Fremantle Football Club

This article is about the Australian Football League team. For other uses, see Fremantle Football Club (disambiguation).
Fremantle Football Club
Names
Full name Fremantle Football Club
Nickname(s) Dockers, Freo
2016 season
After finals 16th
Leading goalkicker Michael Walters (36 goals)
Doig Medal Lachie Neale
Club details
Founded 1994
Colours      Purple      White
Competition Australian Football League
Chairman Dale Alcock
Coach Ross Lyon
Captain(s) David Mundy
Premierships Nil
Ground(s) Subiaco Oval (1995–2017) (capacity: 43,500)
  Perth Stadium (from 2018) (capacity: 60,000)
Former ground(s) WACA Ground (1995–2000)
Training ground(s) Fremantle Oval (training and administration, 1995–present)
Other information
Official website fremantlefc.com.au

The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Dockers, is a professional Australian rules football team that competes 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 after the West Coast Eagles to be admitted to the AFL, honouring the rich footballing tradition and history associated with Fremantle.

David Mundy has been club captain since the beginning of the 2016 season.[1] High-profile players since the club's inception include former captain and six time All-Australian Matthew Pavlich, 2015 Brownlow Medallist Nat Fyfe, the league's tallest ever player Aaron Sandilands, Peter Bell, 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 at the end of the 2011 AFL home and away season.[2] Fremantle has not won a premiership during its time in the AFL, however it did win the minor premiership in 2015.[3] Their most successful season to date was the 2013 season in which they finished runner up after losing in their first grand final appearance.

Australian rules football in Fremantle

The port city of Fremantle has long been a stronghold of Australian rules football in Western Australia, hosting the state's first game in 1881.[4] The East Fremantle and South Fremantle Football Clubs dominated the early years of the West Australian Football League (WAFL), winning 24 of the first 34 premierships.[5]

1979 WANFL Grand Final G B Total
East Fremantle 21 19 145
South Fremantle 16 16 112
Venue: Subiaco Oval crowd: 52,781

Since 1897, Fremantle Oval has been the main venue for Australian rules football matches in the city. The largest attendance at a football match in Western Australia was 52,781 at Perth's Subiaco Oval for the 1979 WANFL Grand Final between East Fremantle and South Fremantle.

Champion players who forged careers playing for Fremantle-based clubs include, among many others, Steve Marsh, Jack Sheedy, John Todd, George Doig, William Truscott and Bernie Naylor.

Fremantle in the Australian Football League

Left: A commemorative plaque from Victoria Pavilion, Fremantle Oval..
Right: Fremantle players warming up prior to a game in the clubs original guernsey.

Negotiations between East Fremantle and South Fremantle to enter into the VFL as a merged club began in 1987. However, due to an exclusive rights clause granted to the West Coast Eagles this would be impossible until the end of the 1992 season. Further applications were made by the clubs to join but their model was out of favour with the West Australian Football Commission.[6]

The AFL announced on 14 December 1993 that a new team, to be based in Fremantle, would enter the league in 1995. The names "Fremantle Football Club", "Fremantle Dockers" and the club colours of purple, red, green and white were announced on 12 July 1994. The decision to base the new club in Fremantle was primarily due to the long association of Australian rules football in 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. Their first training session was held on 31 October 1994 at Fremantle Oval.

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 losses and only 1 game outside the top 8.

After an average first half to the 2006 AFL 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

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.[7] The club came 11th that year, and Harvey was appointed full-time coach at the end of the season. The following year saw the club slump to 14th.[7]

In Round 15, 2009, Fremantle recorded the lowest score in its history and of the 2000s, scoring only 1.7 (13) to the Adelaide Crows' 19.16 (130).[7] It scored 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),[7] 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.[8] 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.[9]

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, Nat 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.

2014 saw the club reach the finals for the third successive year, but despite earning a double chance by finishing fourth, were knocked out after losses to Sydney away and Port Adelaide at home. Nat Fyfe was awarded the Leigh Matthews Trophy when he was voted League's most valuable player by the other AFL players.[10]

2015 saw the club win its first piece of silverware, the minor premiership, with one round still to play in the regular season.[3] However, the club failed to convert this into a Grand Final appearance, losing to Hawthorn by 27 points in its home preliminary final.

Fremantle ended their 2015 AFL season with midfielder Nat Fyfe winning the 2015 Brownlow Medal.[11]

In 2016 however, Fremantle would experience one of the worst falls from grace in history, as they would lose their first 10 games, and only win 4 for the year. Nat Fyfe was sidelined for the season with a lower leg injury, while recruit Harley Bennell would not play a game due to a calf injury. Aaron Sandilands also missed huge chunks of the year, while other talent would miss large amounts of games.

