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EAST FREMANTLE - Part One: 1898 to 1947
Affiliated: WAFA 1898-1907; WAFL/WANFL 1908-present
Club Address: P.O. Box 43, Palmyra 6157, Western Australia
Home Ground: East Fremantle Oval
Formed: 1898
Colours: Royal blue and white
Emblem: Sharks (formerly 'Old Easts' or 'Old East')
Premierships: SENIORS 1900, 1902-03-04, 1906, 1908-09-10-11, 1914, 1918, 1925, 1928-29-30-31, 1933, 1937, 1943*, 1945-46, 1957, 1965, 1974, 1979, 1985, 1992, 1994, 1998 (29 total) RESERVES (from 1925) 1926, 1938-9-40, 1950-51, 1962, 1970, 1989, 1993-4, 2001, 2008 (13 total) COLTS (from 1957) 1962, 1966, 1969, 1973, 1981, 1987, 1992, 1998, 2001 (9 total) Western Australian State Premierships - 1904, 1906, 1909-10 (4 total) OTHER PREMIERSHIPS - R.P. Rodriguez Shield: 1957, 1977, 1985, 1996, 1997, 1998 (6 total)
Sandover Medallists: L.G.Richards 1931; J.D.Conway 1950; J.Clarke 1957; R.Sorrell 1961# & 1963; D. Hollins 1971; G. Melrose 1974; B.Peake 1977; M.Wrensted 1985; C.Treleven 1995; A.Bromage 1998 (10 Medallists/11 Medals)
Tassie Medallists: Brian Peake 1979 (1 total)
All Australians: Jack Clarke 1953, 1956, 1958 & 1961; Alan Preen 1958; Norm Rogers 1958; Ray Sorrell 1958 & 1961; Brian Peake 1979 (captain) & 1980; Tony Buhagiar 1979; Kevin Taylor 1983; Peter Wilson 1986 (13 total)
League Top Goalkickers: E.Kelly (25) 1904; H.Sharpe (50) 1905, (34) 1906, (48) 1907 & (22) 1908; A.Rawlinson (32) 1917; J.Lawn (47) 1919; D.Coffey (36) 1923; G.Doig (106) 1933, (152) 1934, (113) 1935, (109) 1936, (144) 1937 & (141) 1941; G.Prince (82) 1949; R.Johnson (92) 1966; K.Taylor (102) 1979; N.Lester-Smith (90) 1989; R.Tregenza (57) 1999 & (86) 2000 (20 total)
East Fremantle's Official 'Team of the Century': Click here
Highest Score: 32.23 (215) vs. West Perth 19.12 (126) at East Fremantle Oval in round 19 1979
Most Games: 304 by Brian Peake 1972 to 1980 and 1985 to 1990
Record Home Attendance: 21,317 in round 3 1979: East Fremantle 17.18 (120); South Fremantle 14.19 (103)
Record Finals Attendance: 52,781 for 1979 grand final at Subiaco Oval: East Fremantle 21.19 (145); South Fremantle 16.16 (112)
Overall Success Rate 1898-2008: 61.4%
* indicates premiership won during the war years of 1942-44 when the WANFL operated as an under age competition
# indicates awarded retrospectively by Westar Rules authorities in 1997
At a time when hyperbole is very much in vogue it is comparatively rare to come across an organisation genuinely deserving of the highest praise. Such an organisation is the East Fremantle Football Club. Consider its record:
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28 senior premierships and 28 times runners up (see footnote 1) since 1898; in the three major football states only Port Adelaide/Port Magpies (35/6) have won more |
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35 consecutive league victories between 28 July 1945 and 17 May 1947, including an unbeaten premiership in 1946 |
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The only WAFL club to have achieved a positive win/loss record against all other league clubs |
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Between 1900 and 1951 the club failed to contest the finals on only one occasion - in 1915, when all sides were depleted because of the war |
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In the first twelve seasons of this century East Fremantle won no fewer than nine flags, while the premierships of 1905 and 1907 were only lost in the most questionable and controversial of circumstances |
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East Fremantle's inaugural captain, Tom Wilson. Described by Jack Lee as "the father of the club", Wilson played previously with North Melbourne and Fremantle, in addition to Imperials. (Image kindly supplied by Steve Davies.) |
There were few immediate signs of future
greatness when the club was first formed in 1898. With the exception of captain
Tom Wilson, vice-captain David Christy, and Jim Mullaney, all of whom had played
for the recently disbanded
Imperials Football Club, the new side boasted little experience and this was
plainly evident as it managed just 1 win from 15 games in its debut year.
However, the gradual emergence of district football in Western Australia,
whereby players represented their local club, proved to be the making of East
Fremantle, as Fremantle-based players who had been playing their football for
clubs across the river returned home to bolster the ranks.
