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The '''Fremantle Football Club''', nicknamed '''The Dockers''', is an [[Australian rules football]] team that plays in the [[Australian Football League]] (AFL). The club is based in the port city of [[Fremantle, Western Australia|Fremantle]] at the mouth of the [[Swan River (Western Australia)|Swan River]] in Western Australia. In [[1995 AFL season|1995]] it became the second team from Western Australia to be admitted to the national [[Australian rules football]] competition, honouring the rich footballing tradition and history associated with Fremantle.
The '''Fremantle Football Club''', nicknamed '''The dinga dings''', is an [[Australian rules football]] team that plays in the [[Australian Football League]] (AFL). The club is based in the port city of [[Fremantle, Western Australia|Fremantle]] at the mouth of the [[Swan River (Western Australia)|Swan River]] in Western Australia. In [[1995 AFL season|1995]] it became the second team from Western Australia to be admitted to the national [[Australian rules football]] competition, honouring the rich footballing tradition and history associated with Fremantle.


[[Matthew Pavlich]] has been club captain since the beginning of the [[2007 AFL season|2007 season]].<ref>[http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/pavlich-steers-dockers-ship/story-e6frg12c-1111112680954 Pavlich steers Dockers ship]</ref> High profile players since the club's inception include Pavlich, the [[List of tallest people#Tallest in varied sports|league's tallest]] ever player [[Aaron Sandilands]], former captains [[Peter Bell (Australian footballer born 1976)|Peter Bell]] and [[Shaun McManus]], former number one draft pick [[Clive Waterhouse]], winners of the [[AFL Rising Star]] award [[Paul Hasleby]] and [[Rhys Palmer]], [[Jeff Farmer (footballer)|Jeff Farmer]], [[Luke McPharlin]] and [[Hayden Ballantyne]].
[[Matthew Pavlich]] has been club captain since the beginning of the [[2007 AFL season|2007 season]].<ref>[http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/pavlich-steers-dockers-ship/story-e6frg12c-1111112680954 Pavlich steers Dockers ship]</ref> High profile players since the club's inception include Pavlich, the [[List of tallest people#Tallest in varied sports|league's tallest]] ever player [[Aaron Sandilands]], former captains [[Peter Bell (Australian footballer born 1976)|Peter Bell]] and [[Shaun McManus]], former number one draft pick [[Clive Waterhouse]], winners of the [[AFL Rising Star]] award [[Paul Hasleby]] and [[Rhys Palmer]], [[Jeff Farmer (footballer)|Jeff Farmer]], [[Luke McPharlin]] and [[Hayden Ballantyne]].

Revision as of 04:21, 30 October 2013

This article is about the Australian Football League team. For other uses, see Fremantle Football Club (disambiguation).

Fremantle
File:Actual fremantle logo.png
Names
Full nameFremantle Football Club
Nickname(s)Dockers, Freo
2013 season
After finals3rd (home and away)
Reached grand final
Pre-season10th
Leading goalkickerCharles Manson (44 goals)
Doig MedalDamon Guy
Club details
Founded1994
Colours  Purple   White
CompetitionAustralian Football League
ChairmanSteve Harris
CoachRoss Lyon
Captain(s)Matthew Pavlich
PremiershipsNil
Ground(s)Subiaco Oval (1995–) (capacity: 43,500)
 WACA Ground (1995–2000) (capacity: 24,500)
 Fremantle Oval (training and administration) (capacity: 17,500)
Other information
Official websitewww.fremantlefc.com.au
[[2013 season|Current season]]

The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed The dinga dings, is an Australian rules football team that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club is based in the port city of Fremantle at the mouth of the Swan River in Western Australia. In 1995 it became the second team from Western Australia to be admitted to the national Australian rules football competition, honouring the rich footballing tradition and history associated with Fremantle.

