Fremantle and West Coast rivalry

[LeBronco]

Where does it rank compared to other rivalries in the AFL? The two clubs have never met in a final so there isn't as much spice as the other cross town rivalries from outside Victoria for example since the Lions/Suns first met in a final last year the rivalry between them has began to sizzle, the Swans/Giants have met in 4 finals so there is a lot of history between them already and everyone knows about the Crows/Power and the reasons for the bad blood between the two clubs. I know people will say Fremantle and West Coast haven't been up and about at the same time since 2015 and it being the reason why the rivalry hasn't really been talked about for years but the rivalry between Carlton and Collingwood has remained strong over the years despite Carlton being bad for a long time, so I think the main reason for the rivalry between Fremantle and West Coast not being as prominent as others such as the ones I've mentioned is due to parochialism in WA and the fans sharing a hatred for the eastern states of Queensland, NSW and Victoria especially the latter when it comes to the AFL and Victorian bias. However I've never been to WA so I could be wrong and I'd be keen to hear opinions from others especially from those who have spent time living or holidaying in WA.

 

[Warwick]

A 115 word sentence is a hell of an effort.

 

[Spirit Level]

Was good in the early to mid 00s.

Unfortunately we haven't had a period where both teams have been good at the same time since then and the rivalry had fizzled

 

[Shueygod]

Ridiculously one sided, Freos irrelevancy makes them hard to hate.

 

[PowerfulPies2023]

As mentioned rarely have both been good in the same season. Here's the only times they've played finals together

2003
2006
2012
2015

Shocking. 4 finals appearances together in 31 seasons. Adelaide and Port wouldnt be much better if at all.

2001
2002
2003
2007
2017

Just 5 in 29 seasons.

As for the rivalry. I don't know. It's hostile. There's hatred. But West Coast own Freo in silverware.

 

[PowerfulPies2023]

Where does it rank compared to other rivalries in the AFL? The two clubs have never met in a final so there isn't as much spice as the other cross town rivalries from outside Victoria for example since the Lions/Suns first met in a final last year the rivalry between them has began to sizzle, the Swans/Giants have met in 4 finals so there is a lot of history between them already and everyone knows about the Crows/Power and the reasons for the bad blood between the two clubs. I know people will say Fremantle and West Coast haven't been up and about at the same time since 2015 and it being the reason why the rivalry hasn't really been talked about for years but the rivalry between Carlton and Collingwood has remained strong over the years despite Carlton being bad for a long time, so I think the main reason for the rivalry between Fremantle and West Coast not being as prominent as others such as the ones I've mentioned is due to parochialism in WA and the fans sharing a hatred for the eastern states of Queensland, NSW and Victoria especially the latter when it comes to the AFL and Victorian bias. However I've never been to WA so I could be wrong and I'd be keen to hear opinions from others especially from those who have spent time living or holidaying in WA.

They hate each other.

 

[Rockmelon]

There's a weird dynamic between Freo and WC fans that's hard to understand unless you live in WA. A lot of older more casual Eagles fan started supporting them because they came first and are a WA team, most of these same people don't hate Freo and actually want us to succeed (as long as its not at the expense of WC) then there a smaller but more vocal group of WC fans that do hate Freo and wish nothing but pain and suffering on us.

Its the opposite for Freo, I've never known a dockers fan that didn't hate the Eagles. I've enjoyed watching them have to eat humble pie the last few years but there's a part of me that wants them to pull their finger out because it would be better for WA footy if both teams were playing finals, Having feisty Derbies is always good as well

 

[Consolaçao]

Derbies are generally one-sided which can’t help.
Look at Adelaide v Port. They’ve played 58 times. 20 (34%) decided by 2 goals of less, 17 (29%) by 6+ goals.
WC and Freo have played 61 times. Only 7 games (11%) decided by less than two kicks, and just one in the past ten years. 25 (41%) by 6+ goals.

 

[Dark Eagle 9]

The 2 derbies that they stung us with the most were the last one of 2003 & the last one of 2007.

Win 2003 & WC still finish top 4 after a few weeks of fluffing our top 2 chances. Jeez the Eagles were looking nice there for a bit. Stinger of a season. Freo go & fluff it the next week at home v the Bombers. Double whammie. Thanks guys.

Next one was 2nd of 2007. Another dent in our top 2 aspirations. Carr brothers went hard for Cuzzy. Once again a let down season for the Purple so that was their GF. Cant blame them though. WC partied too hard that 06 Premiership after party, had to play the wire that year & the footy gods said NO!. A squad that really should have won more than one grand final.

Other than that we had the first 9 game winning streak then they gradually pegged it back. Then an 11 game winning streak & now they reeling that one back in too.

Massive shout outs to the second derby of 2015 just before the Purple People Eaters fell off the cliff and let us all down by blowing their home final for the second year in a row. Then Harleys first Derby. Those 2 games were pure gold.

 

[bzparkes]

Very 'meh'.

As others said, early/mid 00's they got spicy but the rivalry feels kinda forced these days.

