Western Derby
 Optus Stadium in Perth, the current home stadium of the two teams. | |
| First meeting | 14 May 1995 |
|---|---|
| Latest meeting | 12 August 2023 |
| Next meeting | TBA |
| Stadiums | Subiaco Oval (1995–2017) Optus Stadium (2018–Present) |
| Trophy | RAC WA Trophy |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 57 |
| All-time series (AFL only) |  West Coast 32 wins Fremantle 25 wins |
| Largest victory | West Coast – 117 points (15 April 2000) |
| Longest win streak | West Coast, 11 (16 August 2015 – 15 August 2021) |
| Current win streak | Fremantle, 5 (15 August 2021 – present) |
The Western Derby (/ˈdɜːrbi/) is the name given to the Australian rules football match between the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Dockers, who both participate in the Australian Football League (AFL). As both teams are based in Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, the term "derby" is used to describe the match. It has become the most important match for football in Western Australia (outside of finals), with former West Coast player and coach John Worsfold claiming that in the week before a derby that it is the main topic in Perth.
It's obviously different to the build-up of any normal game... We don't care what else is happening in the country, which is great."
— John Worsfold, Pierik, Jon (24 July 2011). "The West is history". The Sunday Age.
In 2004, during the 175th-anniversary celebrations of the establishment of the Swan River Colony, the Western Derby was named as one of 12 "Heritage Icons", in recognition of "football's key social and historical importance to the State".[1]
Referring to a melee during the Round 21, 2000, Derby, Channel Nine sports reporter Michael Thomson said the match had divided Western Australia and that the "football landscape in WA has been changed forever."[2]
There are two Western Derbies every year during the home-and-away season (barring the exceptional COVID-19-affected 2020 season, where only one derby was played). From 1995 until 2017, the derbies were held at Subiaco Oval (with the one exception during this period being the October 2005 game at The Oval in London). From 2018, all derbies have been held at Perth Stadium. There has never been a Western Derby finals match.
West Coast were the dominant team during Fremantle's early years, winning the first nine derbies. Fremantle won their first Western Derby in July 1999. Fremantle are the current holders of the Western Derby Trophy after defeating West Coast by 101 points in Round 22 of the 2023 AFL season.
The player adjudged best on ground in each derby match is awarded the Glendinning–Allan Medal, named after the inaugural captains of the clubs: Ross Glendinning (West Coast) and Ben Allan (Fremantle).
To date, there has never been a drawn derby.
Notable derbies
Derby XII: Round 21, 2000. (AKA The Demolition Derby)
An infamous derby occurred in Round 21, 2000. Both clubs were out of finals contention, and the derby earlier in the year had recorded the biggest-ever margin, with Scott Cummings' 10-goal effort helping West Coast to a 117-point win; and, in the lead-up to the season's rematch, both teams were talking down the importance of the game with the standard line of "it's only worth four points". However, Clive Waterhouse indicated that something different might happen by saying that "blood would be spilled".[3]
Before the first bounce, West Coast, through Michael Gardiner, went on the attack, pushing and shoving first-year player Matthew Pavlich. The umpires awarded a free kick to Pavlich before the ball was bounced. However, West Coast settled and led by four goals at quarter time with goals to Phillip Read, Andrew Embley and three to Phil Matera. Fremantle's forward line was struggling, with only four goals to half time, including two to Waterhouse, and singles to midfielders Heath Black and Troy Cook, while two goals to Mitchell White, a fourth goal for Matera and one to Chad Morrison in the second quarter saw West Coast go to the half-time break 32 points in front. During the break, a brawl broke out which cleared both teams' benches and resulted in one of the longest tribunal records in recent times.
In the third quarter, Phil Matera kicked his fifth goal, bringing the Eagles lead to 42 points, but Fremantle surged to cut the margin to 18 points at three-quarter time with three goals to Clive Waterhouse and singles to Pavlich and Daniel Bandy.
The last quarter saw Phil Matera carried from the ground on a stretcher after a hard collision with umpire Steve Hanley, and a solid but legal shirtfront by Troy Cook also saw Mitchell White carried from the ground on a stretcher. A six-goal-to-three final quarter—including another two to Waterhouse and singles to Steven Koops, Andrew Shipp, Dale Kickett and Brad Dodd—saw Fremantle hit the lead by two points. With only seconds to spare, the Eagles pushed forward, and a loose ball was unable to be gathered in by makeshift forward Darren Glass, resulting in a rushed behind and a one-point victory for Fremantle, only their second-ever in a Western Derby.
The following suspensions and fines were handed out as a result of the brawl:[2]
- Dale Kickett was suspended for a total of nine matches for striking Phillip Read twice and striking Andrew Embley once.
