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South Fremantle Football Club

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South Fremantle Football Club
File:Sfrem.PNG
Names
Full nameSouth Fremantle Football Club
Nickname(s)Bulldogs
2009 season
After finals1st
Home-and-away season1st
Club details
Founded1900
ColoursRed and white
CompetitionWest Australian Football League
ChairmanHaydn Raitt
CoachJohn Dimmer
Captain(s)Toby McGrath
Premierships13
Ground(s)Fremantle Oval (capacity: 18000)
Other information
Official websitehttp://www.southfremantlefc.com.au
Guernsey:

The South Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed The Bulldogs, is a semi-professional Australian rules football club and one of nine clubs that compete in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). It was formed in 1900 and has its training, administration and home games at Fremantle Oval.

The club is coached by John Dimmer with Toby McGrath as the captain. They are the reigning WAFL premiers, beating Subiaco in the 2009 WAFL Grand Final. South Fremantle were also awarded the coveted Rodriguez Shield in 2009 for the best performing WAFL club in all three grades.

History

The Fremantle Football Club (originally known as Unions and unrelated to either an earlier club and the current AFL club of the same name) had won ten premierships in the fourteen years that they were in the WA Football Association (now known as the West Australian Football League). By 1899, however, the club suffered from financial problems that caused the club to disband. The South Fremantle Football Club was formed to take their place following an application to the league by Griff John, who would be appointed secretary of the new club, with Tom O'Beirne the inaugural president. Most players, however, were from the defunct Fremantle club.[1]

The new club did well in its first year, finishing runners-up. However, over the next three seasons the performance fell away badly and, in April 1904 a Fremantle newspaper confidently reported that South Fremantle would not appear again. However, the club decided to carry on and centreman Harry Hodge took over as skipper, but the season was a disaster. The club won only one game.[2]

John Dimmer (coach) and David Gault (captain) celebrate after winning the 2005 WAFL Premiership.

They won their first premiership in 1916 and went back-to-back in 1917, both times defeating their local rivals, East Fremantle in the final and challenge final.[3] The 1930s were not as successful, marred by the death of the twenty-three year old captain-coach Ron Doig as a result of injuries sustained in a match.[4] After World War II, South experienced their greatest era, with the arrival of future Hall of Fame members Steve Marsh, Bernie Naylor, John Todd (footballer) and Clive Lewington.[5] Between 1945 and 1956 they would win six premierships, be runners-up three times and make the finals in every season. Since then, however, they have only won five more premierships, in 1970, 1980, 1997, 2005 and 2009.[6]

South Fremantle was the first WAFL club to have won 10 grand finals since World-War II. Four of their 13 premierships were won against the club's traditional rivals, East Fremantle.

In 2009 South Fremantle's League and Reserves sides won their respective Grand Finals. This was the first time the club had taken the Premiership double since 1954.

Fremantle Derby

The Fremantle Derby (Derby pronounced to rhyme with herb, not car), is the biggest game of the year on the WAFL calendar. Every year since 1990 the two Fremantle sides have clashed in the match which until the advent of the AFL was one of the big Sporting rivalries in Australian Sport. The Derby's still have a great following but are now considered minor as the Western Derby, the match between WA's two AFL teams takes centre stage.

The Foundation Day (Western Australia) derby on the first Monday in June (a public holiday to mark the Foundation of Western Australia in 1829) is commonly the highest attended game of the home and away season. To the end of the 2006 season the two clubs had met 344 times with South Fremantle winning 156 to East Fremantle's 184 wins, 4 Draws have occurred between the two sides.

The Club

Club guernsey & Colours

File:Southfremantle guernsey.png
South Fremantle's Guernsey.

South Fremantle's Guernsey (shown left) used for all WAFL matches is all white with a red V in the centre of the guernsey. During the 1990s they also introduced the reverse of the traditional guernsey with a white V on a red jumper. The South Fremantle colours of red & white stem from the first Fremantle based team who wore red and white in the mid 1880s.

Supporters

South Fremantle is one of the most supported clubs in the WAFL.

South hold three notable WAFL Grand Final attendance records, 1979 v East Fremantle 52,781, the highest ever attendance at a WAFL Grand Final, 1975 v West Perth 52,322, the seconds highest ever attendance and 1989 v Claremont, 38,198 the highest ever attendance in the post AFL period.[7]

On Foundation Day v East Fremantle at East Fremantle Oval, South played in front of the biggest crowd of the 2009 WAFL home and away season 11,300.[8]

South often get crowds of around 3000 to their home matches which is amongst the highest for the WAFL.[9]

Club records

Notable players and coaches

See also: Wikipedia listing of South Fremantle Football Club players

References

  1. ^ Christian, Geoff (1985). Jordan, Ray (ed.). The Footballers: A history of football in Western Australia. St George Books. p. 15. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Christian, Lee & Messenger (1985), p 161
  3. ^ Christian, Lee & Messenger (1985), p 23
  4. ^ Christian, Lee & Messenger (1985), p 32
  5. ^ WA Football Hall of Fame
  6. ^ List of Premiers
  7. ^ wafl.com.au
  8. ^ wafl.com.au
  9. ^ wafl.com.au

External links


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