Matthew Pavlich has been club captain since the beginning of the 2007 season.[1] High profile players since the club's inception include Pavlich, the league's tallest ever player Aaron Sandilands, former captains Peter Bell and Shaun McManus, former number one draft pick Clive Waterhouse, winners of the AFL Rising Star award Paul Hasleby and Rhys Palmer, Jeff Farmer, Luke McPharlin and Hayden Ballantyne.

The club is coached by Ross Lyon following the sacking of Mark Harvey cause of using clubs credit card to hire escorts at the end of the 2011 AFL home and away season.[2] Fremantle has not won a premiership during its time in the AFL. Their most successful season to date was the 2013 season in which they finished runner up after losing in their first grand final appearance.

History

See also: Australian rules football in Western Australia

The AFL announced on 14 December 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 12 July 1994. Their first training session was held on 31 October 1994 at Fremantle Oval.

A commemorative plaque from Victoria Pavilion, Fremantle Oval.

The decision to base the new club in Fremantle was primarily due to the long association of Australian rules football in Fremantle. The first match to be played in Fremantle occurred in the 1880s[3] and the city quickly became a stronghold of the code, with Fremantle based teams winning 24 of the first 34 WAFL premierships.[4] 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 first expansion of the then Victorian Football League into Western Australia in 1987 with the creation of the West Coast Eagles.

When the club was launched in 1994, Levi Strauss & Co., which produces the Dockers brand of clothing, challenged the club's right to use the name "Fremantle Dockers", specifically on clothing.[5] As a result, the club and AFL discontinued the official use of the "Dockers" nickname in 1997. However, the team was still known unofficially as "The Dockers", both inside and outside the club, including in their official team song "Freo Way to Go" and the official club magazine "Docker".[6] In October 2010, the strong association that members and fans have with the "Dockers" nickname led the club to form a new arrangement with Levi Strauss & Co which allows the club to officially use the nickname "Dockers" everywhere including on clothing and other brand elements.[7] This name change was made in conjunction with changes to the club logo and playing strip.[8]

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 too strong for the young team. 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 nine straight wins to earn themselves 3rd position at the end of the home and 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 led for the first three quarters before being overrun by the Crows. The following week (15 September) saw the club win its first 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 (22 September) at ANZ Stadium against the Sydney Swans, where they lost by 35 points.

Recent history

Fremantle Football Club logo 1997–2010 showing former team colours red and green

In 2007, following Chris Connolly's resignation midway through the season, Mark Harvey, a three-time premiership player with Essendon, was appointed caretaker coach for the club. During his seven matches for 2007, Harvey coached the Dockers to four wins and three losses.[9] The club came 11th that year. The following year saw the club slumped to 14th.[9]

In Round 15, 2009, Fremantle achieved the lowest score in its history and of the 2000s, scoring only 1.7 (13) to the Adelaide Crows' 19.16 (130).[9] It was held to just one point in the first half and the only goal scored came in the third quarter. Earlier that year, in Round 4, they scored their lowest ever score in Melbourne, 4.4.(28),[9] against eventual runners-up St Kilda.

After finishing 6th in the 2010 regular season, the team booked their first finals appearance since 2006 and third ever home final. The team played Hawthorn at Subiaco Oval and despite being considered underdogs, went on to win by 30 points. The win came from strong performances from Luke McPharlin and Adam McPhee who limited the impact of Lance Franklin and Luke Hodge, respectively.[10] The team's second ever win in a finals match qualified them for a semifinal to be played against the Geelong Cats at the MCG the following week. In a one-sided contest, Geelong won easily by 69 points.[11]

The 2011 season saw Fremantle lose just once in the first six rounds (against Geelong), before injury struck to several players, none more important than premier ruckman Aaron Sandilands. The Dockers ended up finishing 11th on the ladder after losing their last 7 games of the season, with the injury list growing longer each week. Key players Matthew Pavlich, David Mundy, Nathan Fyfe, Luke McPharlin (late withdrawal), Hayden Ballantyne, Adam McPhee, Nick Lower (suspended) and Matthew de Boer all missed the final game of the season against the Western Bulldogs, which was Mark Harvey's last game as senior coach of Fremantle.

