Derby: WA Footy Fans on the Game's Greatest Rivalry

by Sean Gorman, David Whish-Wilson

Overview

‘The State is divided. It's not life or death, it's more important.'So says a poster on Dennis Cometti's wall – and that's what David Whish-Wilson and Sean Gorman found when they interviewed 40 fans of the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Dockers.The book features James Baker, Julie Bishop, Fedele Camarda, Maria Camporeale, Kevin Croon, Jesse Dart, Ron Elliott, Les Everett, Alison Fan, Glenis Freemantle, Maria Giglia, Mark Greenwood, Gaby Haddow, Julie Hoffman, Adrian Hoffman, Greig Johnston, Justin Langer, Deanne Lewis, Dennis Lillee, Lesley the Voodoo Lady, Luc Longley, Alsy Macdonald, Carla Mackesey, Ross McLean, Shaun McManus, Clive Mercer, Ian MacRae, Kia Mippy, Peter Mudie, Jeff Newman, Gillian O'Shaughnessy, Melissa Parke, Parsi, Janet Peters, John Prior, Matt Quinn aka Mr Q, Kim Scott, Glen Stasiuk, Bill Sutherland, Bevan Taylor, David Wirrpanda.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781925164503
Publisher:	Fremantle Press
Publication date:	04/01/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Sean Gorman has studied and worked in the Indigenous studies field for twenty-three years. He currently holds a senior fellowship at Curtin University. Gorman’s work draws on social justice, social history, sports history, and local history. His book Brotherboys: The Story of Jim and Phillip Krakouer was adapted for a play and had a national tour in 2011. His most recent book is Legends: The AFL Indigenous Team of the Century. David Whish-Wilson was born in Newcastle, NSW, but grew up in Singapore, Victoria and WA. He left Australia aged eighteen to live for a decade in Europe, Africa and Asia, where he worked as a barman, actor, street seller, petty criminal, labourer, exterminator, factory worker, gardener, clerk, travel agent, teacher and drug-trial guinea pig. He now lives in Fremantle and coordinates the creative writing program at Curtin University.

Read an Excerpt

Derby

WA Footy Fans on the Game's Greatest Rivalry

---

By David Whish-Wilson, Sean Gorman

Fremantle Press

Copyright © 2017 David Whish-Wilson & Sean Gorman
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-925164-50-3

---

CHAPTER 1

DAVID WIRRPANDA – EAGLES

For David Selwyn Burralung Merringwuy Galarrwuy Wyal Wirrpanda, football has been good. Having played 227 AFL games for the West Coast Eagles, culminating in the one-point grand final win over Sydney in 2006, Wirrpanda – or 'Wirra' as he is more commonly known – has worked hard to establish the foundation that bears his name. In 2007 he was named by The Bulletin as one of Australia's most influential Aboriginal people, and in 2009 he was awarded the Young Western Australian of the Year. Such was the power of his brand that he was a contestant on Dancing With the Stars, and he even had a tilt in the 2013 federal election as the National Party's senate candidate for Western Australia. At his North Perth home we are not only greeted by Wirra but two employees and old Dockers adversaries in Dale Kickett and Troy Cook. The banter ensues about derby rivalry and games won and lost, but Wirrapanda focuses on what he first thought of the derby, having come from Victoria where he had witnessed hundred-year-old hostilities firsthand.

'Well, as a young bloke I didn't really understand the Western Derby because, being a Victorian, we had a derby every week in Melbourne. You know, the great rivalry between Carlton and Collingwood, Essendon and Richmond. I was a mad Hawthorn supporter so there were some pretty hot contests. That's why I wore 44 – because I was a Johnny Platten fan. I played on him when I was sixteen and didn't know whether to tackle him or kiss him. So when I heard about this derby, and the rivalry, it didn't really click until I was here. I started in '96 and I was pretty keen to see the Fremantle Dockers because they were the new franchise and they had a lot of Indigenous players. I remember watching Scotty Chisholm in the warm-up one day and thought he was pretty good. Then in round one in 1996, I got a little bit of an understanding of it, straight up.'

It didn't take Wirrpanda long to understand the importance of the derby game in the context of local football. 'I've got a really good understanding of the derby rivalry. I think the passion is huge, considering for a long time the majority of supporters were West Coast and now after more than twenty years I think it's almost fifty-fifty. That's exciting for Western Australian footy because Fremantle are now a serious contender. They're not there to be pushed around anymore by the so-called big brother. To their credit they have clawed their way back, and football in this state has been the winner.'

