G'day everyone, please excuse the intrusion. I come in peace.
I have a question which I've been very curious about, and which can only be properly answered by those who were there and lived it. Why did people jump off the Eagles and support Fremantle when the AFL club was formed?
In our state, we had the SANFL in which Port Adelaide was far and away the dominant club, with the largest supporter base, traditionally working-class. The Crows were created in controversial circumstances, as a composite with our supporters coming from all the other SANFL fan bases. Then Port entered the AFL in 1997, with their existing fan base.
I know you had two big clubs based in Fremantle, and the AFL decided to get another club and build on the footy tradition of the Freo area.
But who in their right mind would jump off a state side that had just won two flags onto a brand-new club (reportedly set up to fail) which has perenially sucked ever since? What was the mood in Perth like surrounding the creation of the Dockers, and why is the Dockers-Eagles fan split more even than the Crows-Power split? I understand that you didn't have the rivalry and controversy of Port trying to enter the AFL and the league stopping them by making a composite side.