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Fremantle Football Club

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Fremantle
center
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
Ground Subiaco Oval
Club song Freo Way To Go
President/Chair Rick Hart
Coach Chris Connolly
Captain Peter Bell
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. They were 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 currently coached by Chris Connolly and captained by Peter Bell. Other high profile current players include Matthew Pavlich, Jeff Farmer and Paul Hasleby.

History

See Also Australian rules football in Western Australia
The first Australian rules football match to be played in Fremantle occurred in 1880 and the city quickly became a stronghold of the code. 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 name and colours were announced on July 12 1994. Their first training session was held on October 31 1994 at Fremantle Oval.

After the grant of an AFL licence and the launch of the "Fremantle Dockers", Levi Strauss & Co., which produces Dockers brand clothing, challenged the club's right to use that name. As a result, all use of the name Dockers was officially ceased by the Fremantle Football Club in 1997.

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. However, they have missed the finals in the two seasons since then, finishing both years with 11 wins, 11 loses and only 1 game outside the top 8.

The Club

The club's headquarters and training facilities are at Fremantle Oval, where the club's offices are also located. 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 now only played at Subiaco Oval. Between 1995 and 2000 they also played home games at the WACA Ground.

Fremantle is the only club left in the competition which has yet to win 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 on April 30, 2006 against St Kilda at Aurora Stadium in Launceston, Tasmania. 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 four premiership points to Fremantle.

The Western Derby

The Dockers and the Eagles play each other twice a year in the home and away season, in fiercely contested "Western Derby" matches. West Coast were victorious in the first nine games, before Fremantle won in round 16, 1999. As of mid-2006 Fremantle had won 6 of the 23 Western Derbies. 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.

Club records

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

Doig Medal

The Doig Medal is the Fremantle Football Club's annual fairest and best award. Currenly, 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) and the Grand Ballroom at Burswood Casino (2002-2005).

Winners:

Beacon Award

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).

Winners:

Membership

Membership slogan on banner before NAB Cup Quarter Final, 2006.
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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 had 34,178 members in 2005 one of the highest and fastest growing in the AFL competition. In addition to memberships, the club had an average homeground attendance of 36,302 in 2005. It's recent membership slogans have emphasised the passion of Fremantle fans for their team, regardless of results.

History of club membership numbers

Year, number of members, final ladder position, average home attendance

Number 1 Ticket Holders

It is traditional for each club to award 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 member.

Patrons

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

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.

2006 squad

Troy Cook
  • 11
  • Des Headland
  • 12 Graham Polak
  • 14
  • Antoni Grover
  • 15 Ryan Crowley
  • 16 David Mundy
  •    
    Jeff Farmer
    
  • 34 Robert Warnock
  • 35 Garrick Ibbotson
  • 36 Andrew Browne
  • 37
  • Michael Johnson
  • 39 Daniel Haines
  • 42 Robert Haddrill
  • 43
  • Roger Hayden
  • 44 Michael Warren
  • Rookies:
    Note: On 19 April 2006 Paul Duffield was elevated to the primary list to replace Daniel Haines, who was placed on the long term injury list [link].

    Club Guernsey

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

    Guernsey Details Current Home Guernsey Current Clash/Away Guernsey
    Season Manufacturer Front Logo Back Logo
    The home jumper has a white anchor separating green and red panels, on a purple base.
    Enlarge
    The home jumper has a white anchor separating green and red panels, on a purple base.

    The away jumper has a similar anchor design but is white with a purple anchor.
    Enlarge
    The away jumper has a similar anchor design but is white with a purple anchor.

    1995-1997 Nike Hard Yakka Yakka
    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

    Mascots

    See also

    External links

    A commemorative plaque from Victoria Pavilion, Fremantle Oval.
    Enlarge
    A commemorative plaque from Victoria Pavilion, Fremantle Oval.

    Part of the front wall of Fremantle Oval. (The date indicates a major redevelopment in 1986.)
    Enlarge
    Part of the front wall of Fremantle Oval. (The date indicates a major redevelopment in 1986.)

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

     


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