Wirrpanda had an intimate insight into the inner workings of the Eagles and he is refreshingly honest about what a derby means from a player's point of view. 'We used to be very diplomatic when it came to the derby, and we were gently instructed to make sure that we used the old clichés. But to be honest, it's a rivalry, you don't want them to win regardless of where you are on the ladder. It's as simple as that. There's nothing better than making sure that you're number one in the state. If we lose, we feel the heat. Like when you go up North, the majority of Kimberley people are all mad West Coast, and after a derby loss you get: "What's wrong with you? What happened?" You feel terrible because you've just let everyone down. The players all shake hands afterward but we couldn't stand each other, and that's the truth.'

Having taken some time to ease himself into the demands of the elite AFL competition, Wirrpanda recalls his first derby. 'I think my first real derby was in '99, and from there I played a fair bit of them, but I got a real taste for it when John Worsfold was our captain. He made it very clear he did not want to lose to those blokes down the road and that was the rule of thumb.' Wirrpanda recalls that his first derby coincided with the first Dockers win, and it's not a pleasant memory. 'I just remember how gutted I was. I was playing on Brad Wira. He was tagging me for the day, and he got on top of me by kicking three goals. It was massive, like a final. To their credit they just kept clawing and clawing and eventually it was going to happen because it's just part and parcel of footy. It took me more than a week or two to get over it.'

Wirrpanda is quick to point out that there were times when the boot was on the other foot. 'If you really want to be successful you have to have a little bit of arrogance about you. Don't get me wrong. I'm a respectful person. My mum used to tell me to be fair and play the ball. I don't know if that makes sense, but that's what we tried to do – to keep the lid on things and not blow them out of proportion. The wins were great and felt good, because I wanted their players to remember me for next time. But you can't relax. They are tough games.'

Asked to describe how Wirrpanda and his team mates prepared for a big derby game, he replies, 'I know people like Dean Kemp really set himself for a big day with the derby. Brett Heady was another one. Glen Jakovich used to really fire up. Non-stop talking, geeing us up. Some blokes would spend the entire morning spewing up. I was relaxed, if anything too relaxed. Sometimes it used to annoy Woosha that I was a little bit too laidback. But I'd try to avoid that pressure of thinking about it a lot. I'd sit in the spa just before the game, have a yarn and a laugh. I wanted to make sure I was not wasting any energy and could come in fresh. But as soon as the siren went I'd go one hundred miles an hour.' Apart from trying to calm himself before a big match, Wirrpanda's other concern before a big game was 'making sure my family had tickets. A few times in the warm-up, our boot-studder at the Eagles would walk in and say we have got your family here, and they want tickets, and I was literally just about to run through the banner. That was the thing that I used to stress over more. So I would make sure there was always a few spares at the door, because I didn't want them coming in to the change rooms humbugging me just as I was running out.'

During the week in the lead-up to a derby game, Wirrpanda often spent time training with Phil Matera as he prepared for playing on his toughest Fremantle opponent – The Wiz. 'Mate, Jeff Farmer was the toughest to play on by a country mile. I mean he was one of those players that I used to prepare myself for, and I didn't get a lot of sleep the night before. He knew the way I played, and I knew the way he played. We had really good battles and I think he's probably the best Docker I've played on. I would train really hard with Phil Matera in small spaces especially in the goal square. The only thing that The Wiz probably had over Phil is he could jump on your head. You'd keep him quiet all game and in two minutes he'd kick four on you. I'd yarn with him and have a bit of a laugh and ask about his family. We used to rotate different players on him. Drew Banfield was unbelievable as far as locking down on players, and Daniel Chick was good because he would get Jeff Farmer upset. I'd kind of take over from there and hold on because it was always a wild ride with The Wiz.'

The conversation shifts from that contest to perhaps the most bone-jarring incident to have occurred in derby history – the clash between Shaun McManus and Wirra in derby thirteen, 2001. Wirrpanda takes a sip of his coffee and looks off into the distance. He breathes in slowly and lets out a thoughtful sigh. 'That clash with Shauny Mac is probably my favourite memory in footy. It's up there with the grand final. Fremantle were breaking in the play and my mate Andrew Shipp, had the ball. I knew his kicks are not that accurate. He lobbed this kick and I saw Shauny Mac probably about ten metres behind me over my right shoulder, and I just remember thinking, "I'm quick enough to get to where the footy will be." I left my man and the footy was in the air. I was confident I was going to get there, mark it and take off. We were both watching the footy and running full lick and then I felt his jaw on my shoulder and the way I hit him it jolted my neck and I felt a bit unwell. I just remember getting up, and Peter Matera saying it's not a mark, and then Cookie had me by the throat. I was immediately concerned. I thought, "Jeez, he's seriously hurt," because Shauny's eyes were at the back of his head. He got the free, and was probably the worst kick in that team, and he's had a shot at goal and kicked it. Great memories, of a hard contest with one of Freo's favourite sons.'