In 1899 the side won 12 and lost 5 matches for the year to finish 2nd before going one better in 1900. In just three seasons the club appeared to have established itself as a power and the remaining years of the first decade of the century only served to reinforce this impression. After finishing 2nd in 1901 East Fremantle embarked on a sequence of success which many at the time felt by rights ought to have yielded an incredible 10 flags in succession. As it was, the club was robbed of success on two occasions under circumstances of the utmost controversy. In 1905 the scoreboard at the end of the challenge final showed East Fremantle on 6.5 (41) having defeated West Perth 5.10 (40). However, after conferring the goal umpires announced that the scoreboard operators had erred - West Perth had actually scored 5.11 (41), meaning that the correct result was a draw. East Fremantle's protests went unheeded and, presumably still unsettled by the whole affair, they lost the replay. |
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Two years later there was an even more controversial ending to the premiership decider between East Fremantle and Perth. The final scoreboard read East Fremantle 6.11 (47); Perth 6.6 (42) but, sensationally, post-match claims by Perth that one of East Fremantle's goals had been kicked after the half time bell were upheld by the WAFA Appeals Board and the result of the match - and the destiny of the 1907 flag - was reversed.
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All time great Dave 'Dolly' Christy, a member of the AFL's Hall of Fame. Christy was originally from Victoria, where he played with Melbourne in the VFA. (Image kindly supplied by Steve Davies.) |
During this era East Fremantle were renowned for a 'down the centre' style of play which no other team in the competition could live with. Prominent 'Old Easts' (see footnote 2) players from the pre-World War One era included rover Charles 'Dick' Sweetman, who was to die tragically after sustaining serious injuries in a match in 1911; centreman W.J. 'Nipper' Truscott, who shares with Arthur Hodgson (Tasmania) and Fos Williams (South Australia) the record of appearing in five interstate carnivals (and would arguably have appeared in six had it not been for the Great War); full forward Harry Sharpe who, after sharing WAFA goalkicking honours with South Fremantle's 'Duff' Kelly in 1905 topped the list in his own right in each of the three subsequent years; and bullocking ruckman James 'Carbine' Gullan who, like Sweetman, was to die tragically at an early age. East Fremantle's 1914 premiership was the tenth achieved by the club in its first seventeen years of existence but the following year the club dipped out of the finals for the first time since their debut season. Successive grand final (see footnote 3) losses to arch rivals South Fremantle followed before there was a return to the winners' circle in 1918 with an 11.8 (74) to 8.5 (53) victory over emerging power East Perth. The Royals had their revenge in 1919 to the tune of 22 points and this supremacy was repeated in each of the next three seasons. Subiaco emerged as a surprise force in 1924, downing East Fremantle 7.9 (51) to 3.6 (24) in the grand final, but in 1925 Old East returned the 'favour' in stunning fashion. Indeed, 1925 was the first occasion on which an East Fremantle premiership could genuinely have been said to have been won 'against the odds'. Only 3rd on the ladder after the home and away matches with 9 wins and 6 losses Old East scored resounding wins over West Perth (6.22 to 2.9) in the semi final and East Perth (12.10 to 5.7) in the final to earn a challenge final tilt against the reigning premiers. Most people expected Subi to prove too strong but in the event it was precisely the reverse as East Fremantle romped to a 27 point triumph, 10.10 (70) to 6.7 (43). |
After missing out in 1926 and 1927 East Fremantle topped the ladder - significantly as it turned out - by half a win from East Perth in 1928. A loss to the Royals in the final meant that the right of challenge had to be exercised and Old East duly made amends by 17 points, 10.13 (73) to 8.8 (56). The victory marked the onset of another era of spectacular dominance for Western Australian football's most feared and respected club.
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Between 1929 and 1931 Old East completed a sequence of 4 successive premiership triumphs with wins over South Fremantle by 31 and 25 points and Subiaco by 18 points. The run of success looked set to continue in 1932 after the side qualified for the finals in pole position only to lose both finals contested and end up 3rd. The following year full forward George Doig took his bows, the latest in a long line of Doig family members to make it to league ranks (see footnote 4). His impact was immediate as he kicked more than 100 goals (106 to be precise) for the year, a feat he was to repeat in each of the next eight seasons. East Fremantle roared back to the top in 1933 with a 10.13 (73) to 7.7 (49) defeat of Subiaco in front of 15,919 fans, meaning that the club had now won no fewer than seventeen senior premierships in its first thirty-six seasons to make it by some measure Australia's most successful top level club up to that point. |
William 'Nipper' Truscott |
West Perth got the better of the blue and whites in the 1934 grand final by 34 points, 11.7 (73) to 5.9 (39). This heralded a brief two year decline during which East Fremantle finished 4th and 3rd before returning as a force the hard way in 1937. After losing a fiercely fought 2nd semi final to Claremont by 14 points Old East despatched East Perth 11.12 (78) to 7.19 (61) the following week and then gained revenge over Claremont by 10 points, 14.13 (97) to 13.9 (87) in the grand final.
Five members of the famous Doig family - Edgar, Norm, Billy (who were brothers), Charles junior and George (also brothers) - who all appeared together for East Fremantle in 1934.
It would be Claremont supporters who would have the last laugh, however, as their club would go on to win the next three premierships in succession, their first at League level. On all three occasions the Monts were directly responsible for ending Old East's season. In 1938 the two sides met in the grand final, with Claremont winning 14.17 (101) to 11.13 (79) in a replay. The following season Claremont again triumphed in the final match of the season after East Fremantle had looked to be on course to gain revenge following a comfortable win over the premiers in the 2nd semi final.
