Finals Fever in WA

Although the seasons for the West Coast Eagles and Fremantle Dockers ended at the completion of round 22, football in Western Australia is still being played. This weekend, Saturday the 22nd of September, the Western Australia Football League (WAFL) grand final is being played. The hype and interest in this match is growing for many reasons, and it all has to do with the two teams fighting it out.

This year’s WAFL grand final will be contested by the East Perth Royals and the South Fremantle Bulldogs. East Perth finished second on the WAFL ladder, while South’s finished third. East Perth moved straight into the final after defeating minor premiers Claremont. South Freo, on the other hand, won a hard fought match against Subiaco, before defeating Claremont in the Preliminary final. East Perth is the defending champions and is favoured to win.

But why all the interest? Firstly, East Perth is the West Coast Eagles WAFL side, whilst South Fremantle is the Dockers. Not all the Eagles and Dockers players play in these sides, only players not associated with a WAFL club before they were drafted to play AFL. There will be quite a number of players on the Eagles and Dockers lists hoping to make an impression for the next season. Some people perceive this match to be similar to the AFL’s ‘Western Derby’ due to the number of past, present and future Eagles and Dockers players involved.

Another reason is a basic ‘us against them’. To explain this, a brief history lesson is required. In Western Australia, the Swan River separates the northern suburbs from the southern ones. There has always been a “north versus south” mentality amongst the people who live in these areas. The people from the north of the river deem the folk on the southern side to be upper class snobs who think that they are better than everyone else. Southern River residents think northerners are uncouth, backward, dregs of society types, whom continually whinge about their state in life. What does this have to do with the WAFL grand final? Only that East Perth is based on the north side of the river, while South Fremantle is firmly entrenched on the south side. The grand final will represent the old age argument of who is better, the north or south?

Despite all of this, I have a personal interest in the match. The team I barrack for in the WAFL happens to be South Fremantle. Go the mighty Bulldogs!!!! My older brother, on the other hand, is a staunch East Perth supporter. So is my father. They both live north of the river, while I live south. A bit of friendly, family rivalry will be about by the time the grand final starts. My tip is South Fremantle will win by 28 points.

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