey Current Clash Guernsey Current Purple Haze Guernsey
1995-1997 Nike Hard Yakka Yakka
The home jumper is predominantly purple, with a white, stylized anchor running down the front, separating two green and red panels.
The home jumper is predominantly purple, with a white, stylized anchor running down the front, separating two green and red panels.
The clash jumper is the same design as the home jumper but is predominantly white with just a purple stylized anchor running down the front.
The clash jumper is the same design as the home jumper but is predominantly white with just a purple stylized anchor running down the front.
The Purple Haze jumper is purple, with a white, stylized anchor running down the front.
The Purple Haze jumper is purple, with a white, stylized anchor running down the front.
1998-1999 Adidas Hard Yakka Yakka
2000 Adidas Choose Alinta Gas Alinta Gas
2001-2003 Russell Athletic Choose Alinta Gas Alinta Gas
2004 FFC Bankwest Bankwest
2005 Reebok Bankwest Bankwest
2006 Reebok LG LG

[edit] Club records

Fremantle players enter Subiaco Oval, before a game in 2004.
Fremantle players enter Subiaco Oval, before a game in 2004.

[edit] Membership

Membership slogan on banner before NAB Cup Quarter Final, 2006.
Membership slogan on banner before NAB Cup Quarter Final, 2006.

Despite a relative lack of on-field success, Fremantle has surprised many with record membership figures. The club in 2005 had the fastest growing membership in the AFL competition with home crowds growing at a similar rate. The club's recent membership slogans have emphasised the passion of Fremantle fans for their team, regardless of results.

[edit] History of club membership numbers

Year Members Finishing position² Average home crowd
1995 18,456 13th 23,286
1996 19,622 13th 22,113
1997 19,949 12th 22,025
1998 22,186 15th 22,780
1999 24,896 15th 23,869
2000 24,925 12th 22,405
2001 23,898 16th 21,258
2002 23,775 13th 26,358
2003 25,347 5th 30,680
2004 32,259 9th 36,261
2005 34,124 10th 35,224
2006 35,666 3rd 36,569
2007 42,000¹

¹ (media estimate as at 27 March 2007)[4]

[edit] Fremantle Football Hall of Legends

The Fremantle Football Hall of Legends was inaugurated by Fremantle Football Club in 1995, in recognition of the new AFL team’s links with its home city’s football heritage. The inductees are nominated by the two clubs from the Fremantle area in the WAFL: East Fremantle and South Fremantle. In time, players who represented Fremantle in the AFL will join their predecessors in this prestigious Hall.

[edit] Ceremonial positions

[edit] Number 1 Ticket Holders

It is traditional for each club to recognise a prominent supporter as the #1 Ticketholder. Fremantle originally chose to award this to the sitting member for the Federal Seat of Fremantle. This was roundly criticised as the member may or may not be a Fremantle football supporter. The policy was soon changed to select a well-known Fremantle identity.

[edit] Patrons

Since 2003, the Fremantle Football Club has been honoured to have the Governor of Western Australia as its patron.

Vice-Patrons

[edit] Mascots

  • 1995-1999: Grinder - A cartoon-like docker man, in a similar style to Popeye, with a permanent snarl, oversized jaw and muscular arms.
  • 2000-2001: The Doc - a straggly blonde-haired mascot, similar in appearance to Fremantle players Clive Waterhouse or Shaun McManus.
  • 2002-Current: Johnny "the Doc" Docker - a blonde haired surfer with a surfboard under one arm is the Docker's official mascot in the Mascot Manor promotion for kids.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Pavlich takes over as Club Captain
  2. ^ History of Fremantle Football
  3. ^ List of WAFL league premiers
  4. ^ [1]

[edit] See also

A commemorative plaque from Victoria Pavilion, Fremantle Oval.
A commemorative plaque from Victoria Pavilion, Fremantle Oval.
Part of the front wall of Fremantle Oval. (The date indicates a major redevelopment in 1986.)
Part of the front wall of Fremantle Oval. (The date indicates a major redevelopment in 1986.)

[edit] External links

Clubs in the Australian Football League
Adelaide | Brisbane Lions | Carlton | Collingwood | Essendon | Fremantle | Geelong | Hawthorn
Kangaroos | Melbourne | Port Adelaide | Richmond | St. Kilda | Sydney | West Coast | Western Bulldogs
Former clubs: Brisbane Bears | Fitzroy | University

Australian rules football in Western Australia
Governing Body

West Australian Football Commission
Professional Clubs (AFL)

West Coast Eagles, Fremantle Football Club
Perth Metropolitan Leagues

WAFL, Sunday Football League, Western Australian Amateur Football League
Regional Governing Body

West Australian Country Football League
Regional Leagues

Avon, Central Kimberley, Central Midlands, Central Wheatbelt, East Kimberley, Eastern Districts, Esperance District, Fortescue, Gascoyne, Goldfields, Great Northern, Great Southern, Hills, Lower South West, Mortlock, Newman, North Midlands, North Pilbara, Ongerup, Peel, Ravensthorpe, South West, Upper Great Southern, West Kimberley
Women's Leagues

West Australian Women's Football League
Masters Leagues

Masters Australian Football WA
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