western derby XXXII

well, what can i say about sunday's wonderful western derby. i clearly remember a time when freo were crap and i'd turn up to each derby with a dream that we'd win but knowing it was pretty unlikely. at the time i regularly said to people who queried why i stuck by freo that the hard times would just make the good times all that much sweeter. now i know just how right i was. the really great thing about watching freo this year has been seeing the young fellas playing good hard footy and playing with an intensity we've not had in the past. i really hope this is something we'll see a lot of in years to come and that the club's culture of accepting mediocrity is being permanently changed now. we had a false dawn in 2006 and i'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed that history doesn't repeat itself.

of course, the flip side to the great enjoyment of watching freo heading towards the finals is the schadenfreude of watching the weagles wallowing at the bottom of the ladder. i didn't hear until after the game that harvs and pav had asked freo members not to bring wooden spoons but i doubt it would've stopped me. part of the great sporting rivalries is taking joy in your bitter rivals doing it tough. i've sat through many derbies when we've been belted and taken the jibes of the weagles fans on the chin (and never left the game early - take note weagle fans) so it's only fair they take some of their own medicine now. what i didn't expect was to for a photo of me to grace the media! ahh... it's all a bit of fun.

the other significant thing that happened at the derby was that i finally fulfilled my end of the bet and wore a weagles jumper for the whole game. for those not in the know, in late 2003 i made a bet with doc munners that freo would win a premiership before the weagles won another. at the time it was a reasonable view given we'd just finished the home & away season in 5th place and had dominated the weagles during the year. history shows we got smashed by essendon in the elimination final and didn't play finals again until 2006 whereas the weagles developed a brilliant midfield, played in a number of finals series and won a premiership. the terms of the bet was that the loser had to wear the opposition guernsey to a derby and it's taken me a while but i've now done it. thank goodness i don't have to it again!!

western derby XXX

the final derby of the decade was played yesterday and resulted in another win to my boys. that takes the final tally for this decade to freo 11 vs weagles 9. the first of the decade was the worst flogging we've ever received from the yuppies up the road and was followed by the infamous demolition derby in which filthy phil read got the beating he deserved and we won by a point.

there were positives and negatives in the game yesterday. the clear positive was the continued good form of some of the first year players. i thought broughton, pearce, suban and hill were exceptional. also ballantyne's attack on the ball was very encouraging, especially after the rough treatment he received early in the game. mitch brown's cowardly attack on him whilst he was on the ground was particularly disgusting. van berlo and ruffles didn't have a lot of the ball but both kicked outstanding goals when it counted. of course pav and sandilands were their usual outstanding selves. the fact that there were nine first year players in the side makes the win particularly meritorious.

the clear negative was the injury to tim ruffles and i hope he gets through the rehab well and comes back strong next year. at least he's got palmer and haselby for support as both have been through the same ordeal.

the other huge negative was that this was one of the worst games of football i've even seen. the skill level of both sides was deplorable on a clear sunny day. it was incredible how many kicks went directly to an opposition player and how many handballs were intercepted or missed targets. i don't think it's too much to expect highly paid professional footballers to display a certain level of competence in their decision making and subsequent execution of that decision. i made a comment to the lady next to me that the skills coaches from both teams should be sacked which drew an angry glare from michael prior, who was standing on the other side of me. of course, he's the skills coach for freo and i initially felt bad about him having heard my comment. having reflected on it, i reckon he and the club need to hear more of this feedback from the members. i've stumped up my membership fees for 15 years now, even whilst living overseas, and that must buy me some right to express an opinion.

so, another decade of football is drawing to a close. we started the decade near the bottom of the ladder and are finishing it the same way. we've made the finals twice during this decade and finished bottom once (hopefully). there appears to be better times around the corner with a crop of exciting young players so i can only hope that this time it's not the false dawn we've seen in the past. regardless, i'll continue to pay my membership fees and support the club. it'd be great to see the team be successful onfield but that's certainly not a prerequisite for my support. i'll be dockerdave no matter what happens.