The dockers have given us many memorable moments this season, but nothing would be sweeter than a victory over the Bombers tonight…
C'MON THE DOCKERS!
i would like to say some inspiring words, but i think DJ KL has pretty much summed it up, the following is taken from dockerland.
[taken to full news] ->
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Super-exciting: the Next Six to Eight years.
Team,
We are all in this together. We stand united on the brink of a super-exciting moment in the history of the Fremantle Football Club. Some us have been members since 1995, some only joined yesterday. But in truth we are all equal. We are all part of a great Fremantle tradition dating back more than 100 years. Of that we can be proud.
I myself went to only 5 home games in 2001, but then I became a member at the start of 2002. My guides were Mission Man and his best mate S.Bob. I feel privileged to be a part of their clan. For it was they that convinced me to put my money where my mouth was and become a paid up member of block 215. I have never looked back. And nor should you.
Mission Man is currently down south enjoying a well-earned break with his family, but he will be back in the flesh for Friday Night. MM would not miss this game for the world. He has taken us through the dark times and now we can see the light. In his temporary absence I have been inspired to write my about my own experiences in the hope that it will help to guide others through an amazing, ground-breaking, and ultimately testing time of this club which we all love so much.
You can look forward to the day when our young sons wear the sacred red, purple and green, and play their first games for Fremantle. This is the future we have to look forward to: a future where Freo will win Premierships, and our children dream of nothing else but supporting and playing for the Mighty Dockers. A future where young boys strive for the Peter Bell Medal, play against other sides for the Matthew Pavlich Cup, and wish they could be as incredibly underrated as the honourable Sir Paul Hasleby.
Chris Connolly and Cameron Schwab have brought us hope. They have brought us a plan. We all know the mantra: six to eight years. Repeat it after Chris: "These players all have hearts around 22 years old, and we will be in the finals for six to eight years."
He is not trying to trick us. He is telling the truth. That amazing moment when Pav, Hase and J.Lo made the pact to sign with Freo because they saw a premiership in the future of this club was a turning point, we all know that. Even Matt Price ended his tale at that point to give us a feeling that the next unwritten chapter was going to be a real cracker. That chapter is currently being written.
Now we are all living that magic moment to it's fullest. We can sense the true power of the potential of this club, and it is awesome to behold. We are part of synergy that is ultimately bigger than any one of us, yet individually we are all still a vital part of the team. Chris knows that, and he is working super hard to make every single supporter an essential part of the success of the Fremantle Dockers. Six to eight years, people. Six to eight years.
As a young member drawn into a dedicated group of original 1995 supporters, I have experienced the humorous negativity and eternal self-doubt of Freo. I have seen the pain of the dark side, and the tragic scars scratched deep into souls after crushing defeats and ceaseless media humiliation.
Yet somehow I was lucky. I saw a young team that fought hard and often won against adversity. I witnessed the valiant one point derby victory under the mighty tutelage of the fists of Dale Kickett. I saw the face of Phil Read pummelled by the fists of a righteous brother. I saw the face of the devil, and it has made me a better man. I have come through the desert and found salvation.
For a short time I was even considered a good luck charm by the more superstitious amongst us. Now that mantle has been passed to S.Bob's young son, who has never even witnessed a Dockers defeat in the flesh. He is a symbol of the next generation that will take this beloved club to greatness.
This is the true future of our club: not spoiled, but blessed. A club that will not lay down and die, but will fight until the very end. Even if we get beaten by ten goals one week, we will learn from it and come back stronger than ever. We will take that pain and turn it into a fierce determination to win. Freo now has brains, soul, guts, and character; all the attributes that a human being uses to triumph over the hardships of life. Our hurt is their pain; their victory is our joy.
The last two years have been a revelation. I was truly one of the lucky ones who arrived with CC and Schwabby. They have brought incredible qualities to this team: knowledge, talent, self-belief, professionalism, confidence, vision, and most importantly humour. I look to CC as the ultimate mentor of how to treat life less seriously whilst still maintaining the rage.
