It was July 24, 2011 and over 41,000 packed themselves into the Subiaco Oval to witness another heart-stopped Western Derby between West Coast and Fremantle.
But when they walked through the gates, they could have never anticipated the ending.
"Derby's are always a great build up . It was always nice to beat the team down the road and I'd say it was for them as well," Eagles great Josh Kennedy told Zero Hanger.
Round 18, West Coast survived a surging Dockers outfit to win a classic by one point in the most dramatic of fashions.
The margin never exceeded 22 points, but the result looked beyond doubt when Kennedy and Luke Shuey kicked goals midway through the final term. The Eagles were home. Or so they thought.
Fremantle steadied with quick goals to Stephen Hill, Chris Mayne and Nat Fyfe. Eagles led by three. A Fremantle rushed behind. West Coast led by two.
The margin shouldn't have been so close. West Coast conceded three goals to the Dockers via 50-metre penalties.
With only seconds to go, and a two-point margin, you could say field umpire Dean Margetts had a sense of theatre.
Following a marking contest, Eagles veteran Matt Rosa smashed the ball out of bounds, and even in 2011, it was deemed deliberate, awarding Hayden Ballantyne a free kick. A Docker that West Coast fans loved to hate.
Margetts set the mark right at the junction (where the 50m arc meets the boundary line), and spread across Ballantyne's face was despair, tossing up whether to torpedo the ball or kick a drop punt.
The full-time siren had sounded, with West Coast fans jumping for joy, waving their scarves and screaming in delight before a grim reality set in. This match wasn't over.
Teammate Adam McPhee gave one last piece of advice to Ballantyne before the divisive Docker began his run-up.
@aflfooty_clips Fremantle v West Coast Eagles | Round 18, 2011 | @afl #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #afl #7sport #foxfootyau #viral #haydenballantyne #fremantle #westcoasteagles #2011 ♬ original sound - AFLFOOTY_CLIPS
Ballantyne went with the drop punt, and from all angles, it looked like it was soaring through the big sticks. So good that the Fremantle forward began celebrating, putting his arm in the air.
The ball faded, heading directly toward a moving goal post unbalanced by the 20 players wrestling in the goal square to either shepard the football through the big sticks or get in a position to touch it before it crossed the line.
Ballantyne's kick hit the goal-post padding. West Coast prevailed by one point.
"The most intense Derby I've been in was when (Hayden Ballantyne) Ballas had a shot after the siren from the junction," Kennedy said,
"I'm claiming I touched it on the line so won the game but there was about 10 body's flying around in that goal square!
"But that was one of the great wins from our side went right down to the wire."
The western Derby has had plenty of similar moments, making the rivalry between the Eagles and Dockers must-watch TV.
So much so that Kennedy said that a Derby at the MCG would give the rest of the nation a taste of competition in Western Australia.
"A Derby at the MCG would be great for the Victorian and eastern state fans that reside there and don't get to see them live," he said.
"A Derby grand final would be nice one day , I'd love to see the first player to win a norm smith and a Glendenning-Allen medal at the same time - hopefully it's an Eagles player."
