South Fremantle Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Fremantle, Western Australia. The club plays in the Western Australian Football League (WAFL) and the WAFL Women’s (WAFLW), commonly going by the nickname the Bulldogs. Since its founding, the club has won 14 WAFL premierships, the most recent of them in 2020.
Founded in 1900 after disbanding the successful but debt-burdened Fremantle Football Club (not related to the AFL Dockers entity), the club enjoyed its most successful era in the immediate decade following the end of the Second World War, winning six premierships, including a hat-trick from 1952 to 1954.
South Fremantle has a long-standing rivalry with cross-town WAFL club East Fremantle, a fixture commonly referred to as the Fremantle Derby. The club has played at its home ground, Fremantle Oval, from inception and were co-tenants with East Fremantle until 1952, when the Sharks moved to East Fremantle Oval. From the beginning, Souths adopted the club colours red and white, first adding the iconic front vee to its playing jumper in 1928.[1]
For a club with a history of over 120 years, South Fremantle does not yet boast a footballer who has played 300 or more senior League games in the red and white guernsey. The club is also recognized for its significant contribution of players who hail from Indigenous Australian, Italian and Croatian heritage.
History[edit]
The Fremantle Football Club (originally known as Unions and unrelated to either an earlier club and the current AFL club of the same name) had won ten premierships in the fourteen years that they were in the WA Football Association (now known as the West Australian Football League). By 1899, however, the club suffered from financial problems that caused the club to disband. The South Fremantle Football Club was formed to take their place following an application to the league by Griff John, who would be appointed secretary of the new club, with Tom O’Beirne the inaugural president. Most players, however, were from the defunct Fremantle club.[2][3]
The new club did well in its first year, finishing runners-up.[4] However, over the next three seasons the performance fell away badly and, in April 1904 a Fremantle newspaper confidently reported that South Fremantle would not appear again. However, the club decided to carry on and centreman Harry Hodge took over as skipper, but the season was a disaster. The club won only one game.[5]
They won their first premiership in 1916 and went back-to-back in 1917, both times defeating their local rivals, East Fremantle in the final and challenge final.[6] The 1930s were not as successful, marred by the death of the 23-year-old captain-coach Ron Doig as a result of injuries sustained in a match.[7] After World War II, South experienced their greatest era, with the arrival of future Hall of Fame members Steve Marsh, Bernie Naylor, John Todd and Clive Lewington.[8] Between 1945 and 1956 they would win six premierships, be runners-up three times and make the finals in every season. Since then, however, they have won six more premierships, in 1970, 1980, 1997, 2005, 2009 and 2020.[9]
South Fremantle was the first WAFL club to have won 10 grand finals since World War II. Four of their 14 premierships were won against the club’s traditional rivals, East Fremantle. The club completed a rare double in 2009, claiming both the league and reserves premierships. This was the first time the club had taken the Premiership double since 1954.
In 2020 the club received a license to field a team in the WAFL Women’s league.[10]
On the 14th of March 2023, the club was fined $25,000, deducted 8 premiership points for season 2023, received a deduction of TPP of $10,525 for 2023 as well as a reduction of 10 player points for 2023.
These penalties were due to exceeding the WAFL TPP cap for the season of 2021. (very harsh indeed)
Fremantle Derby[edit]
The Fremantle Derby, is traditionally one of the biggest game of the year on the WAFL calendar. The derbies still have a great following but have decreased in importance compared to the Western Derby, the match between WA’s two AFL teams.
The Foundation Day derby on the first Monday in June (a public holiday to mark the Foundation of Western Australia in 1829) is commonly the highest attended game of the home and away season. To the end of the 2006 season the two clubs had met 344 times with South Fremantle winning 156 to East Fremantle’s 184 wins, 4 Draws have occurred between the two sides.
The club[edit]
Club guernsey & colours[edit]
South Fremantle’s Guernsey (shown right) used for all WAFL matches is all white with a red V in the centre of the guernsey. During the 1990s they also introduced the reverse of the traditional guernsey with a white V on a red jumper. The South Fremantle colours of red & white stem from the first Fremantle based team who wore red and white in the mid-1880s.
Supporters[edit]
South Fremantle are one of the most supported clubs in the WAFL.
South hold three notable WAFL Grand Final attendance records, 1979 v East Fremantle, 52,781, the highest ever attendance at a WAFL Grand Final, 1975 v West Perth, 52,322, the second highest ever Grand Final attendance and 1989 v Claremont, 38,198, the highest ever Grand Final attendance in the post AFL period.[11]
On Foundation Day v East Fremantle at East Fremantle Oval, South played in front of the biggest crowd of the 2009 WAFL home and away season 11,300.[11]
Souths average attendance at home and away fixtures is 3000, which is amongst the highest for the WAFL.[11]
Club song[edit]
“We’re the Bulldogs” is the theme song of the South Fremantle Football Club, played as the league team comes to the field at home and away games, and after a victory.
- We are the mighty bulldogs
- Always fighting on
- With victory and flag our goal
- With guts and determination
- We put the rest to shame
- Because our fighting spirit wins the game.
- We’re the bulldogs (yes we are)
- And we’re the greatest (yes we are)
- The mighty red ‘v’ which stands for victory
- The rough tough bulldogs (yes we are)
- South Fremantle (yes we are)
- The southerners for ever more
- Down by the port of Fremantle
- We hit them really hard
- With true grit and courage we win
- So come on Souths let’s show them
- How to play the game to win
- South Fremantle for ever more
- We’re the bulldogs (yes we are)
- And we’re the greatest (yes we are)
- The mighty red ‘v’ which stands for victory
- The rough tough bulldogs (yes we are)
- South Fremantle (yes we are)
- The southerners for ever more.
