Despite never once being sighted, the footy gods are often mentioned and easily spurned.
And while they remain shrouded from view, even the most atheistic of Aussie Rules fanatics are willing to concede their existence.
For most teams, the deeds of these meddlesome beings from beyond the boundary line have brought smiles and silverware across the years.
But for the Fremantle Football Club, the whims swung into action have instead been cause for concern.
Although the Dockers are still on the hunt for their first premiership at either end of their structural branches, those that pray at a purple altar remain steadfast that divine intervention has routinely acted against them.
While theological testing is still yet to prove that these deities have added Covid chaos to their repertoire of tricks, the players, coaches and supporters of Fremantle’s AFLW side could be forgiven for begging to differ.
With the authoritarian rule of ‘Mr. 90 per cent’ out West forcing the Dockers to depart for a safari over East, a belief that old scars had been pried open were sure to be arising behind closed doors.
After dominating the vast majority of the 2020 AFLW season, the 7-0 Dockers saw their dreams of a debut flag scuppered ahead of a preliminary final date with the 5-3 Demons.
As the form team of the competition, the news that the pandemic had prematurely closed the season was sure to have sunk purple hearts.
And with nothing but cobwebs in the trophy cabinet, this choice to pull the plug as they propelled to heights unknown would have been enough to see lofty aspirations become drain bound.
Still, an ability to remain perfect on the road so far this summer has seen these same hopes buoyed once more.
But while another 4-0 start has been earned by Trent Cooper’s offensively minded outfit, the uncertainty of Covid means that the roadmap towards lifting the cup remains ambiguous.
What is known is that the Dockers are currently anchored a 37-hour drive from home, and with Premier Mark McGowan eager to retain his ruler-straight iron curtain, it appears that this weight won’t be hauled in any time soon.
However, it’s been the decision to embrace this unknown with a grin rather than a grimace that has the Port City side a step beyond their chasing pack.
In spite of sitting pretty on top of the ladder with a preposterous percentage of 236, the entirety of the Dockers’ list - as well as a travelling family and staff - are also prone to sitting within their fleet of hotel rooms.
Yet, with an opportunity to enjoy far more time together than any of the other premiership contenders, an ability to gain an insight into how a full-time program would operate has been sold as a genuine advantage.
Nevertheless, it’s been a ‘softly, softly’ approach to this shift from a part-time prism that has seen dividends paid.
“When we got over here [to Melbourne], the girls were on to me all the time and then we sensed, ‘is there a bit too much?’ We have to make sure they have time away, so we did that,” Cooper explained to Zero Hanger following the Dockers’ dominant win over the Magpies last Thursday.
“I sent out a group message the other day to say I’ll be in the meeting room for an hour for anyone who wants to come down for a one on one and I was there for two and half hours, it was like a line to the dentist.
“They are loving lapping up footy but we have to be careful and not give them too much and go over the top because it can go stale but so far they are really enjoying that.”
Having been displaced for the vast majority of January, Fremantle has been forced to touch gloves and fight across much of suburban Melbourne.
Yet, even if their actions between Footscray and Abbotsford have been clear to punters, pundits and opposition players, just how the Dockers navigate the minutia of a week behind closed doors is still much of a mystery.
While the definition of ‘normal’ will always alternate depending on who has been prompted for response, the lack of certainty surrounding anything since early 2020 has just about rendered the notion void.
Even so, the fourth-year steward sought to provide an answer amongst the confusion.
“For us, a normal day consists of either training or recovery in the morning,” Cooper continued.
“We do it in the morning because of the time difference with Perth, so we can smash those sessions out by 11am or 12pm, so the girls who work get back and start work at 12pm, which is 9am Perth time.
“We’ve got about 10 who do work for their full-time job while we are here and the rest have free time. The free time has been great because of the weather, we’ve been really lucky they can drive and go to the beach or we can walk to the botanical gardens and stay safe there, but we are not going just anywhere and there is a lot of time in the rooms and we have been really careful.”
However, Cooper also explained that this heightened unity in the open air wasn’t extended to their stints at the buffet.
“The girls are in separate rooms and we don’t eat together, so when the meals come, you can eat by yourself or with someone else, so we are just mitigating the risk. So if one gets it, then two max might get it,” he delineated.
“It’s not easy but to have a game every five days helps because you have the euphoria for two days and then you start looking towards the next one.
“So, that is the day of an AFLW footballer at the moment.”
We need to get these girls home… Pughy and Drisco have officially lost the plot 😂 #FreeFromDesire #foreverfreo pic.twitter.com/ZOHbVKkHcZ
— Fremantle Dockers AFLW (@freodockersAFLW) January 27, 2022
As the only team within the 14-team competition to have currently stayed perfect across the opening month, any plaudits extended to the displaced Dockers are well and truly worthy.
And irrespective of any storms from the deities residing above the clouds that have rocked Fremantle’s ship, the chevron-clad stevedores just won’t be thrown overboard.
With a date to return West still off the horizon and clashes against the Dogs, Roos, Blues, Crows and Dees on it, the winds being whipped are showing no signs of relenting.
While this scheduled sprint remains tough no matter where each game is contested, its robustness is nothing compared to the metal of the group currently phoning into work before dining in shifts.
Given this ability to craft lemonade from lemons and victories in a bubble, perhaps, if the gods are done testing, 2022 could be the year in which a premiership finally docks between the two Mole lighthouses.