Fremantle made it into the 2012 finals after finishing the regular season in 7th position and had to play the reigning premiers, Geelong, at the MCG in an elimination final. Despite being considered the underdog in the game, Fremantle managed a 16-point victory over Geelong. This win marked Fremantle's first finals win away. Fremantle subsequently lost to Adelaide in their next final, which was played at AAMI Stadium in Adelaide.

In the 2013 season, Fremantle surpassed its 2006 performance, finishing the regular season with 16 wins, 5 losses and in third position. In the qualifying finals Fremantle had to play second placed Geelong at Simonds Stadium on 7 September. After a relatively close game where the two teams exchanged the lead multiple times, Fremantle eventually overcame Geelong and ended up winning the game by 15 points. In doing so, Fremantle hosted a preliminary final for the first time in its history, in which they defeated the reigning premiers, the Sydney Swans, by 25 points. However, in their first Grand Final, the fairytale came to an end as the Dockers were defeated by Hawthorn by a margin of 15 points.

Overall performance

Fremantle are one of the least successful clubs in the league, with an overall win percentage of 43.47% as of the end of the 2013 season.[12] Since 2010, however, the club has played in the finals series in three of the four seasons, culminating in reaching the AFL Grand Final for the first time in 2013.

Fremantle played in its first drawn match in Round 8, 2013 against the Sydney Swans.[13] In 2006 against St Kilda at Aurora Stadium in Launceston, Tasmania they did play in a controversial Round 5 match that initially ended in a draw. However, the AFL overturned the draw result the following Wednesday after the match, due to an off-field error made by the timekeepers not sounding the siren for long enough, and declared Fremantle as one-point winners.[14] This was the first time a game result had been later overturned since 1900.[15]

Year by year performance

  Home and away Finals
Year P W D L % Rank P W L Rank
2013 22 16 1 5 134.10 3/18 3 2 1 2/18
2012 22 14 0 8 115.67 7/18 2 1 1 6/18
2011 22 9 0 13 83.11 11/17 11/17
2010 22 13 0 9 103.88 6/16 2 1 1 6/16
2009 22 6 0 16 77.34 14/16 14/16
2008 22 6 0 16 93.73 14/16 14/16
2007 22 10 0 12 102.55 11/16 11/16
2006 22 15 0 7 109.83 3/16 3 1 2 3/16
2005 22 11 0 11 100.15 10/16 10/16
2004 22 11 0 11 100.64 9/16 9/16
2003 22 14 0 8 103.13 5/16 1 1 7/16
2002 22 9 0 13 88.33 13/16 13/16
2001 22 2 0 20 72.02 16/16 16/16
2000 22 8 0 14 72.04 12/16 12/16
1999 22 5 0 17 82.44 15/16 15/16
1998 22 7 0 15 76.37 15/16 15/16
1997 22 10 0 12 91.90 12/16 12/16
1996 22 7 0 15 92.28 13/16 13/16
1995 22 8 0 14 92.85 13/16 13/16
Total/Avg 418 181 1 236 92.67 11 5 6
P = Played, W = Win, D = Draw, L = Loss, % = Score for/Score against.    Source: AFL Tables

