WA Day Foundation Derby Countdown – 7 days to go

THE Foundation Derby on WA Day is always the biggest occasion of any WAFL season outside of finals and South Fremantle is guaranteed of heading into the clash with East Fremantle at Fremantle Community Bank Oval on top of the ladder.

The Sharks could very well be second too depending on what happens this weekend while the Bulldogs have the bye leading into the clash.

We are going to countdown to the Foundation Derby on WA Day, which falls on Monday June 6 by taking a look at 15 of the greatest wins by South Fremantle over East Fremantle on the famous occasion.

NUMBER 15 – 1978
South Fremantle 21.13 (139) defeated East Fremantle 14.14 (98)

NUMBER 14 – 2006
South Fremantle 35.13 (223) defeated East Fremantle 9.12 (66)

NUMBER 13 – 1959, 1960, 1961
1959 – South Fremantle 12.17 (89) defeated East Fremantle 11.12 (78)
1960 – South Fremantle 11.7 (73) defeated East Fremantle 10.12 (72)
1961 – South Fremantle 7.15 (57) defeated East Fremantle 7.8 (50)

NUMBER 12 – 1907
South Fremantle 6.8 (44) defeated East Fremantle 4.9 (33)

NUMBER 11 – 2007
South Fremantle 15.15 (105) defeated East Fremantle 13.13 (91)

NUMBER 10 – 2008
South Fremantle 18.11 (119) defeated East Fremantle 14.6 (90)

NUMBER 9 – 2003
South Fremantle 13.9 (87) defeated East Fremantle 13.8 (86)

NUMBER 8 – 1990
South Fremantle 12.13 (85) defeated East Fremantle 11.6 (72)

NUMBER 7 – 1992
South Fremantle 12.19 (91) defeated East Fremantle 10.11 (71)

The biggest WAFL crowd since 1990 turned out at Fremantle Oval for the Foundation Day Derby on Monday June 1, 1992 with 18,130 watching on one of the most hyped modern WAFL contest in what would prove to be a grand final preview.

With South Fremantle sitting second on the ladder, trailing only East Fremantle who sat on top, this was a top of the ladder match built as two WAFL heavyweights going toe to toe.

The match itself delivered on the enormous pre-match build with a tight, tense contest that was not decided until midway through the last quarter.

Though South Fremantle led at every change and controlled the game for large portions, they could never really shake East Fremantle.

Part of this inability came from inaccurate goal kicking as a return of 2.8 in the third quarter gave East Fremantle the chance to work back into the contest.

Fortunately, courtesy of a five goal to two final quarter, South Fremantle was eventually able to pull out a 20-point win to the delight of the red and white supporters.

It was the big men that would create the most impact on the scoreboard for South Fremantle with Warren Campbell and Craig Edwards each kicking three goals while Jason Spinks kicked two.

Some of the great names competing in this contest for South Fremantle were Paul Mazurek, Steve Pinzone, Nick Caputi, Chris Pobjoy, Frank Morrellini and Ned Fimmano, highlighting the diversity of South Fremantle teams throughout derby history.

Also competing in this match was South Fremantle games record holder Marty Atkins. This would be game 31 for Atkins, in a career that ended up stretching for another decade and another 235 games. This one was notable as the first Foundation Day Derby win of Atkins career but would not be his last.

This match was a sign of what was to come through the 1992 season, as South Fremantle and East Fremantle dominated the year and finished the home and away season first and second.

With the competition having moved to a final five, South Fremantle had a big win in the qualifying final against Swan Districts and moved straight through to the grand final by beating East Fremantle in the second semi-final a week later.

The tables were turned on grand final day, though, as East Fremantle went on to win the premiership with South Fremantle having to settle for the runners up finish in 1992.