- Michael Gardiner was suspended for two matches for striking Matthew Pavlich.
- Brad Dodd was suspended for two matches for attempting to strike Phillip Read, while Read was suspended for two matches for striking Dodd in retaliation.
- Seven players from Fremantle (Heath Black, Paul Hasleby, Shaun McManus, Clem Michael, Jason Norrish, Jess Sinclair and Andrew Shipp) and five players from West Coast (Ben Cousins, Andrew Embley, Kane Munro, Michael Gardiner and Phillip Read) were reported for melee involvement. Embley was found not guilty; the remaining players were fined between $2000 and $4000.
The following week, both teams were well beaten, with Fremantle beaten by Brisbane by 107 points at the Gabba, and Melbourne winning by 70 points over the Eagles at Subiaco.
London Derby: 2005
The only time the fixture was played outside of Perth was in October 2005 at The Oval in Kennington, South London. West Coast had narrowly finished as runner-up to Sydney the previous month but were missing their vaunted midfield of Cousins, Chris Judd and Daniel Kerr. The game included a third-quarter fight and the Dockers' Jeff Farmer and the Eagles' Adam Hunter kicking four goals each. No video footage has been shared from the game, which Fremantle won by 13.12 (90) to 11.7 (73) in front of nearly 19,000 people, which was a record crowd for an Australian rules football game in England.[4]
Derby XXV: Round 3, 2007
The Round 3, 2007, match will be remembered as one of the most controversial and spiteful derbies ever played. Nearing three-quarter time, Fremantle's Des Headland was reported by umpire Stuart Wenn for striking and wrestling with West Coast's Adam Selwood, who made an inappropriate comment about a tattoo on Headland's arm, which depicted his then six-year-old daughter.
The case was heard on 18 April, with Selwood cleared of using abusive language towards Headland. Headland was found guilty of both striking and wrestling with Selwood, but was not suspended because of "exceptional and compelling circumstances by way of provocation".[5]
West Coast won this match by 31 points, and Michael Braun was awarded the Ross Glendinning Medal, ending his acceptance speech with "Let's have a fucking good year"[6] which was broadcast to 550,000 viewers on live television and to the 42,551 in attendance.[7][8] Braun was fined $500 by the Eagles, but the AFL intervened, severely reprimanded the Eagles, and fined Braun an additional $5,000.[9][10]
Several weeks after the match, Selwood officially apologised to women, and claimed that he did not mean what he had said to Headland four weeks earlier. Paradoxically, he also claimed that he was badly treated by the media because he was innocent of the charges in the Headland saga and he should have just been allowed to prove his innocence.[11]
Derby XXXIV: Round 18, 2011
The closest finish to a derby occurred in Round 18, 2011, when Eagles midfielder Matt Rosa was penalised by umpire Dean Margetts in a deliberate-out-of-bounds decision with West Coast leading by two points in the dying seconds. Having earned a free kick from the decision, Hayden Ballantyne had a chance to win the game for Fremantle with a shot after the siren from 50 metres out on a tight angle; and, while his drop punt looked a goal for much of its journey, it hit the padding on the right-hand goalpost amid a sea of hands from both sides,[12] leaving the Eagles the winners by a single point, 8.17 (65) to Fremantle's 9.10 (64).[13] Ballantyne prematurely celebrated, believing that the kick was a goal and had won the match.[14]
This proved to be the catalyst for both sides as the season wound down. Fremantle slid down the ladder, losing the next six matches in succession to end a disappointing season, while West Coast went on to win their remaining home-and-away matches.
Derby XLVIII: Round 20, 2018
Nearly two decades after the most violent derby in its history, another infamous contest occurred in Round 20, 2018. During the third quarter, West Coast midfielder Andrew Gaff struck Fremantle first-year player Andrew Brayshaw in the face in an incident which occurred off the ball and resulted in Brayshaw suffering a broken jaw.[15][16] Gaff was targeted by Fremantle players for the remainder of the game, until his coach decided to bench him after suffering from a double-team shoulder hit from two Fremantle players.[17] Gaff was sent straight to the AFL Tribunal the following day,[18] where he pleaded guilty to intentionally striking Brayshaw and subsequently suspended for eight AFL matches, thus missing the AFL finals, where West Coast would go on to win the 2018 premiership.[19]
Derby LI: 2020
For the first time, due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic reducing the season to 17 games, only a single derby was played in 2020. The ground capacity was restricted to half of the maximum to allow for social distancing. The crowd of 25,306 people was the highest for the AFL since the pandemic started, but the lowest ever for a ticketed derby. West Coast won by 30 points, setting a new record of ten consecutive derby wins, dating back to August 2015.
