The Fremantle Football Club, known as The Dockers is a team in the Australian Football League (AFL). This club is in the port city of Fremantle just at the Swan River of Western Australia. It was admitted to the National Australian Rules football competition in 1995 making it the second team from Western Australia. Fremantle has a very rich tradition and history of football.
Since 2007, the team captain has been Matthew Pavlich. Some of the best players in the team are Jeff Farmer, Luke McPharlin, Rhys Palmer, Paul Hasleby, Clive Watergouse, Shaun McManus, Peter Bell and Aaron Sandilands.
History
The culture of football in Fremantle can be traced back since 1885. There four clubs who questioned the partnership: Rovers, Victorians, Perth High School and Fremantle. Perth High School was replaced by Fremantle-based side-Unions in 1886 so that teams at four can be maintained. The year after that, the Unions were the only Fremantle team left because Fremantle discontinued in the competition. They used the red and white colors for their uniforms. The Fremantle Football Club was used in 1890. The Unions won the flag in 1888 and 1889 and the Fremantle in 1890.
Blue and white
The blue and white color was used for their uniforms back in 1898 when a new club emerged at the Port at East Fremantle. Up until today the blue and white colors are still used. The team broke through in 1900 for the first partnership. This was also the year when South Fremantle joined the competition with the red and white colors.
Rivalries
Since the East Fremantle and the South Fremantle were established, the most intense rivalry in the game was formed. In the 70 WAFL grand finals the East won 29 and the South won 11. For the annual AFL heritage round, Fremantle wore the red and white uniform to honor the original partnership in 1885 to show how rich the football heritage in the place is.
Annual Leave
Now, even with the annual leave of the playing squad, the Fremantle Dockers are still very dedicated with hard work. According to Fremantle Sports Science manager Jason Weber, the players were all tested for Anthropometrics. This is a test for the lean muscle mass and fat. A variety of athletic parameters were also done for the team, just one week after their last game.
Bellantyne
Hayden Ballantyne, one of the best players of Fremantle won the 2011 AFL Goal of the year. He won the award with his brilliant running goal skills. This was during the 2nd round of the Purple Haze game, which was held in Patersons Stadium playing against Geelong.
Senior Coach
AFL coach Ross Lyon was appointed as the new senior coach of the team. He will be leading this club for four seasons. He has been coaching at St Kilda for five years already. He has been coaching the team for 121 games. He brought this team to 4 finals and three grand finals in just a span of 2 years. This makes him very qualified to be the new senior coach of the Fremantle Football Club.