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The Western Derby is the name given to the Australian Football League match between the Fremantle Dockers and West Coast Eagles football clubs. As both teams are based in Western Australia, the derby term is used to describe the match.

There are two Western Derbies every season. The AFL draw requires that each team plays seven other teams twice and eight other teams once. The AFL spreads around which teams are played twice and which are played once across seasons, but the excitement generated in Perth by, and the monetary windfall associated with the derby, ensures that the there are always two derbies.

Since the Dockers entered the AFL in 1995, the Derby has grown in popularity by Western Australian football fans. As of the end of the 2006 AFL Season, West Coast had won 17 out of the 24 games played in the home and away season.

The Fremantle Dockers won their first Western Derby in July, 1999 and picked up their last victory by 57 points in the 2006 Premiership season played at Subiaco Oval on the 27th of August 2006. 2006 was the first season in which Fremantle won both derbies.

The player adjudged best player in each derby match is awarded the Ross Glendinning Medal, named after former West Coast Eagles player and Fremantle Dockers Chairman of selectors Ross Glendinning.

An infamous derby occurred in round 21 2000. Both clubs were out of finals contention, the derby earlier in the year had recorded the biggest ever margin (Scott Cummings' 10 goals led West Coast to a 117 thrashing) and in the lead up both teams were talking down the importance of the game with the standard line of "it's only worth 4 points". However, Clive Waterhouse indicated that something different might happen by saying that "blood would be spilled".[1]

Before the first bounce, West Coast, through Michael Gardiner, went on the attack, pushing and shoving first year player Matthew Pavlich. The umpires awarded a free kick to Pavlich before the ball was bounced. However West Coast settled and led by 4 goals at quarter time with goals to Phil Read, Andrew Embley and three to Phil Matera. Two goals to Mitchell White, a fourth goal for Matera and one to Chad Morrison in the second quarter saw West Coast go to the half time break a comfortable 32 points in front. Fremantle's forward line was struggling, with only 4 goals to half time, including two to Waterhouse, and singles to midfielders Heath Black and Troy Cook.

At half time, numerous fights broke out which resulted in one of longest tribunal records in recent times. Suspensions and fines handed out were:[2]

• Michael Gardiner for striking Matthew Pavlich, 2 match suspension
• Dale Kickett was suspended for a total of nine weeks on three striking charges on Phil Read and Andrew Embley.
• Brad Dodd for attempted striking Phil Read, 2 matches
• Phil Read for striking Brad Dodd, 2 matches
• Fremantle's Heath Black, Paul Hasleby, Shaun McManus, Clem Michael, Jason Norrish, Jess Sinclair and Andrew Shipp; and West Coast's Ben Cousins, Andrew Embley, Kane Munro, Michael Gardiner and Phil Read were all reported for melee invovlement and apart from Embley and Farmer who were found not guilty, fined between $2000 and $4000 each.

Phil Matera kicked his 5th goal shortly after half time, bringing the Eagles lead to 42 points, but Fremantle surged to cut the margin to 18 points at three quarter time with three goals to Clive Waterhouse and singles to Pavlich and Daniel Bandy. The last quarter saw Phil Matera carried from the ground, not from a repeat of the earlier violence, but by colliding with umpire Steven Handley. A solid, but legal shirtfront by Troy Cook saw Mitchell White also carried from the ground. A six goal to three final quarter including another two to Waterhouse and singles to Koops, Shipp, and ironically Kickett and Dodd saw Fremantle hit the lead by two points. With only seconds to spare the Eagles pushed forward and a loose ball was unable to be gathered in by makeshift forward Darren Glass resulting in a rushed behind and a one point victory for Fremantle, only their 2nd ever in a Western Derby. A humorous review of the game from the Fremantle POV

The following week both teams were beaten well, with Fremantle thrashed by Brisbane by 107 points and Melbourne winning by 70 points over the Eagles at Subiaco.

Source: http://stats.rleague.com/afl/teams/fremantle/allgames_tm.html