So, it looks like we might have a hard game? Well, stick with it, have faith, and don't go and do the gardening at three quarter time.
These are the words of a man who knows how Freo fans feel. These are the words of a prophet. And he lived up to his promise. We all stayed, we all kept the faith, and we all witnessed our team win against the odds.
Even after heart-stoppingly close come-from-behind victories against Brisbane and Adelaide at home, most of us felt that the Kangaroos game at the MCG was beyond us. But Chris knew better. And somehow his belief became our belief. Matthew Pavlich dominated and showed us the true power of self confidence, but he couldn't have done it without Captain Bell, Paul Hasleby, The Wizard Farmer, DJ Headland, the Longmuir Brothers and the support of the other 30 men that make up the Freo squad. DJ's miraculous winning point was the culmination of more than 19 weeks of solid team work. And this was the moment when we, the fans, really became part of the team; sitting at home in front of our TVs, chanting and screaming, we played a larger part than we had ever imagined. Suddenly we felt ashamed of those times we had cringed and changed the channel in disgust as our boys capitulated. Chris showed us that we all had to believe in the power of Freo, to take the rough with smooth, and to stay positive when all else seemed lost. Orlando's voice warbling "you'll never walk alone" started to make some kind of sense. We had to fight to the end, maintain the rage and unleash the mayhem together. No reconciliation.
Subiaco Oval has been an amazing place this year. The Purple Army has grown so strong that we now truly believe that no-one can defeat us. It seems that we even conceded the first derby because we all secretly knew that Freo could stand up and win the second (and vastly more important) derby without most of us there. That night 7000 passionate supporters screamed with the voice of a million, and the sound of triumph echoed across the national airwaves.
In 2003 we had five wins in a row. In 2003 we had two vital wins on the hallowed ground of the MCG. In 2003 we were the only team not to lose two games in succession. In 2003 we won three games in a row in different jumpers, including the awesome "purple haze" and the classically beautiful "heritage red and white". In 2003 we took the jibes, insults and jokes of a sceptical public and turned them into fuel for the Freo fire.
This year we saw the phenomenal rise of The Ogre Sandilands as he studied in the dojo of Troy Simmonds. This year we witnessed the potential and team spirit of young men such as Tequila Schammer, Luke Webster, Koopsy, Siegert and Thornton. This year we revelled in the tackling and tenacity of Macca and Cookie. This year we saw Monkey Magic Medhurst kick his way into the top ten goal scorers of the AFL. This year we cheered as Matty Carr tagged some of the biggest names in the AFL and came up trumps. This year we watched a so called "no-name" backline become one of the most formidable defensive units in the AFL. These players are heroes who stood tall and true, and despite what the rest of the country thinks, they we know they have names: Sir Robert Haddrill, The Genius That is Roger Hayden, Bionic Man Parker, Rising Star Polak, Super Grover, Elvis MacPharlin, Grandson Walker, and Silky Woods.
Sadly we also saw Croady have a tough year, and Clive bow out to another terrible injury. But these trials only served to make us stronger and work harder. Croad will find his confidence, and Clive will always be a symbol of the true craziness at the heart of the Freo Football Club. We will succeed against the odds.
Chris came in with a three year plan that has come to fruition a year early. We made it to our first final, and we even managed to make it a home final.We are now in bonus territory, and any result is a step forward. We have already won the battle, and the war is looking like it is within our grasp.
Time is our ally, not our enemy. We have endured eight years of heart-breaking struggle. Now we have six to eight years of success to look forward to.
For those true believers who were there from the beginning, the taste of hope must be so sweet. For those just getting the taste, please climb aboard, because after this next six to eight years, there is going to be another hundred at least.
This club is built on a strong heritage that is only getting stronger. Chris is going to take this team to heights we can only imagine, because he has a vision, and he has the fortitude to follow his heart. Chris truly believes that if we work as a team we can achieve our ultimate goal, and surely this is his most endearing quality.
Bless you Chris Connolly.
You make us super-excited about this club.
- DJ KL