I feel the main factor is that due to the poor talent pathways in WA, both sides have a lot of Vic players, so they didn't grow up leaning into the rivalry.

On top of that, of the WA players, most of them grew up playing together in Colts and representative sides, so there's probably not a lot of desire to get into shit fights with their mates.

Lastly, as others have said, there's only been 2 times where both clubs were genuinely up and about('05/'15) at the same time but neither played each other at the pointy end.

Probably the only other time was when Freo could've jump ahead in the H2H record but WCE went on to win the next 11 derbies in a row.

It's nothing like other rivalries anymore

 

[PowerfulPies2023]

Remarkable they haven't met in a final yet. And that Crows and Port have only met in one.

In 2003 freo beat West Coast in the last game of the year to get a home final and deny West Coast one. Both teams got smashed in the first week of the finals and eliminated.

2006 the eagles lost to freo twice during the season but won the flag. Freo were belted by Adelaide and Sydney in the Prelim. Way off off it. Eagles would have beat them in the granny and would have beaten them in 2015 had they met.

2012 both teams lost their semi finals by about two goals. Were never going to meet in the granny that season.

2015 was the best chance for a All West Australian Grand Final but Tom Sheridan put paid to the Dockers chances. They still would have lost.

 

[kid_a]

It's nowhere near as bitter and intense as the SA showdown (although in the mid 2000s it probably was).

Freo fans are more likely to hate the Eagles than the other way around, but you'll meet a significant minority of eagles fans who hate Freo and an even smaller minority of Freo fans who don't mind west coast.

Personally I like seeing the Dockers do well (it's good for WA when at least one of our teams is in the mix)... but there is no team I hate losing to more, because dealing/interacting with a smug post derby win Freo fan is a very irritating thing indeed.

 

[Altum Volantes]

90% fueled by blowhards at family events and nuffies on social media these days.

'The Eagles are shit'
'Win a flag'
'Wet Toast E-Girls!'
'30 years of failure!'
'Something about Ben Cousins era scandals'
'Something about 25 year old dud trades'
'The WA media favour West Coast!'
'Freo always the victim'

Etc etc around and around it goes.

Boring.

 

[Dazzler9]

Fremantle's history is so comedic that it's hard to hate on them too much. Long may they provide false hope to their fans!

 

[PowerfulPies2023]

Freo have a promising list imo. They could get a flag in the next 5 years or so. The problem is so can Brisbane, Hawks, Suns, Cats and maybe Crows.

You don't want to be a bulldogs type team of 97-98 and 2008-2010. But they could be.

 

[theprospector]

AFL scheduling doesn't help it. There's little national interest in part because it gets poor late Sunday slots over here.

The Showdown still won't get standalone prime time slots so I don't see anything ever changing here.

It's obviously not for the eastern seaboard but it just doesn't have any sustained interest.

 

[bzparkes]

AFL scheduling doesn't help it. There's little national interest in part because it gets poor late Sunday slots over here.

The Showdown still won't get standalone prime time slots so I don't see anything ever changing here.

It's obviously not for the eastern seaboard but it just doesn't have any sustained interest.

Pretty much.

Too many teams now that the old rivalry just doesn't have the same feel anymore.

The matchup hasn't been prime time worthy for years either.

 

[SnapJack]

As others have said it's a pretty oddly specific vibe. In primary school it was always 'us vs them' and Freo fans always got the sharp end of the stick as the little brother. As adults I'd argue it's a pretty healthy rivalry; plenty of great banter and you generally only see animosity in the stadium on Derby weekends.

I'd never support WCE at Freo's expense but I'm always happy to see the Eagles do well against other sides. Past few years have been tough; Derbies are great fun and we still love to rile each other up but when the on-field performance is that one-sided it's tough.

 

[PowerfulPies2023]

I only know West coast and Dockers fans who despise each other.

 

[crowman2]

It’s a healthy comp for freo and eagles to hate each other Crows v power is sensational they hate us we hate them nothing wrong with they

I know 2 freo supporters they hate the eagles it should be encouraged

 

[PowerfulPies2023]

I met a Dockers supporter once. He was a good bloke. He said

" I've been following the club since they came into the competition since 1997 "

That's all I needed to know about their culture.

 

[Mighty Eagles]

Very 'meh'.

Agreed.

I can honestly say it seems to mean more to Freo fans than it does West Coast supporters. It’s pretty insignificant when you compare it to the century-long rivalries.

 

[Sully90]

Peaked in the Chris Connolly/John Worsfold days

As mentioned already, the two clubs desperately need to meet in a final. Bragging over regular season derby wins has become lame due to one of the teams always being a bit shit.

 

[PowerfulPies2023]

Since the Dockers came into the comp eagles have won 2 flags and lost 2. Dockers have made one grand final. During 31 seasons the Dockers have made the finals just 8 times. In those 31 seasons eagles have played in finals on 19 occasions.

 

[Sully90]

That being said, Eagles fans will love telling you how much Derbies don't mean anything to them until they're red in the face. Then become remarkably chirpy for weeks when they do win one.