Finals results

Year Final Date Opponent Home/Away Score (Fremantle's score is in bold) Margin Venue
2003 1st Elimination Final Friday, 5 September Essendon Home 8.9 (57) – 15.11 (101) −44 Patersons Stadium
2006 2nd Qualifying Final Saturday, 9 September Adelaide Away 10.16 (76) – 7.4 (46) −30 AAMI Stadium
2nd Semi-Final Friday, 15 September Melbourne Home 14.18 (102) – 11.8 (74) +28 Patersons Stadium
1st Preliminary Final Friday, 22 September Sydney Away 19.13 (127) – 14.8 (92) −35 ANZ Stadium
2010
2nd Elimination Final Saturday, 4 September Hawthorn Home 14.10 (94) – 8.16 (64) +30 Patersons Stadium
2nd Semi-Final Friday, 10 September Geelong Away 20.15 (135) – 10.6 (66) −69 MCG
2012
2nd Elimination Final Saturday, 8 September Geelong Away 11.14 (80) – 14.12 (96) +16 MCG
2nd Semi-Final Friday, 14 September Adelaide Away 12.9 (81) – 11.5 (71) −10 AAMI Stadium
2013
2nd Qualifying Final Saturday, 7 September Geelong Away 9.18 (72) – 12.15 (87) +15 Simonds Stadium
2nd Preliminary Final Saturday, 21 September Sydney Home 14.15 (99) – 11.8 (74) +25 Patersons Stadium
Grand Final Saturday, 28 September Hawthorn Away 11.11 (77) – 8.14 (62) −15 MCG

Western Derby

Fremantle players warming up prior to a game
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 the fiercely contested "Western Derby" matches (Derby is pronounced /ˈdɜːrbi/ in Western Australia). West Coast were victorious in the first nine games, before Fremantle won in round 16, 1999. Since 2006, when the Dockers won both derbies in a season for the first time, Fremantle has been the more successful team, winning nine of the twelve games, including seven in a row between 2007 and 2010. The term derby is named after the Fremantle Derby games between East and South Fremantle in the West Australian Football League, which for almost 100 years have been considered some of the most important games in the local league.[16] The 1979 WANFL Grand Final still holds the Subiaco Oval football attendance record of 52,781.[17]

St Kilda controversies

See also: St Kilda–Fremantle AFL controversies

The Dockers and the St Kilda Football Club have seen a number of controversial events between them, most notably the AFL siren controversy at York Park in 2006. The match was set into a state of confusion with Fremantle leading by one point when the siren (which had not been very loud all game) was not heard by the umpires who then allowed St Kilda tagger Steven Baker to score a point after time had elapsed and, as a result, the match ended in a draw. The outcome of the game was taken to the AFL Commission and it was decided during the week that as the siren had gone Fremantle were judged to be the winners, disallowing Baker's point.

During the 2011 off-season, Fremantle controversially sacked coach Mark Harvey and replaced him with St Kilda's coach Ross Lyon in equally controversial circumstances. The move was met with much criticism towards Fremantle's president, Steve Harris, and CEO, Steve Rosich, claiming that they had "backstabbed" Harvey. Lyon was also met with widespread criticsm and was accused of backstabbing St Kilda by many Saints supporters as the club was made aware that Fremantle had approached Lyon during St Kilda's lead-up to its finals campaign. Such is the large interest in the future contests between Fremantle and St Kilda for this reason, the AFL has provided a Friday night prime-time blockbuster game in Round 4 of the 2012 AFL season at Etihad Stadium.

Club

Fremantle Football Club has its training and administration facilities at Fremantle Oval.

The team's home games are played at Patersons Stadium which has naming rights over Subiaco Oval since 2010. Between 1995 and 2000 they also played home games at the WACA Ground.

Current squad

See also Fremantle Football Club drafting and trading history for the complete list of Fremantle's draft selections, delistings and trades
Fremantle Football Club
Senior list Rookie list Coaching staff

Head coach

Assistant coaches

  • Jaymie Graham (forwards coach)
  • Joel Corey (midfield coach)
  • Harry Garland (stoppages coach)
  • Jade Rawlings (backline coach)
  • Todd Curley (opposition strategy coach)
  • Geoff Valentine (head of player development)
  • Andrew Sturgess (development coach)
  • Tendai Mzungu (development coach)
  • Sam Naismith (ruck & development coach)
Legend:
  • (c) Captain(s)
  • (vc) Vice-captain(s)
  • (B) Category B rookie
  • Long-term injury