Derby LVII: 2023
The derby resembled the one held in 2009, with both Western Australian teams positioned in the bottom 4 of the ladder at the time of the match. Fremantle broke its record of the highest margin in a derby, 101 points.[20] West Coast's score of 4.9 (33) was its lowest ever in a derby.[21]
Western Derby results
Women's Western Derby results
Best on ground winners
| Round | Year | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Round 2 | 2020 | Kiara Bowers |
[24] |
| Round 2 | 2021 | Kiara Bowers (2) |
[25] |
| Round 6 | 2021 | Kiara Bowers (3) |
[26] |
| Round 1 | 2022 (S6) | Kiara Bowers (4) Ebony Antonio |
[27] |
| Round 5 | 2022 (S7) | Hayley Miller |
[28] |
| Round 1 | 2023 | Ella Roberts |
[29] |
Timeline of results
Statistics
Up-to-date at the completion of Derby 57
Most Goals in One Game
| Player | Date | Round | Club | Goals | Behinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Cummings | 2000 | Round 6 | West Coast Eagles |
10 | 2 |
| Matthew Pavlich | 2012 | Round 19 | Fremantle |
8 | 2 |
| Josh Kennedy | 2016 | Round 20 | West Coast Eagles |
7 | 2 |
| Clive Waterhouse | 2000 | Round 21 | Fremantle |
7 | 2 |
| Josh Kennedy | 2017 | Round 6 | West Coast Eagles |
6 | 2 |
| Tony Modra | 1999 | Round 16 | Fremantle |
6 | 2 |
| Troy Wilson | 2002 | Round 1 | West Coast Eagles |
6 | 1 |
Most Career Goals
| Player | Club | Goals | Behinds | Games | Goals/Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Pavlich | Fremantle |
61 | 35 | 34 | 1.79 |
| Jack Darling | West Coast Eagles |
59 | 29 | 24 | 2.46 |
| Josh Kennedy | West Coast Eagles |
55 | 34 | 21 | 2.62 |
| Mark LeCras | West Coast Eagles |
43 | 22 | 18 | 2.39 |
| Phil Matera | West Coast Eagles |
37 | 16 | 16 | 2.31 |
| Michael Walters | Fremantle |
35 | 17 | 19 | 1.84 |
| Hayden Ballantyne | Fremantle |
24 | 10 | 15 | 1.60 |
| Jeff Farmer | Fremantle |
19 | 10 | 11 | 1.73 |
| Scott Cummings | West Coast Eagles |
19 | 2 | 4 | 4.75 |
Games played
| Player | Club | Derbies |
|---|---|---|
| Matthew Pavlich | Fremantle |
34 |
| David Mundy | Fremantle |
31 |
| Shannon Hurn | West Coast Eagles |
28 |
| Dean Cox | West Coast Eagles |
27 |
| Aaron Sandilands | Fremantle |
26 |
| Andrew Gaff | West Coast Eagles
|
25 |
| Jack Darling | West Coast Eagles
|
24 |
| Darren Glass | West Coast Eagles |
24 |
Brownlow Votes
Brownlow Votes through the end of the 2022 AFL season.[needs update]
| Player | Club | Votes | Games | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Kerr | West Coast Eagles
|
15 | 17 | 0.88 |
| Guy McKenna | West Coast Eagles
|
13 | 11 | 1.18 |
| Stephen Hill | Fremantle
|
12 | 19 | 0.63 |
| Chris Judd | West Coast Eagles
|
11 | 11 | 1.00 |
| Ben Cousins | West Coast Eagles
|
11 | 20 | 0.55 |
| Paul Hasleby | Fremantle
|
11 | 20 | 0.55 |
| Aaron Sandilands | Fremantle
|
11 | 24 | 0.45 |
| Matthew Pavlich | Fremantle
|
11 | 34 | 0.32 |
| Peter Bell | Fremantle
|
10 | 15 | 0.66 |
| Josh Kennedy | West Coast Eagles
|
10 | 21 | 0.48 |
Other Western Derbys
AFL Women's
In preparation for the 2017 launch of the AFL women's league competition, the AFL held 10 Exhibition Series matches during 2016. The only match held in Perth featured both a women's side from the Fremantle Football Club & the West Coast Eagles, played as a curtain-raiser for the men's Western Derby, won by the West Coast Eagles. The First Western Derby in the AFLW took place on 15 February 2020, when the West Coast Eagles lost to the Fremantle Dockers at Optus Stadium.
