Like Matson, Jerry Dolan was an excellent player as well as coach, and it is perhaps a little surprising how often the one does not seamlessly lead to the other.
Dolan arrived at Old Easts in 1923 and went on to play 166 games for the club, in addition to representing the state. However, in the coaching sphere his achievements, and more importantly perhaps his legacy, were unparalleled.
While still a player, Dolan coached East Fremantle to the 1930 and 1933 premierships, before joining East Perth as non-playing coach in 1934. In 5 seasons with the Royals he oversaw 5 finals campaigns, including 1 flag, but at heart he was still an East Fremantle man, and, after a couple of years out of football, he returned 'home' in 1941, steering his club to a grand final in his first year.
Because of the war, the 3 years from 1942 to 1944 saw the WANFL operate an underage competition only, but Dolan stayed on as coach, and steered his youthful charges to the 1943 flag.
It is primarily for his role in shaping the great East Fremantle sides of 1945 and 1946 that Jerry Dolan's name is venerated, however. In 1945 the club made a slow start before cruising to the premiership with 10 consecutive wins. In 1946 it became the only Western Australian side of the 20th century to land an unbeaten premiership. Admittedly, apart from grand final opponents West Perth, the standard of most opposition teams, who were still recovering from the inroads made by the war, left something to be desired, but statistically the achievements of the 1946 East Fremantle team are beyond comparison.
Dolan, a school teacher by profession, thought deeply about the game, which he always saw in quintessentially team terms. His teams always exhibited great collective strength, and were structured so as to mask or minimise any deficiencies. In this respect, it could be argued that he was ahead of his time.
In his 17 seasons as a League coach, Jerry Dolan never once failed to steer his team to the finals, while overall his sides enjoyed a phenomenal success rate of 68.2%, which compares more than favourably with the success rates of other great coaches (see footnote 1).