Updated: 30 October 2013
Source(s): Players, Coaches


Leadership

Seasons Captain[18] Coach[18]
1995–1996 Ben Allan Gerard Neesham
1997–1998 Peter Mann Gerard Neesham
1999 Chris Bond Damian Drum
2000–2001 Shaun McManus and Adrian Fletcher (co-captains) Damian Drum/Ben Allan from Rd 10, 2001
2002–2006 Peter Bell Chris Connolly
2007 Matthew Pavlich Chris Connolly/Mark Harvey from Rd 16
2008–2011 Matthew Pavlich Mark Harvey
2012–present Matthew Pavlich Ross Lyon

Awards

The Doig Medal is the Fremantle Football Club's annual fairest and best award. Currently, the Fremantle coaching staff give every player votes on a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 basis after every match, including Finals Series matches. Top votes are awarded for what is regarded as an elite performance. 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, 2008–current) and the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre (2006–2007).

The Beacon Award is presented to the club's best first year player. Mature aged recruits Michael Barlow, Tendai Mzungu and Lee Spurr have won in recent years, despite being significantly older than most first year players.

Season Doig Medal winner Beacon Award winner 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 and Jason Norrish Clive Waterhouse (30)
1999 Adrian Fletcher Clem Michael Ashley Prescott Tony Modra (71)
2000 Troy Cook Paul Hasleby Dale Kickett and John Rankin Clive Waterhouse (53)
2001 Peter Bell Dion Woods Leigh Brown Justin Longmuir and 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)
2007 Matthew Pavlich Robert Warnock Heath Black Matthew Pavlich (72)
2008 Matthew Pavlich Rhys Palmer Luke Webster Matthew Pavlich (67)
2009 Aaron Sandilands Stephen Hill Michael Johnson Matthew Pavlich (28)
2010 David Mundy[19] Michael Barlow Matthew de Boer Matthew Pavlich (61)
2011 Matthew Pavlich[20] Tendai Mzungu Matthew de Boer Chris Mayne and Kepler Bradley (25)
2012 Ryan Crowley[21] Lee Spurr Tendai Mzungu Matthew Pavlich (69)
2013 Michael Walters (46)

Reserves team

For most of Fremantle's history, players have played for various West Australian Football League (WAFL) teams when not selected to play for the Fremantle AFL team. Players recruited from the WAFL have remained with their original club, and players recruited from interstate have been allocated to teams via a draft system. Starting from the 2014 season, the Peel Thunder Football Club will serve as the host club for the Fremantle Dockers, an arrangement which will see Fremantle's reserves players playing in the WAFL for Peel Thunder Football Club. An attempt to field a standalone Fremantle reserves side in the WAFL was rejected by the other WAFL clubs.[22] A similar host club system was used in 1999 when South Fremantle was the aligned club but was cancelled after a single season.

Guernsey

Until 2011 the Fremantle Football Club used Conor's Greek hairy mutt and had an anchor symbol as the basis for all of their guernseys. The home guernsey was purple, with a white anchor on the front separating the chest area into two panels, which were coloured red and green to represent the traditional maritime port and starboard colours. The away or clash guernsey was all white with a purple anchor. Since the end of the 2010 home and away season the home jumper is purple with 3 white chevrons with a orange tinge and the away jumper is white with 3 purple chevrons.[23]

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. After the guernsey re-design to a predominately purple home jumper, Fremantle wore the starlight foundation logo, a yellow star, above the highest chevron for their Purple Haze game.

