Fremantle Football Club
Encyclopedia : F : FR : FRE : Fremantle Football Club
| 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 |
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
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
- Premierships: None.
- Highest position: 5th, 2003.
- Wooden spoons: One, in 2001.
- Biggest winning margin: 112 points, against Collingwood, May 8, 2005 at Subiaco Oval. The final score was 28.12 (180) to 10.8 (68). The club's first victory by more than 100 points.
- Biggest losing margin: 117 points, against West Coast on April 15, 2000. The final score was 28.10 (178) to 9.7 (61), at Subiaco Oval.
- Longest winning streak: 5 games.
- Longest losing streak: 17 games, until Round 18, 2001.
- Record attendance: 42,770, 1st elimination final, September 5, 2003 at Subiaco Oval v Essendon
- Record Attendance (home and away matches): 42,213 at Subiaco Oval, round 6, 2006 (v West Coast).
- Brownlow Medallists: None.
- Leigh Matthews Trophy winners: None.
- Coleman Medalists: None.
- All Australians: Matthew Pavlich 2002, 2003, 2005; Peter Bell 2003; Paul Hasleby 2003.
- Most Games: Shane Parker, 214 games (as of Round 8, 2006)
- Most Consecutive Games: Matthew Pavlich, 105 games (as of Round 8, 2006)
- Most Goals: Matthew Pavlich, 192 goals (as of Round 8, 2006)
- AFL Rising Star Award: Paul Hasleby, 2000
- Mark of the Year winners:
- * Tony Modra 2000
- * Luke McPharlin 2005
- Captains:
- *Ben Allan (1995-1996)
- *Peter Mann (1997-1998)
- *Chris Bond (1999)
- *Shaun McManus, Adrian Fletcher (co-captains, 2000-2001)
- * Peter Bell (2002-)
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:
- 1995: Peter Mann
- 1996: Stephen O'Reilly
- 1997: Dale Kickett
- 1998: Jason Norrish
- 1999: Adrian Fletcher
- 2000: Troy Cook
- 2001: Peter Bell
- 2002: Matthew Pavlich
- 2003: Peter Bell
- 2004: Peter Bell
- 2005: Matthew Pavlich
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:
- 1995: Scott Chisholm
- 1996: Gavin Mitchell
- 1997: Mark Gale
- 1998: Brad Dodd
- 1999: Clem Michael
- 2000: Paul Hasleby
- 2001: Dion Woods
- 2002: Paul Medhurst
- 2003: Graham Polak
- 2004: Andrew Browne
- 2005: David Mundy
Membership
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- 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 - 25,368 (5th) 30,680;
- 2004 - 32,780 (9th) 36,261;
- 2005 - 34,124 (10th) 35,224;
- 2006 - 35,000 (as at 7 Apr 2006) [link]
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.
- 1995-1996 Carmen Lawrence
- 1997-2002 Jack Sheedy & Steve Marsh
- 2003-2005 Rove McManus
- 2006- Luc Longley
Patrons
Since 2003, the Fremantle Football Club has been honoured to have the Governor of Western Australia as its patron.- 2003-2005 His Excellency Lieutenant General John Sanderson, AC
- 2006- His Excellency Dr Ken Michael, AC
- David Malcolm – Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia (retired)
- Syd Corser
- Con Regan
- Steve Marsh
- Jack Sheedy
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 |
Jeff Farmer |
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 |
|
|
| 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
- 1995-1999: Grinder - A cartoonlike 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.
See also
- - Alphabetical
- List of Fremantle Dockers league players - Ordered by debut
- Australian rules football in Western Australia
External links
- [Official Website of the Fremantle Football Club]
- [Full Points Footy (History of the Fremantle Football Club)]
- [Freo Fanatics (Unofficial fan site & forum.)]
- [Dockerland (Unofficial fan site & forum)]
- [We Have The Passion (Unofficial fan site & forum)]
- [Bigfooty, Freo Board (Unofficial fan forum)]
| 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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