Then suddenly, a blinding lightning bolt in the form of a yellow football blasted from a player’s right boot, through the goal posts and into my heart.
It was 2003, round 22 – that unforgettable August night when Freo Dockers’ small forward Paul Medhurst’s goal sealed the club’s biggest victory; a Western Derby win over archrivals West Coast, cementing Freo’s first-ever AFL Finals appearance.
Whenever Carlton Mid Derby Week is here, you can’t help but gleefully reflect on such an epiphany. And it’s a good bet that come this derby, you won’t be able to remain seated once the ball is bounced. The heat of the Freo v Eagles rivalry remains irresistible.
“It’s the atmosphere of the game. It seems like everybody’s committed that day,” says Shaun McManus, the former Freo co-captain whose 22 possessions, six tackles and two goal assists were vital in the 2003 round 22 Derby and also famously played the last of his 228 games in a 2008 Carlton Mid Derby.
“When we came in [the AFL] the Eagles were such a success and they wanted to show they were the big team in town.
“We wanted to show them and our fans that we were the real deal,” McManus says.
Peter Bell, Freo’s captain in 2003, says the club’s fans were instrumental in helping them through the must-win game to earn a spot in the finals.
“It was an away derby, but our crowd willed us to put on a competitive performance,” Bell says.
“They were very passionate fans who, at that point, didn’t have a whole lot to cheer about. There was a pocket of people there that we got a lot of inspiration from.”
McManus admits it’s tough being removed from the electric derby atmosphere he experienced as a player. In this year’s round 1 Carlton Mid Derby, he lined up alongside the current Freo players for the playing of the Australian National Anthem and to ceremoniously present the match ball to the umpires.
Even in his suit and dress shoes, McManus appeared to glare at the assembled Eagles directly across from Freo.
“I was ready to rumble,” McManus says.
“I wish I could’ve had my jumper, shorts and boots on.”
McManus – already a Derby legend for courageously kicking a goal in 2001 from a free kick after being cleaned up by West Coast’s David Wirrpanda’s concussion-inducing hip-and-shoulder – endeared himself to me in the first finals berth-clincher by setting up key goals.
In the first term, McManus’ desperate handball to Jeff Farmer allowed him to kick a goal and theatrically blow kisses toward the stands.
“He got the crowd fired up,” Bell reminisces with a laugh, about the teammate he played with as far back as childhood.
“He lifted both the team and the crowd.”
In the third term, with Freo trailing 60-56, McManus set up Bell’s match-winning goal, giving the team the lead it never relinquished.
With inspiring players to barrack for and a passionate throng of livewire fans, the emotional bond was established that night.
When Medhurst leaped and threw his jubilant left jab in the air after the goal, it symbolised the Freo Dockers knocking the Eagles from their perch and vanquishing nearly nine years of footy frustration.
“The Dockers’ ship has come in,” the television commentator said.
And so had mine.