In 1940 Old Easts only got as far as the preliminary final before Claremont ousted them from premiership contention by 6 goals.
The following year, with Jerry Dolan, who had previously been playing coach of the club in 1930 and between 1932 and 1933, back at the helm the side again featured in the action on grand final day, but West Perth proved too strong, emerging 21 points to the good.
The WANFL operated on an under age basis between 1942 and 1944 with East Fremantle finishing 3rd, 1st and 2nd.
With Dolan still in charge on the resumption of full scale senior football in 1945 Old East made an immediate impression, winning 16 out of 20 minor round matches to top the ladder. The side's consistent form continued into the finals where it comfortably defeated both West Perth and South Fremantle to take out the flag. The encounter with South Fremantle was the first 'derby' grand final since 1930 and took East Fremantle's record in these contests to 4 wins and 2 defeats. The 1945 grand final also saw the Simpson Medal being presented for the first time. East Fremantle ruckman Alan Ebbs was the inaugural recipient, while team mates Gabrielson, Mann, Strang and Soltoggio would also have figured prominently in the judges' calculations. Final scores were East Fremantle 12.15 (87) to South Fremantle 7.9 (51). The red and whites' day would soon arrive, but for now it was the blue and white fraternity who were clearly 'cocks of the port'.
East Fremantle's dominance continued in 1946 in a fashion which has rarely been equalled in any of Australia's major football competitions. Some have argued (see footnote 5) that the standard of football being played in Western Australia at the time was low, and that therefore it was comparatively easy for one side to dominate. However, such claims are impossible to verify. What does seem clear is that the best Western Australian players of this time were capable of producing football of comparable standard to that being displayed in any of the other major football states (see footnote 6).
Another factor to bear in mind is that East Fremantle's superiority in 1946 was not always as conclusive as its overall record might lead one to suppose. True, it managed to win all 21 WANFL matches contested, but not all of the victories were by hefty margins . West Perth in particular afforded stern resistance, as was clearly evidenced by both meetings between the sides in the major round. Old Easts scraped home in the second semi final by 4 points, 9.21 (75) to 10.11 (71), and the grand final a fortnight later was just as tight. The Cardinals threw down the gauntlet in no uncertain terms in the opening term when they kicked 4 goals to 1, and thereafter it took all of East Fremantle's courage, desperation and resilience to eke out victory by a single kick.
Final scores in the 1946 grand final were East Fremantle 11.13 (79) to West Perth 10.13 (73) with the victors best served by ruckman Alan Ebbs, rover Vic French, and half back flankers Charlie Doig and Don Gabrielson. However, the Simpson Medal was awarded to John Loughridge of West Perth (see footnote 7).
Old Easts' only defeat for the year came against Collingwood in an end of season challenge match in Perth which the Magpies won by 18 points. However, it would obviously be wholly unreasonable to read too much into a single such aberration (see footnote 8).
East Fremantle's winning streak at WANFL level continued for a total of 35 successive matches before being brought to an end by South Fremantle on 17 May 1947. A then record crowd for a port 'derby' of 17,538 packed Fremantle Oval for the clash, which in retrospect might be seen as constituting the 'passing of the baton' in terms of Western Australian football supremacy. At the end of the season East Fremantle had slumped to 4th while, for South Fremantle, an era of unparalleled dominance had dawned.
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Footnotes
1. These totals do not include the under age premiership won in 1943 nor the grand final loss incurred in 1944. Back to Main Text
2. East Fremantle became known affectionately as 'Old East' (or 'Old Easts') after the admission to the competition in 1906 of East Perth. The nickname continued to be used until 1983, when the emblem of the Shark was adopted. Back to Main Text
3. The term 'grand final', while not technically entirely accurate, is used here - and throughout the pre-1931 section of this entry - to mean 'premiership deciding match'. Depending on the circumstances, this could actually be either the final or the challenge final. Back to Main Text
4. Eleven members of the Doig family played league football in Western Australia, mostly for East Fremantle; together they featured in no fewer than 39 premiership sides. Back to Main Text
5. See, for example, The Tiger's Tale by Kevin Casey, page 60. Back to Main Text
6. Western Australia were victorious in 5 out of their first 6 post-war interstate encounters with the acknowledged 'major states' of Victoria and South Australia, their only defeat coming against the South Australians at the 1947 Hobart Carnival. Back to Main Text
7. Between 1945 and 2001 the Simpson Medal was awarded to a losing player in the grand final on only 7 occasions, 5 times as outright winner, and twice as a joint recipient. Back to Main Text
8. This, unfortunately, is precisely what Robert Pascoe does in The Winter Game, page 133, suggesting that Collingwood's victory on this occasion could somehow be regarded as a barometer of the respective football standards at the time in Victoria and Western Australia. If this argument is accepted, South Fremantle's repeated dominance over Victorian opposition, both at home and away, during the late 1940s and early 1950s - feats conveniently ignored by Pascoe - would inevitably give rise to an interesting conclusion. See the entry on South Fremantle for further details. Back to Main Text