Fremantle Football Club

Infobox australian football club
clubname = Fremantle Football Club


fullname = Fremantle Football Club
nicknames = The Dockers, Freo
season = 2007
position = 11th
topgoalkicker = Matthew Pavlich
bestandfairest = Matthew Pavlich
founded = 1994
colours = Greencolor box|Green, Purplecolor box|Purple, Redcolor box|Red and Whitecolor box|White
league = Australian Football League
chairman = Rick Hart
coach = Mark Harvey
captain = Matthew Pavlich
ground = Subiaco Oval
ground2 = Fremantle Oval
capacity = 42,922
capacity2 = 17,500
url = [http://www.fremantlefc.com.au www.fremantlefc.com.au]

Fremantle Football Club, unofficially nicknamed The Dockers and known informally as "Freo", is one of 16 teams in the Australian Football League (AFL). It was the second team from Western Australia to be admitted to the national Australian rules football competition, joining in 1995. The club is based in the port city of Fremantle, south west of Perth at the mouth of the Swan River.

It has been captained by Matthew Pavlich since the beginning of the 2007 season. [ [http://fremantlefc.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=310031 Pavlich takes over as Club Captain] ] High profile players include former captain Peter Bell, vice captain Josh Carr, Jeff Farmer, and Paul Hasleby. The club is coached by Mark Harvey following the resignation of Chris Connolly on July 18, 2007. [ [http://news.realfooty.com.au/harvey-takes-over-afl-reins-at-freo/20070420-oot.html Harvey takes over AFL reins at Freo] ] [ [http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=145&ContentID=34741 Connolly quits as Fremantle coach] ]

History

:"See Also Australian rules football in Western Australia"

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.

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 [ [http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/fremantle_(1).htm History of Fremantle Football] ] and the city quickly became a stronghold of the code, with Fremantle based teams winning 24 of the first 34 WAFL premierships [ [http://www.wafootball.com.au/resources/history/wafl-premiers-league/download.html List of WAFL league premiers] ] . 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 initial expansion of the then Victorian Football League in 1987 with the creation of rival Western Australian football team, the West Coast Eagles.

In February 1996, Levi Strauss & Co., which produces the Dockers brand of clothing, challenged the club's right to use the name "Fremantle Dockers", specifically on clothing. [ [http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/pdfs/trademarks/hearings/634395.pdf Interim Decision] ; [http://pericles.ipaustralia.gov.au/atmoss/Falcon_History.Summary_Page?p_tm_number=634400&p_search_no=2&p_detail=DETAILED&p_extdisp=D Trademark History] ] As a result, the club and AFL discontinued the official use of the "Dockers" nickname in 1997. However, the team is 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". [ [http://fremantlefc.com.au/Default.aspx?tabid=10662 Way to Go Lyrics] ; [http://fremantlefc.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/7009/Default.aspx?newsId=35704 Docker Magazine Reference] ]

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 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 led 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.

Fremantle is the only currently active club the AFL that has not won a premiership (or played in a Grand Final), 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 which many commentators had noted as being "dangerously quiet" during the game. St Kilda's Steven Baker then scored a behind, levelling the scores, before the siren was sounded a second time. Baker was awarded a free-kick for an infringement after he kicked the point and was allowed to take the kick again - which he also scored a behind from. 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.

The 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 pronEng|ˈdɝːbiː 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, they also knocked West Coast off late in the 2007 season in one of the toughest derbies ever. 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 and Subiaco Oval attendance record of 52,781. [ [http://footystats.freeservers.com/Footystats/AllAtten.html Australian rules football attendance records] ]

The Club

.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.

Current squad

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

Leadership

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

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 for a two year period.

* 1995-1996 Carmen Lawrence
* 1997-2002 Jack Sheedy & Steve Marsh
* 2003-2005 Rove McManus
* 2006-2007 Luc Longley
* 2008- Jesse Dart

Famous fans include television personalities Rove McManus and Simon Reeve.

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

Vice-Patrons
* David Malcolm – Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia (retired)
* Syd Corser
* Con Regan
* Steve Marsh
* Jack Sheedy

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.

References

ee also

* - Alphabetical
*List of Fremantle Dockers league players - Ordered by debut
*Australian rules football in Western Australia
*Fremantle Football Club drafting and trading history

External links

* [http://fremantlefc.com.au/ "Official Website of the Fremantle Football Club"]