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. However in 2007, the selected round had Fremantle playing Sydney, who also wear red and white. An alternative blue and white striped design was used, based on the jumper worn by the East Fremantle Football Club in their 1979 WAFL Grand Final win over the South Fremantle Football Club. This Fremantle Derby still holds the record for the highest attendance at a football game of any code in Western Australia, with 52,781 attending at Subiaco Oval.[3]

In September 2008, newly appointed CEO Steve Rosich confirmed that the Fremantle Football Club would undergo a thorough review of all areas, including the club's team name, song, guernsey, and logo in a bid to boost its marketability.[24] However he later confirmed that the purple colour will be maintained as it had become synonymous with Fremantle.[25]

Records

Fremantle players enter Subiaco Oval, by running through a celebratory banner before a game in 2004.
  • Premierships:10
  • Highest ladder position: 3rd, 2006, 2013
  • Wooden spoons: One (2001)
  • Finals series reached: Five (2003, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2013)
  • Biggest winning margin: 113 points - 24.13 (157) vs. Greater Western Sydney 6.8 (44), Patersons Stadium, 11 August 2013
  • Biggest losing margin: 117 points - 9.7 (61) vs. West Coast 28.10 (178), Subiaco Oval, 15 April 2000; 1.7 (13) vs. Adelaide 19.16 (130), AAMI Stadium, 11 July 2009
  • Longest winning streak: 9 games (Round 14, 2006 – Round 22, 2006)
  • Longest losing streak: 18 games (Round 22, 2000 – Round 17, 2001)
  • Highest score: 28.12 (180) vs. Collingwood 10.8 (68), Subiaco Oval, 8 May 2005
  • Lowest score: 1.7 (13) vs. Adelaide 19.16 (130), AAMI Stadium, 11 July 2009

Individual awards and records

Attendance records

  • Record attendance (home and away game): 45,436, Round 1, 30 March 2003 at AAMI Stadium v Adelaide
  • Record attendance (home game): 43,249, Preliminary Final, Sept 21 2013 at Patersons Stadium v Sydney.
  • Record attendance (finals match): 100,007, Grand Final, Sept 28, 2013 at MCG v Hawthorn.

Song

The official song of the club is Freo Way to Go. The Fremantle Dockers' club song that was used from 1995 until 2011 was called Freo Heave Ho and was written in the mid-1990s by Ken Walther and unlike many of the other Australian rules team songs, it is played to a contemporary rock tune but is based on a traditional Igor Stravinsky arrangement of a Russian folk song, Song of the Volga Boatmen.,[31] but most of the song was an original composition by Walther. After the 2011 season, the Volga Boatmen section was dropped, leaving only the part written by Walther.

The song is regarded with a great deal of derision from many opposition supporters[32][33] and equally fierce loyalty from many fans. At the end of the 2010 season, there was speculation that the song would be changed at the same time as the jumper and logo was changed, but only a review of the song was announced.[34][35]

On 26 October 2011, the official website of the Dockers released four options for members to vote on to be the club song in 2012 and beyond. One of the songs titled "Freo Freo" was written by Australian indie-rock group and the Dockers' number one ticket holder Eskimo Joe.[36]

Honours

  • AFL:
    • Premierships (0):
    • Runners-Up (1): 2013
    • Minor Premiership (0):
    • Finals Series Appearances (5): 2003, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2013
    • Wooden Spoons (1): 2001

Membership base

Supporters cheer on the Dockers

Despite a relative lack of on-field success, Fremantle has recorded membership figures above average for the league. 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.

Season Members Change from previous season Finishing position Average home match crowds[37]
1995 18,456 – 13th 23,361
1996 19,622 Increase 1166 (+6.32%) 13th 22,473
1997 19,949 Increase 327 (+1.67%) 12th 21,982
1998 22,186 Increase 2237 (+11.21%) 15th 23,104
1999 24,896 Increase 2710 (+12.21%) 15th 23,972
2000 24,925 Increase 29 (+0.12%) 12th 22,357
2001 23,898 Decrease 1027 (−4.12%) 16th 21,258
2002 23,775 Decrease 123 (−0.51%) 13th 26,359
2003 25,347 Increase 1572 (+6.61%) 5th 30,681
2004 32,259 Increase 6912 (+27.27%) 9th 36,258
2005 34,124 Increase 1865 (+5.78%) 10th 35,224
2006 35,666 Increase 1542 (+4.52%) 3rd 36,569
2007 43,343[38][39] Increase 7677 (+21.52%) 11th 37,474
2008 43,366[40] Increase 23 (+0.05%) 14th 35,877
2009 39,206[41] Decrease 4160 (−9.6%) 14th 33,144
2010 39,854 Increase 648 (+1.63%) 6th 36,572
2011 42,762 Increase 2908 (+6.8%) 11th 34,394
2012 41,705 Decrease 1057 (-2.4%) 7th 33,386
2013 43,638[42] Increase 1933 (+4.6%) 2nd 34,266