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 the fiercely contested "Western Derby" matches (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.[12] The 1979 WANFL Grand Final still holds the Subiaco Oval football attendance record of 52,781.[13]

St Kilda 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 criticism 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 provided the two clubs a Friday night prime-time blockbuster game in Round 4 of the 2012 AFL season at Etihad Stadium.

Overall performance

Fremantle were one of the least successful clubs in the league, with an overall win percentage of 44.7% as of the end of the 2014 season.[14] Since 2010, however, the club has played in the finals series in five of the six seasons, including the last four in succession, of which highlights include, among others, reaching the AFL Grand Final for the first time in 2013, and winning the minor premiership in 2015.

Fremantle played in its first drawn match in Round 8, 2013 against the Sydney Swans.[15] 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.[16] This was the first time a game result had been later overturned since 1900.[17]

Year by year performance

  Home and away Finals Coach
Year P W D L % Rank P W L Rank
201622401874.2816/18 16/18 Lyon
2015221705118.731/182113/18 Lyon
2014221606130.404/182026/18 Lyon
2013221615134.103/183212/18 Lyon
2012221408115.677/182116/18 Lyon
201122901383.1111/17 11/17 Harvey
2010221309103.886/162116/16 Harvey
200922601677.3414/1614/16 Harvey
200822601693.7314/1614/16 Harvey
20072210012102.5511/1611/16 Connolly/Harvey
2006221507109.833/163123/16 Connolly
20052211011100.15 10/1610/16 Connolly
20042211011100.649/169/16 Connolly
2003221408103.135/161017/16 Connolly
200222901388.3313/16 13/16 Connolly
200122202072.0216/1616/16 Drum/Allan
200022801472.0412/1612/16 Drum
199922501782.4415/16 15/16 Drum
199822701576.3715/16 15/16 Neesham
1997221001291.9012/1612/16 Neesham
199622701592.2813/16 13/16 Neesham
199522801492.8513/16 13/16 Neesham
Total/Avg484218126594.00 1569
Overall499224127493.84
P = Played, W = Win, D = Draw, L = Loss, % = Score for/Score against.    Source: AFL Tables

Club Identity

Dockers

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

Shortly after 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.[18] 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".[19] 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.[20] This name change was made in conjunction with changes to the club logo and playing strip.[21]

Guernsey

Nat Fyfe wearing Fremantle's home guernsey

Until 2011 the Fremantle Football Club used the 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 and the away jumper is white with 3 purple chevrons.[22]

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 Children's 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.[4]

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.[23] However he later confirmed that the purple colour will be maintained as it had become synonymous with Fremantle.[24]

Home ground

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

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

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,[25] 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[26][27] 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.[21][28]

In 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.[29]

Mascots

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

Supporters

Number 1 ticketholders

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 supporter of the club and unnecessarily linked politics with sport.[30] 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.[31] The band's drummer and guitarist, Joel Quartermain, hinted that they might write a new theme song for the club, saying that

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, [31]
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 (No. 1 Junior Ticket Holder)[32]
2009 Nick O'Hern[33]
2010–2011 Eskimo Joe[31]
2012–2015 Ben Roberts-Smith[34]
2016Richard Walley[35]

Other high-profile fans include psychedelic rock band Tame Impala, a former Premier of Western Australia, Alan Carpenter,[36] a former Federal Minister of Defence, Stephen Smith,[37] Tim Minchin, author Tim Winton[38] and journalists and television presenters Dixie Marshall, Simon Reeve,[39] American tennis player John Isner[40] and Matt Price, who wrote a book on Fremantle, Way to Go.

Patrons

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

Vice-patrons

Players

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

Legend:
  • (c) Captain
  • (vc) Vice captain

Updated: 2 December 2016
Source(s): Playing list,
, 2016 coaching structure

Leadership

Matthew Pavlich captained the club from 2007 to 2016.
SeasonsCaptain[41]Coach[41]
1995–1996Ben Allan Gerard Neesham
1997–1998 Peter Mann Gerard Neesham
1999 Chris BondDamian 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
2012–2016 Matthew Pavlich Ross Lyon
2016–present David Mundy Ross Lyon

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.[42] A similar host club system was used in 1999 when South Fremantle was the aligned club but was cancelled after a single season.