Notes
a^ For the 2020 season only, there was only one Western Derby due to the premiership season being shortened to 17 rounds as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[30]
b^ Due to a local transmission of COVID-19 in Western Australia in early 2021, the two Perth-based AFLW teams were forced to isolate as part of a five-day lockdown in Perth, rather than travelling to South Australia for their scheduled matches. The AFL instead fixtured a derby between the two sides, held without general public access.[31]
c^ Due to a local transmission of COVID-19 in Western Australia in May 2021, a decision was made by Western Australia premier Mark McGowan to ban spectators from attending the match only hours before the first bounce.[32]
d^ A second Western Derby was scheduled for the two clubs due to WA's border restrictions precluding travel to and from Victoria, and to allow fans to attend after the first Derby in round two was played behind closed doors.[33]
See also
- Showdown: The AFL Intrastate Derby of South Australia, first played in 1997. (Adelaide Crows Vs. Port Adelaide Power).
- QClash: The AFL intrastate Derby of Queensland, first played in 2011. (Brisbane Lions Vs. Gold Coast Suns)
- Sydney Derby: The AFL Intrastate Derby of New South Wales, first played in 2012. (Sydney Swans Vs. Greater Western Sydney Giants).
References
- ^ Heritage Icons: The Western Derby – Constitutional Centre of Western Australia. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
- ^ a b "Recent news | AFANA". Australian Football Association of North America. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
- ^ Mark Fine (1 September 2011). The Book of Footy Lists. Slattery Media Group. p. 138. ISBN 978-1-921778-30-8. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
- ^ "Dockers down Eagles in London". ABC News. 9 October 2005. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
- ^ Burgan, M; A Night at the Tribunal; 19 April 2007
- ^ "Michael Braun Ross Glendenning Medal Speach [sic]". YouTube. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
- ^ Braun no help to the Eagles cause, Tony Jones, Ninemsn; 16 April 2007
- ^ "AFL Tables - Fremantle All Games - By Team". afltables.com. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
- ^ West Coast concede error over Braun fine, AAP, The Age; 21 April 2007
- ^ "West Coast's Braun fined $5000 by AFL". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 April 2007. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
- ^ Hagdorn, K;'Slut' allegation AFL player says sorry to women; 13 May 2007; Retrieved on 22 June 2007
- ^ "Broughton Thought it Went Through". au.news.yahoo.com.
- ^ "Mark Duffield Seasons Turn on These Moments". au.news.yahoo.com.
- ^ "West Coast and Fremantle Name Substitutes". couriermail.com.au.
- ^ "Gaff strikes Brayshaw - Round 20". YouTube. Docker TV. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- ^ "Gaff clashes with Brayshaw in fiery Derby | Round 20, 2018 | AFL". YouTube. AFL. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
- ^ "Unsociable Football: Fremantle v West Coast & Gaff king-hit". YouTube. AFLlolz. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- ^ "AFL Match Review for Round 20: Andrew Gaff referred to tribunal, plenty of fines". Fox Sports Australia. 6 October 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
- ^ Beveridge, Riley (7 August 2018). "Tribunal hands down Gaff verdict". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
- ^ Schmook, Nathan (12 August 2023). "Dockers do it easy over hapless Eagles in derby demolition". afl.com.au. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ Healey, Catherine (12 August 2023). "Docker delight! 'Disgraceful' Eagles destroyed in record Derby loss". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/matches/4683#summary [bare URL]
- ^ https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/matches/4683#summary [bare URL]
- ^ Schmook, Nathan (15 February 2020). "Match report: Dockers crush Eagles in historic derby". womens.afl. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
- ^ Schmook, Nathan (7 February 2021). "Dockers grind out Derby win in the wet". womens.afl. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
- ^ Woodcock, Mitchell (7 March 2021). "Fremantle Dockers star Kiara Bowers claims third-consecutive western derby medal in win over West Coast Eagles". The West Australian. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
- ^ "Turbo-charged Dockers maintain perfect Derby record as Ebony electrifies". AFL Women's. 8 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
- ^ "Geelong enjoys record-breaking AFLW win over St Kilda as Fremantle edges West Coast Eagles". ABC News. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
- ^ "AFLW: Five best West Coast Eagles players in western derby loss to Fremantle Dockers". AFL Women's. 3 September 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
- ^ "Season cut to 17 games, call delayed on R1 start". afl.com.au. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
- ^ "It's on: Dockers and Eagles match to go ahead in R2". womens.afl. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ "Fans banned from Western Derby between West Coast and Fremantle amid COVID fears". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 2 May 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
- ^ Waterworth, Ben (27 February 2021). "Hubs on hold as Round 6 AFLW fixture prompts Perth double-header". Fox Sports Australia. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
External links
Media related to Western Derby (AFL) at Wikimedia Commons