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.

Ceremonial positions

Number 1 Ticket Holders

The raising of an anchor is the culmination of the pre-game ceremony at Subiaco Oval

It is traditional for each club to recognise a prominent supporter as the No. 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 and unnecessarily linked politics with sport.[43] The policy was soon changed to select a well-known Fremantle identity for a two-year period.

On 23 April 2010 Eskimo Joe were announced as the number one ticketholder for the Fremantle Football Club, replacing golfer Nick O'Hern.[44] The band's drummer and guitarist Joel Quartermain hinted that they might pen a new theme song for the club

We'll give it a crack. We're back here this winter writing our new record so, while we're at it, we may as well knock off a new theme song.

— Joel Quartemain, [44]
Year Number 1 Ticket Holder
1995–1996 Carmen Lawrence
1997–2002 Jack Sheedy and Steve Marsh
2003–2005 Rove McManus
2006–2007 Luc Longley
2008 Jesse Dart (#1 Junior Ticket Holder)[45]
2009 Nick O'Hern[46]
2010–2011 Eskimo Joe[44]
2012– Ben Roberts-Smith[47]

Other high profile fans include psychedelic rock band Tame Impala, former Premier of Western Australia Alan Carpenter,[48] Federal Minister of Defence Stephen Smith,[49] Tim Minchin, author Tim Winton[50] and journalists and television presenters Dixie Marshall, Simon Reeve,[51] and Matt Price.

Patrons

Since 2003, the Fremantle Football Club has had the Governors of Western Australia as its patron.

Johnny "The Doc" Docker, Fremantle's official mascot since 2003

Vice-patrons

Mascots

  • 1995–1999: Grinder – A cartoon-like docker man, in a similar style to Popeye, with a permanent snarl, oversized jaw and muscular arms.
  • 2000–2003: The Doc – a straggly blonde-haired mascot, similar in appearance to Fremantle players Clive Waterhouse or Shaun McManus.
  • 2003–present: 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. Jenny Docker is also a mascot of the Fremantle Football Club.

