Fremantle Quotes

“Traces of the Fremantle camps are hard to find in the port and tourist city today. I hope that these stories will help to preserve their memory and encourage residents and visitors to see these places through new eyes.”
― Denise Cook, That Was My Home: Voices from the Noongar Camps in Fremantle and the Western Suburbs

“The West Australian Football Commission (WAFC) got a second team but was not prepared to invest in that team because any investment would drain funds from other parts of the WA football system. The AFL also firmly wanted a second club in Perth to continue its growth as a truly national competition, but after seeing the Eagles play in three and win two of the five Grand Finals between 1990 and 1994, rival clubs were loathe to allow recruiting concessions that might create a second western juggernaut.

Hence, the Dockers were not well resourced and light on for talent, left to fend for themselves and somehow expected to make money from day one. By the time the AFL established new clubs on the Gold Coast and in western Sydney nearly 20 years later, they had learned from previous mistakes and invested in those clubs to give them the best chance of success. The support and concessions those clubs received were phenomenal compared to Fremantle’s.”
― Matthew Pavlich, Purple Heart

“Shaun McManus: By the time we played the demolition derby we weren’t travelling that well, but they weren’t either. The Eagles had champions who had won premierships in 1992 and 1994 but I felt that by 2000 they had some pretenders out there who were basking in the glory of things they hadn’t done - things that had been done by people who had gone before them.”
― Matthew Pavlich, Purple Heart

“This incident highlighted the lack of leadership and accountability throughout the club, and the overall attitude of our group at the time. Things falling apart? Let's get on the piss!”
― Matthew Pavlich, Purple Heart

“During my time at the club our recruiters and administration would say that with good choices came bad, but most of the gaffes that really hurt came well before I arrived.”
― Matthew Pavlich, Purple Heart

“Robert Walls asked him what Fremantle stood for. He couldn’t give a clear answer. It is fair to say the question caught him on the hop and he didn’t handle it well. I remember sitting on the couch at Yeoy’s Melbourne pad watching the show and being shocked and embarrassed. I’m sure my teammates and our members were too.”
― Matthew Pavlich, Purple Heart

“To play in the manner we did, and for me to be named the Ross Glendinning medallist for the second time in one season, was extremely fulfilling. I love Shauny Mac and all that he stands for.”
― Matthew Pavlich, Purple Heart

“The spontaneity in his training and reviews and even on game day was at times effective, but mostly it was confusing and largely based on results, not behaviours. We would pick something up and just run with it, whether it was part of our greater plan or not.”
― Matthew Pavlich, Purple Heart

“We took eight selections. Our first five picks, Stephen Hill, Hayden Ballantyne, Nick Suban, Zac Clarke and Michael Walters, all became significant players for us. We took another five selections in the rookie draft, with Matt de Boer, Clancee Pearce and Greg Broughton in particular playing major roles in the club’s climb up the ladder.”
― Matthew Pavlich, Purple Heart

“There is an inevitable lag in draft decisions; things can look ‘wrong’ for a fair while before the effects kick in.”
― Matthew Pavlich, Purple Heart

“I remember doing kick-to-kick with Micky Barlow at his first training session with the group. I reckon he missed me with every kick. It was a bit of a blustery day and he might have been nervous, but my first thought was, ‘This guy has no skill whatsoever - what the hell are we doing drafting him?’ Clearly, I don’t have a future as an AFL recruiter, because he soon proved me wrong.”
― Matthew Pavlich, Purple Heart

“As hard as this is to take, I think this is a good outcome for the club. We may finally have a coach I’ve always wanted.”
― Matthew Pavlich, Purple Heart

“That afternoon, Fremantle turned the football world on its head. Mark Harvey had been axed, to be replaced by Ross Lyon, a coach who had taken the Saints to four successive finals campaigns and three Grand Finals, and who was walking out of the final year of his contract. Forget the AFL finals were happening - this was the news of the week, if not the year!”
― Matthew Pavlich, Purple Heart

“The other issue with Harvs was the way the message was delivered. Like all good coaches, he was trying to be hard and demanding on the players, but the message became garbled - to the point where a player would walk out of a team meeting and ask, ‘What was that all about?”
― Matthew Pavlich, Purple Heart

“Ross said that our preparation was ‘normal and mediocre’, not extraordinary, when it needed to be the latter. He went on to name some individuals in particular who had been at the club for five or six years and who had been meandering along, not improving their time-trial times and general condition.”
― Matthew Pavlich, Purple Heart

“Those on the fringe looked at it and said, ‘This can work for me. I don’t need to be a star - I just need to be a player who gives his all and can play his role for the team. If I try my arse off every time and submit to the team’s needs, the coach is going to give me a game.”
― Matthew Pavlich, Purple Heart

“Zac Clarke and I carried the big fella off, which was no small task - about 60 kg each! After carrying Aaron I felt like I had done my weights for the week.”
― Matthew Pavlich, Purple Heart

“Ross Lyon: Matthew is a little like the champion racehorse Might and Power - you just need to give him a niggle in the ribs every now and then and away he goes.”
― Matthew Pavlich, Purple Heart

“The Fremantle Football Club has needed me. But I have needed the Fremantle Football Club more - it owes me nothing at all. All the players and coaches who have represented the club, the staff, our sponsors and corporate supporters, our members and fans, and the families of the players - we have all endured. For me looking in the rear view mirror, it’s about celebrating us and our journey, not just one person.”
― Matthew Pavlich, Purple Heart

“Nothing has been handed to myself, or the team, on a platter. The team and I had to work unbelievably hard for every bit of success we have achieved.”
― Matthew Pavlich, Purple Heart

“Despite those struggles, I prefer the difficult and uncertain times like we’ve had. We had to work our way out of it - there was no other way - and as such, it feels earned and it feels right. Gifted success has a veil of worthlessness that no one wants to wear.”
― Matthew Pavlich, Purple Heart