Despite the derby ledger being so in favour of the Eagles for so many years, the outcome of having regular highly competitive games has seen the win–loss ratio even up and both teams have benefitted. 'Once we played regular derbies you could see players really develop from Freo's end, as well as ours. I mean there was myself, Ben Cousins, Chad Morrison, Michael Braun and Rowan Jones. Then you saw players like Paul Haselby and Matthew Pavlich really start to push and make a name for themselves, not just for Fremantle but in the AFL. And that's where the respect starts to grow, because the rivalry grows too. Now these retired players are some of the most popular, and it's important for me and for the boys as well to keep that relationship, because they were pretty big servants for the footy club. I encourage all the Aboriginal players that work for me to keep up relationships with their old clubs.'

Wirrpanda, Cook and Kickett have to head off to the airport where they have a scheduled meeting. We ask Wirra whether there will ever be a derby grand final. 'Well, we almost had one in 2006. I think that was probably the closest we've been, but the potential between both the football clubs now to play in the GF is a lot closer than we think, whether it's this year, or maybe another year or two down the track. But I'm worried about the changeover of the squads. That's probably to Freo's detriment that they're going to have a big changeover in the next couple of years. We all saw what happened when the Eagles lost Matera, Kemp, Jakovich, McKenna, Worsfold, and we had that big dip down the bottom. It's a process that Freo are dealing with now. But both footy clubs are really well managed with fresh blood, new ideas, different coaches, different structures, and I think they're going to be a lot more successful, but I would love to see a derby grand final.'

CHAPTER 2

SHAUN MCMANUS – DOCKERS

It was one of the pivotal moments in derby games thus far. Like everything with football, it happened very fast, and yet for many it's remembered in slow motion. The scores were pretty much level in derby number thirteen, 2001, when Andrew Shipp took the ball forward for the Dockers, and Shaun McManus ran towards the goal to intercept the pass. Forty-five thousand fans were screaming, and all McManus heard was 'complete silence. Complete silence, because your concentration is so intense – you're completely immersed in the game.'

The kind of silence McManus describes illustrates the mental toughness of an elite athlete, but with an added element more specific to the game of football. The silence he experienced as he reached for the airborne pass also blocked out the sound of footsteps – a sound that when heard, and acted upon, can tarnish a player's career for life.

But nobody has ever accused Shaun McManus of shirking or cowardice, and what happened next exemplifies the attitude of a player many consider to be Fremantle's most loyal clubman, and fiercest derby competitor – a man whose heart, according to many, 'bleeds purple'. 'I don't think I was playing too well at that time. I remember we got a run on in a passage of play and the ball ended up with Andrew Shipp, just outside the fifty-metre line. At that stage I was just trying to will myself into the game – I was hell-bent on streaming into open space in the forward line. I just needed to get the ball – I was desperate to get a touch to get myself back into the game. When Andrew popped the ball over the top I just kept running and it didn't occur to me that another player might be running the other way. It didn't bother me because I was desperate to be part of the game, instead of floating around on the edges, so I went hard for the ball and got absolutely nailed. I didn't know what the bloody hell happened. I was just lying on the ground and had no idea what was going on. My head was all over the place, and I was breathing hard.'

Trainers went to McManus's aid, but it wasn't them who got him to his feet. 'The thing that jogged me back to reality was Clive Waterhouse, who told me to stay down so he could take the kick. And I was like, "You're not taking the kick." So that got me up, I was on the boundary line, and thought back to my basic training. I used to take three steps and jog in with the ball, and I did that and it went straight through. Everyone came up and jumped all over me, but if you look at my face, I wasn't all with it. I was thinking, "Holy shit, I'm cooked." But it's funny how clear the rest of the day became. I ended up having a great game, with twenty-eight possessions and three goals, although we lost the match.'