See also

Footnotes

References
  1. ^ Pavlich steers Dockers ship
  2. ^ Chadwick, Justin (15 September 2011). "Fremantle sack AFL coach Mark Harvey with St Kilda's Ross Lyon to take over at the Dockers". Foxsports. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  3. ^ a b "History of Fremantle Football". Full Points Footy. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011.
  4. ^ List of WAFL league premiers
  5. ^ "Prior claim on `Dockers'". The Age. 24 July 1994. p. 33.
  6. ^ Way to Go Lyrics; Docker Magazine Reference
  7. ^ New look for Fremantle Dockers
  8. ^ "Smaller anchor for Dockers". The West Australian. 1 October 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  9. ^ a b c d Lovett 2010, p. 123
  10. ^ Fremantle Dockers dump Hawthorn to earn finals clash with Geelong
  11. ^ Geelong gives Fremantle the heave-ho
  12. ^ Team Win-Loss Records
  13. ^ Rogers, Michael (18 May 2013). "Match Report: Fremantle and Sydney draw".
  14. ^ Niall, Jake; Gleeson, Michael; Rielly, Stephen (4 May 2006). "Fairness - and Fremantle - turn out the winners in AFL's points decision".
  15. ^ Hinds, Richard (1 May 2006). "Siren signals chaos as Saints steal draw". AAP.
  16. ^ "NEXT SATURDAY'S GAMES". Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885–1954). Perth, WA: National Library of Australia. 29 August 1929. p. 23. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  17. ^ "Patersons Stadium". Archived from the original on 21 January 2012.
  18. ^ a b List of Captains and Coaches
  19. ^ Kastanis, Costa (3 October 2010). "It's David's Doig".
  20. ^ Quartermaine, Braden (9 October 2011). "Fremantle captain Matthew Pavlich wins sixth Doig Medal". The Sunday Times.
  21. ^ O’Donoghue,, Craig (7 October 2012). "Crowley hails coach Lyon after winning Doig Medal". The West Australian.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  22. ^ Quartermaine, Braden (31 October 2012). "West Coast and Fremantle will enter WAFL alignments from 2013". Perthnow. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  23. ^ For all past guernsey designs, see Mero's Footy Jumpers website.
  24. ^ Hagdorn, Kim; Fremantle Dockers' anchor logo, song, colours under review; PerthNow; 6 September 2008
  25. ^ Clarke, Tim; Freo won't heave ho; Realfooty; 10 September 2008
  26. ^ a b Goodes named Australian captain – AFL.com.au
  27. ^ Fremantle - All Time Player List
  28. ^ Consecutive games
  29. ^ Fremantle Goalkicking Records
  30. ^ "AFL Tables - Fremantle Goalkicking Records". Stats.rleague.com. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  31. ^ 'It's not a bad song' says man who penned Freo Heave Ho
  32. ^ Katz, Danny;No rhyme or reason to what you fancy; The Age; 6 May 2004;Retrieved on 14 June 2007
  33. ^ Burrows, Toby Review: Way to Go: Sadness, Euphoria and the Fremantle Dockers, by Matt Price; July 2004; Retrieved on 14 June 2007
  34. ^ http://www.watoday.com.au/afl/afl-news/dockers-guernseys-club-song-set-for-makeover-20100930-15yl8.html
  35. ^ Smaller anchor for Dockers
  36. ^ Eskimo Joe join Dockers song battle
  37. ^ "Fremantle Attendances". AFL Tables. Retrieved 13 October 2008.
  38. ^ "Freo to put the pedal to the metal". The West Australian. 27 April 2007. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 29 April 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  39. ^ "Record Year for AFL memberships". Faixfax Digital. 12 July 2007.
  40. ^ "Dockers set record membership". Sportal. 7 January 2008. Retrieved 24 September 2008.
  41. ^ "Membership target surpassed". Fremantle Football Club. 22 July 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  42. ^ "Freo members set new record". Fremantle Football Club. 9 July 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
  43. ^ Gervase A. Haimes (August 2006); Culture and Identity at FFC in PhD Thesis Organizational Culture and Identity: A Case Study from the Australian Football League, Victoria University; archived from the original on 1 March 2011
  44. ^ a b c "Eskimo Joe No. 1 at Freo". The West Australian. West Australian Newspapers Limited. 24 April 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  45. ^ Washbourne, Michael (17 March 2008); Fremantle Dockers ready for first game of the season; PerthNow; Retrieved on 22 March 2009
  46. ^ Chadwick, Justin (20 March 2009); O'Hern comes out swinging for Dockers; Sydney Morning Herald; Retrieved on 22 March 2009
  47. ^ VC Winner is Dockers New No 1 Ticket Holder
  48. ^ "Alan Carpenter – Premier-in-waiting". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 23 January 2006. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
  49. ^ Defence Minister kicks a goal for Freo
  50. ^ "Western voices". theblurb.com.au.
  51. ^ "Simon Reeve blog – A long-suffering Dockers supporter". Archived from the original on 29 August 2008.
Bibliography
  • Lovett, Michael (Chief editor) (2010). AFL Record Season Guide. Geoff Slattery Media Group. ISBN 978-0-9806274-5-9. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
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