Corporate

Ownership and management

The club is owned by the West Australian Football Commission (WAFC). Since 2003, a Board of Directors controls the operation of the club, on behalf of the WAFC. Prior to this, a two-tier arrangement was in place, with a Board of Management between the Board of Directors and the Commission. The initial club chief executive officer was David Hatt, who had come from a hockey background, and the inaugural club chairman was Ross Kelly, who had played for West Perth. It was a deliberate act by the commission to avoid having administrators from either East Fremantle or South Fremantle in key roles, as they wanted the club to be bigger than just representing Fremantle.[43]

Kelly resigned at the end of 1998, replaced by Ross McLean. Whilst he presided over some key financial decisions, including the building of the club's administrative and training centre at Fremantle Oval and the deferment of the licence fee to the AFL, it was Fremantle's lowest point onfield, culminating in a two-win season in 2001 which saw the coach Damien Drum be sacked mid-year. McLean resigned following an inadvertent breach of the salary cap.[44]

In early 2001 Hatt accepted a government job and Cameron Schwab was appointed. After weathering the fallout from the disastrous 2001 season, Schwab and the new chairman, local West Australian retailing businessman Rick Hart, set about rebuilding the club. A former recruiting manager, Schwab focused on building up the on-field performance by recruiting high-profile players in Trent Croad, Peter Bell and Jeff Farmer, as well as coach Chris Connolly and with Hart then focused on enhancing the corporate and financial standing of the club.[45] The club membership grew every year from 2002 until 2008[46] and the final licence payment was made to the AFL in 2005.

Schwab chose to return to Melbourne in 2008 and was replaced as CEO by Steve Rosich, who had previously worked for the West Coast Eagles. A year later Hart resigned as president and Steve Harris, who runs The Brand Agency and had produced advertising for Fremantle since 2002, took over at the end of 2009. Harris had been on the board since November 2008, the first club chairman or president to have previously served on the board.[47] The club has developed into one of the wealthiest clubs in the league and their surprise recruitment of Ross Lyon to replace Mark Harvey as coach at the end of the 2011 is seen as an example of their ruthless drive for sustained success.[48]

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 (after finals) Average home match crowds[49]
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 23,365
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%) 7th 31,688
2004 32,259 Increase 6912 (+27.27%) 9th 35,693
2005 34,124 Increase 1865 (+5.78%) 10th 35,224
2006 35,666 Increase 1542 (+4.52%) 4th 37,063
2007 43,343[50][51] Increase 7677 (+21.52%) 11th 37,474
2008 43,366[52] Increase 23 (+0.05%) 14th 35,877
2009 39,206[53] Decrease 4160 (−9.6%) 14th 33,144
2010 39,854 Increase 648 (+1.63%) 6th 37,084
2011 42,762 Increase 2908 (+6.8%) 11th 34,394
2012 41,705 Decrease 1057 (−2.4%) 6th 33,386
2013 44,480[54] Increase 2775 (+6.7%) 2nd 35,015
2014 48,776[54] Increase 4296 (+9.7%) 6th 36,215
2015 51,433[55] Increase 2657 (+5.4%) 3rd 36,914
2016 51,889 Increase 456 (+0.89%) 16th 31,416

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.

SeasonDoig Medal winnerBeacon Award winnerBest clubmanLeading goalkicker
1995Peter 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 WebsterMatthew Pavlich (71)
2007 Matthew Pavlich Robert Warnock Heath BlackMatthew Pavlich (72)
2008 Matthew Pavlich Rhys Palmer Luke WebsterMatthew Pavlich (67)
2009 Aaron Sandilands Stephen Hill Michael JohnsonMatthew Pavlich (28)
2010 David Mundy[56] Michael Barlow Matthew de BoerMatthew Pavlich (61)
2011 Matthew Pavlich[57] Tendai Mzungu Matthew de Boer Chris Mayne and Kepler Bradley (25)
2012 Ryan Crowley[58] Lee Spurr Tendai Mzungu Matthew Pavlich (69)
2013 Nat Fyfe[59]Cameron Sutcliffe Lee Spurr Michael Walters (46)
2014 Nat Fyfe[60]Matt Taberner Alex Silvagni Hayden Ballantyne (49)
2015 Aaron Sandilands[61]Alex PearceJonathon GriffinMichael Walters (44)
2016 Lachie NealeLachie WellerAaron SandilandsMichael Walters (36)

Records

Fremantle players enter Subiaco Oval, by running through a celebratory banner before a game in 2004.

Individual awards and records

Attendance records

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.

