AFL Grand Final: Docker’s best year in history for no reward

I wake up and get out of bed and say with joy “It’s Grand Final Day”, I walk down the streets of Grovedale and I see people in their cars honking horns staring at me. Thousands of Geelong people knew what I was wearing after Friday’s article in the Geelong Advertiser with my purple wig and massive purple glasses, I arrive at Marshall Train Station and despite 10 people were there it was really quiet. I arrive at Melbourne’s Southern Cross at 10am and catch a Metro Train to Flinders St and walk across the street to a sea of purple at Federation Square. I was being interviewed by AFL media’s Jacqui Reed and telling her about my passion for Freo and the atmosphere in the City, just after 11:15am 10,000 Freo fans including myself starting walking to the MCG along Birrarung Marr.

I enter the venue and see an empty stadium while eating lunch, It didn’t feel like Grand Final day until Mike Brady sang ‘Up There Cazaly’ and ‘One Day in September’ and that’s when the roar started to happen. 18 minutes to go till the bounce and Matthew Pavlich and his 21 teammates behind him run out onto the ground in front of 100,007 people for the first time in the club’s history.  Tina Arena sings the national anthem and the roar around the ground was just amazing and Pavlich wins the toss and kicks towards the City End of the ground, Channel 7 commentator Dennis Cometti said “one of these teams have an appointment with destiny.”

The ball and the Grand Final was underway with umpire Simon Meredith to have the honour of the first bounce and it didn’t take long for the first ball up with so much pressure around the ball. Crowley tags Mitchell and will do his best to reduce him to under his number of disposals. Hawk Gunston kicks the first goal but the 2nd Hawthorn goal shouldn’t have counted when Buddy Franklin marked 52 metres out and he was way offline however the umpire made a critical error by giving a 50 metre penalty away against McPharlin after they thought he went over the mark despite he didn’t. Quarter time hits and Freo are goalless despite keeping Hawthorn to 2 goals, Gunston and Rioli extend the margin to 4 goals in the 2nd quarter and while that happened, the other end had history as Dockers midfielder Tendai Mzungu kicked Fremantle’s first goal in a Grand Final.

The Half Time siren sounded and Fremantle only had 1 goal to its name kicked by Mzungu and the boys had a lot of work to do so they could turn this game around. Hunters & Collectors performed during the Half Time Entertainment show and sang ‘do you see what I see’ and ‘the holy grail’. The boys run out to get ready for a crucial 2nd half and the ball is bounced and the skipper Pavlich marks after a quiet 1st half and splits to middle and at the 14th minute mark Chris Mayne was 52 metres out and kicks a floater which drifts back for a goal and the margin is only 3 points in favour of Hawthorn and I said to myself “GAME ON”. Three quarter time hit and we won the quarter kicking 5 goals to 3 and I cheered the boys as they headed to the huddle for the final time in the 2013 season.

One more quarter to go and Freo were pumped and excited however when Hawthorn kicked 3 consecutive from Smith, Breust and Hill I thought it was game over but when the two Freo P’s Pearce and Pavlich kicked back to back goals I thinking at the time we are still in it, but 4 wasted chances cost us. The final siren went as Hawthorn won the 2013 Premiership and I felt disappointed like all fans in a team that loses the biggest game of the season, but when Pavlich came up on the podium he said “we’ll be back” and that’s when the Freo fans and I clapped and supported him and the rest of the team. When the presentation finished I didn’t want to see anymore and so I left the ground and went home and said to myself “bring on 2014 because we will be stronger and more experienced than ever”.

 

HAWTHORN   2.3   5.5    8.8   11.11   (77)              

FREMANTLE    0.3   1.6   6.10   8.14  (62)          

 

GOALS

Hawthorn: Gunston 4, Roughead 2, Franklin, Rioli, Smith, Breust, Hill

Fremantle: Pavlich 3, Walters 2, Mzungu, Mayne, Pearce

 

BEST 

Hawthorn: Lake, Gunston, Lewis, Rioli, Hodge, Birchall

Fremantle: Mundy, Fyfe, Crowley, Johnson, Barlow

 

INJURIES 

Hawthorn: Nil

Fremantle: Nil

 

SUBSTITUTES

Hawthorn: Jonathan Simpkin replaced Max Bailey at three-quarter-time

Fremantle: Lachie Neale replaced Zac Clarke in the fourth quarter

 

Reports: Nil

 

Umpires: Rosebury, Nicholls, Meredith

 

Official crowd: 100,007 at the MCG

 

Norm Smith Medallist: Brian Lake (Hawthorn)

 

My Votes

3: Brian Lake (Hawthorn)

2: Jack Gunston (Hawthorn)

1: David Mundy (Fremantle)

 

Comments

  1. Malcolm Ashwood says

    Well done Mickyyo takes character to do a write up after such a disappointment
    I am with you re Mike Brady there is nothing wrong with having a Aussie , sing his own iconic footy song far better ways of spending footy money tan blowing it on a performer who has no connection with footy or there songs don’t
    The fifty metre penalty against McPharlin , was a disgrace as was the umpiring in general as a umpire to say that is the area of the game which needs change at the top is a massive understatement
    It will be interesting to see how players such as Ballantyne , Pearce , Fyfe and others who failed mentally in the GF , come back that may decide if Fremantle have another chance to reach the decider. It was great on the tv and the footy talk in general what the purple haze added in September
    Thanks Micky

  2. I’ve ben barracking for Freo since it was East Fremantle (1960s).

    They played a splendid game and won the silver medal.

    There is no dishonour there mate.

    Giles

  3. sean gorman says

    A Docker fan living in Geelong.!! Toughest gig in footy surely. Followed by the senior coach of west coast in 2014. Nice read.

  4. Sean another fact is i’ve never stepped foot in Western Australia before

  5. sean gorman says

    Mein Gott – you are a total freo freak. Nice stuff.

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