It's a two team town in the west. You have the choice (or more likely due to family heritage not given an option) to support the four-time flag winning West Coast Eagles or the perennial battlers Fremantle.
In the mid-2000s, my family was split in half by blue and gold and (at the time) purple, red, green and white, but my grandad put in the ground work early to make sure the anchor was firmly attached to my heart.
For better or for worse that's led to two decades of love and despair for myself and the Freo faithful - an adjective which cannot be disputed when it comes to this club. As my mum used to say in regards to Dockers fans, "We're proud, loyal, passionate, but stupid."
The expression "dockery" has now become part of the vernacular in Fremantle to describe the club or players' ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
But it appears a new era has begun for the west's forever little brother. With arguably its best ever list talent-wise, Fremantle appears ready to make its second proper push for a premiership in the Dockers' 32-year history.
While Fremantle as a club isn't known for its on-field success, the club has had a litany of cult heroes and stars who, although never reached the ultimate success, will never have to buy a beer or latte along High Street in Freo for the rest of their lives such is the admiration for what they gave to the club.
Some honourable mentions for the list include Lachie Neale who won multiple best-and-fairests with us before fleeing to Brisbane (bet he regrets that decision), tall and talented defender Michael Johnson, All-Australian Paul Hasleby, cult hero Shaun McManus, the original "Wiz" Jeff Farmer, and current star Andrew Brayshaw.
6Caleb Serong
Will be considerably higher up on this list when his career is done. A leader and a star in every sense of each word. Has not put a foot wrong since arriving at the club as part of the club's trio of top 10 picks in the 2019 draft: Serong at Pick 7, Hayden Young at eight and Liam Henry at nine. Serong has been collecting awards for fun since first donning the purple and white, winning the Rising Star award in his first season (2020) as well as the AFLPA Best First Year Player. He backed that up in 2021 with his Goal of the Year winner made famous by commentator Anthony Hudson's call “Serong, so right!”, as well as the AFLCA Best Young Player. Serong also won the first of his four Glendenning-Allan (best on in a derby) in 2021, which is equal most. The now 25-year-old won his first of three consecutive All-Australian blazers in 2023, as well as the first of his three consecutive best-and-fairest awards. A genuine star of the competition and is already one of the best and most admired Dockers ever to take the field.