AFL Women's team

In May 2016, the club launched a bid to enter a team in the inaugural AFL Women's season in 2017.[67] As part of the bid, the team would guarantee all players education and job opportunities with the club and the partnering Curtin University. [67]

Fremantle beat out a bid from rivals West Coast when they were granted a license on 15 June 2016.[68]

Kiara Bowers and Kara Donnellan were the club's first signings, unveiled along with the league's other 14 marquee players on 27 July 2016.[69] A further 24 senior players and two rookie players were added to the club's inaugural list in the league's drafting and signing period.

Former South Fremantle assistant coach, Michelle Cowan was appointed the team's inaugural head coach in July 2016.[70]

The club's initial bid outlined plans for a game each at Domain Stadium and at Curtin University's Bentley campus as well as up to two remaining matches held at the club training base in the city of Cockburn[67]

Current squad

Fremantle Football Club (AFL Women's)
Senior list Rookie list Coaching staff
  •  1 Ashley Sharp
  •  2 Kiara Bowers
  •  3 Brianna Green
  •  4 Lara Filocamo
  •  5 Tayla Bresland
  •  6 Tiah Haynes
  •  7 Amy Lavell
  •  8 Taryn Priestly
  •  9 Taylah Angel
  • 10 Stacey Barr
  • 11 Tarnica Gollisano
  • 12 Ebony Antonio
  • 13 Kira Phillips
  • 14 Akec Makur Chuot
  • 15 Kara Donnellan
  • 16 Demi Okely
  • 17 Dana Hooker
  • 18 Belinda Smith
  • 19 Hayley Miller
  • 20 Stephanie Cain
  • 21 Emily Bosner
  • 23 Kirby Bentley
  • 24 Melissa Caulfield
  • 25 Kelly Clinch
  • 27 Gemma Houghton
  • 33 Cassie Davidson
  • 22 Gabby O'Sullivan
  • 32 Kim Mickle