McManus was born into an arm of the broader Regan and Neesham clans, whose names are synonymous with Fremantle, and Fremantle football history. He grew up in Willeton, and in and around Shark Park, the home of East Fremantle. 'I was pretty lucky because my grandpa, Jack McManus, he worked down here at Shark Park as a player welfare manager. He had a lot to do with players coming down from Geraldton, like Mainwaring and Murray Wrensted, and in all the team photos from the '80s you'll see him in there. He'd bring players back to his house, and they'd all be there for our big family Sunday dinners, and when we'd come down to Shark Park he'd take us into the change rooms. All the players knew him, and to me he was an extremely famous person. My cousins and I were all passionate about footy, because we were able to go to the games. Like other kids, we would fight to get the ball after it went through the goal, fight to get it and then kick it back onto the oval, and then we'd change ends depending on who the full-forward was for East Fremantle – I remember one game when Darren Bennett kicked something like twenty goals for East Freo in the reserves. We'd also get cardboard boxes and slide down the back of the hills there, and after the game when everyone cleared out, me and my brother walked around the oval collecting the footy Budgets, which had a 'buy one get one free' Whopper voucher inside. We'd load them up and take them home. So it was a magical place to come to.'

Growing up following East Fremantle meant that derby rivalry was instilled in Shaun from an early age. 'I don't remember havingany friends who followed South Fremantle, except for one who, as a European mate, was attracted to the Italian element of Souths. For us you just hated South Fremantle. When I started playing colts aged sixteen, from day one we were told, "This is how it is – we hate these guys," and it was pumped into you constantly. It was like a cult, we were brainwashed into it. It didn't matter – win, lose or draw, if the derby was next week we'd be straight into it, it was always the club's most important game.'

Shaun's first league game for the Sharks was against the archenemy, at Fremantle Oval. 'We all caught the bus together, even though it's what ... a hundred metres down the road? Just so we could go into the ground together. Allan Jeans, the legendary Hawthorn coach, was there because of our coach Ken Judge, and he gave a memorable speech: "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog." He really pumped it into me and I was able to get out there and get a few kicks and I really enjoyed it. It was a huge day. Souths had the Collard brothers playing, and people like Peter Bell, Peter Matera and Craig Edwards, the Sandover Medallist. After the game we went straight back to Shark Park. We didn't have a shower there or anything, because we were always told, "Ah, they'll turn the hot water off," or something like that. Back at our clubrooms, they had a stage and a bit of a walkway, and I remember as a kid watching the players say a few words, and now it was my turn, this young kid getting introduced to the crowd.'

(Continues...)

---

Excerpted from Derby by David Whish-Wilson, Sean Gorman. Copyright © 2017 David Whish-Wilson & Sean Gorman. Excerpted by permission of Fremantle Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---

Table of Contents

Contents

Foreword – Dennis Cometti,
Introduction – David Whish-Wilson & Sean Gorman,
Derby Teams,
David Wirrpanda – Eagles,
Shaun McManus – Dockers,
Dennis Lillee – Eagles,
Maria Giglia – Dockers,
Gillian O'Shaughnessy – Dockers,
Matt Quinn aka Mr Q – Eagles,
Fedele Camarda – Dockers,
Kim Scott – Dockers,
Ross McLean – Dockers,
Kevin Croon – Dockers,
Greig Johnston – Eagles,
Maria Camporeale – Dockers,
Ron Elliott – Eagles,
Justin Langer – Eagles,
Gaby Haddow – Eagles,
Melissa Parke – Dockers,
Julie Bishop – Eagles,
Parsi – Eagles,
Ian MacRae – Eagles,
Alison Fan – Dockers,
James Baker – Eagles,
Glen Stasiuk – Eagles,
Bevan Taylor – Eagles,
Alsy Macdonald – Dockers,
Deanne Lewis – Dockers,
Jesse Dart – Dockers,
Kia Mippy – Eagles,
Glenis Freemantle – Dockers,
Janet Peters – Eagles,
Carla Mackesey – Eagles,
Lesley the Voodoo Lady – Dockers,
Jeff Newman – Eagles,
Les Everett – Dockers,
Luc Longley – Dockers,
Bill Sutherland – Eagles,
John Prior – Dockers,
Clive Mercer – Dockers,
Mark Greenwood – Eagles,
Julie & Adrian Hoffman – Eagles,
Peter Mudie – Dockers,
Western Derbies,
Biggest Winning and Losing Margins,
Coaches,
Ross Glendinning Medallists,
Contributors,
Acknowledgements,