Head coach

  • Michelle Cowan

Assistant coaches

Legend:
  • (c) Captain
  • (vc) Vice captain

Updated: 3 December 2016
Source(s): Playing list
Coaching staff

See also

Footnotes

References
  1. ↑ "Fremantle Dockers name David Mundy as new AFL captain, replacing Matthew Pavlich". AAP. 15 January 2016.
  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. 1 2 Malcolm, Alex (30 August 2015). "Dockers seal top spot with easy win over Dees". Australian Football League. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  4. 1 2 "History of Fremantle Football". Full Points Footy. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011.
  5. ↑ "List of WAFL league premiers".
  6. ↑ Oakley, Ross (2014). The Phoenix Rises. Richmond, Victoria: Slattery Media Group. pp. 246–247. ISBN 978-0-9874205-9-6.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Lovett (2010), p. 123
  8. ↑ Quartermaine, Braden (4 September 2010). "Fremantle Dockers dump Hawthorn to earn finals clash with Geelong".
  9. ↑ Matthews, Bruce (10 September 2010). "Geelong gives Fremantle the heave-ho". Herald Sun.
  10. 1 2 "Fremantle's Nat Fyfe wins AFL Players' Association MVP award". 9 September 2014.
  11. ↑ "Brownlow Medal 2015: Nat Fyfe wins AFL highest honour". 28 September 2015.
  12. ↑ "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.
  13. ↑ "Patersons Stadium". Archived from the original on 21 January 2012.
  14. ↑ Team Win-Loss Records
  15. ↑ Rogers, Michael (18 May 2013). "Match Report: Fremantle and Sydney draw".
  16. ↑ Niall, Jake; Gleeson, Michael; Rielly, Stephen (4 May 2006). "Fairness - and Fremantle - turn out the winners in AFL's points decision". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  17. ↑ Hinds, Richard (1 May 2006). "Siren signals chaos as Saints steal draw". The Sydney Morning Herald. AAP.
  18. ↑ "Prior claim on 'Dockers'". The Age. 1994-07-24. p. 33.
  19. ↑ "Way to Go Lyrics".
  20. ↑ Papalia, Ben (1 October 2010). "Fremantle Dockers launch new look".
  21. 1 2 Duffield, Mark; Lewis, Ross; Rickard, Jayne (1 October 2010). "Smaller anchor for Dockers". The West Australian.
  22. ↑ For all past guernsey designs, see Mero's Footy Jumpers website.
  23. ↑ Hagdorn, Kim; Fremantle Dockers' anchor logo, song, colours under review; PerthNow; 6 September 2008
  24. ↑ Clarke, Tim; Freo won't heave ho; Realfooty; 10 September 2008
  25. ↑ 'It's not a bad song' says man who penned Freo Heave Ho
  26. ↑ Katz, Danny;No rhyme or reason to what you fancy; The Age; 6 May 2004;Retrieved on 14 June 2007
  27. ↑ Burrows, Toby Review: Way to Go: Sadness, Euphoria and the Fremantle Dockers, by Matt Price; July 2004; Retrieved on 14 June 2007
  28. ↑ Sapienza, Joseph (30 September 2010). "Dockers guernseys, club song set for makeover".
  29. ↑ Eskimo Joe join Dockers song battle
  30. ↑ 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
  31. 1 2 3 "Eskimo Joe No. 1 at Freo". The West Australian. West Australian Newspapers Limited. 24 April 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  32. ↑ Washbourne, Michael (17 March 2008); Fremantle Dockers ready for first game of the season; PerthNow; Retrieved on 22 March 2009
  33. ↑ Chadwick, Justin (20 March 2009); O'Hern comes out swinging for Dockers; Sydney Morning Herald; Retrieved on 22 March 2009
  34. ↑ VC Winner is Dockers New No 1 Ticket Holder
  35. ↑ Balme, Ned (23 March 2016). "Richard Walley is new number one".
  36. ↑ "Alan Carpenter – Premier-in-waiting". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 23 January 2006. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
  37. ↑ Defence Minister kicks a goal for Freo
  38. ↑ "Western voices". theblurb.com.au.
  39. ↑ "Simon Reeve blog – A long-suffering Dockers supporter". Archived from the original on 29 August 2008.
  40. ↑ Lewis, Ross (4 January 2011). "Big John reveals he's a Dockers fan". The West Australia. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  41. 1 2 "Honour Roll". Fremantle Football Club.
  42. ↑ Quartermaine, Braden (31 October 2012). "West Coast and Fremantle will enter WAFL alignments from 2013". Perthnow. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  43. ↑ Everett (2014), pp. 22–23
  44. ↑ Docker chairman resigns
  45. ↑ McGrath, John; Duffield, Mark (26 February 2003). "Freo's $7m debt not an anchor: CEO".
  46. ↑ "Club Memberships".
  47. ↑ Everett (2010), p. 198
  48. ↑ Imam, Abid (17 September 2012). "The bold boardroom strategies that have powered Fremantle Dockers' AFL resurgence".
  49. ↑ "Fremantle Attendances". AFL Tables. Retrieved 13 October 2008.
  50. ↑ "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.
  51. ↑ "Record Year for AFL memberships". Faixfax Digital. 12 July 2007.
  52. ↑ "Dockers set record membership". Sportal. 7 January 2008. Retrieved 24 September 2008.
  53. ↑ "Membership target surpassed". Fremantle Football Club. 22 July 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  54. 1 2 "Club memberships rise as Power, Swans reap benefits". AFL. 2 August 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  55. ↑ Schmook, Nathan (26 August 2015). "Swans' surge drives new AFL club membership record".
  56. ↑ Kastanis, Costa (3 October 2010). "It's David's Doig". Archived from the original on 14 February 2011.
  57. ↑ Quartermaine, Braden (9 October 2011). "Fremantle captain Matthew Pavlich wins sixth Doig Medal". The Sunday Times.
  58. ↑ O'Donoghue,, Craig (7 October 2012). "Crowley hails coach Lyon after winning Doig Medal". The West Australian.
  59. ↑ Kastanis, Costa (17 November 2013). "Fyfe wins the Doig Medal".
  60. ↑ Miller, Dale (16 November 2014). "Fyfe named Freo best and fairest".
  61. ↑ Quartmaine, Braden (10 October 2015). "Ruckman Aaron Sandilands wins Fremantle Dockers club champion award Doig Medal".
  62. 1 2 "Goodes named Australian captain". AFL.com.au. Archived from the original on 18 October 2010.
  63. ↑ Fremantle - All Time Player List
  64. ↑ Consecutive games
  65. ↑ Fremantle Goalkicking Records
  66. ↑ "AFL Tables - Fremantle Goalkicking Records". www.afltables.com. Retrieved 2013-05-04.
  67. 1 2 3 "Fremantle Dockers to utilise Curtin partnership to women's team bid". Sports Business Insider. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  68. ↑ "Fremantle win licence for inaugural WA women's team". Fremantle FC. Bigpond. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  69. ↑ Matthews, Bruce (27 July 2016). "Sixteen of the best: women's marquees named". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  70. ↑ Edwards, Jon (11 July 2016). "Cowan confirmed as coach of Fremantle's national women's league team". Fremantle FC. Bigpond. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
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