AFL grand final: Live coverage of Fremantle Dockers’ Thursday as club ramps up preparations for decider

Former Fremantle recruiter Brent Dawkins flew to Melbourne via Adelaide on Tuesday with his 18-year-old son Jaxon.

He helped to put together the 2013 grand final squad and said he can’t wait to see this team create history.

“It doesn’t feel like 13 years since the last one but you never know when you’ll get back to another one. When you work or play for a club, there will always be a piece of the club in you and I am really looking forward to the game,” he said.

“I’ll be catching up with a few of the guys. I’ve had a few guys reach out who I haven’t heard from in a while, like Adam McPhee. There’s a lot of people coming over. There seems to be a lot more Fremantle people here than Brisbane in the crowd. People seem to have come whether they’ve got a ticket or not.”

When The West Australian spoke to Fremantle fans beginning their trip to Melbourne to see the club’s second-ever grand final appearance, there was one common theme - excitement.

“I bleed purple. There will be tears at the end of the game, either way,” Jody Crothers said at Perth Airport on Wednesday morning.

“I booked last week, just in hope, with the cancellation just in case. I almost cancelled in the third quarter on Friday, but they got us through.”

Dylan Hindle added: ”It’s exciting, and it’s also incredibly nerve-wracking - a bit more nerve-wracking, having seen the weather forecast, but very exciting.”

Just about every Dockers diehard was wearing plenty of purple, including Graham Downs.

“I’ve got the Shauny Mac hat, signed by him, got my scarf, I’ve even got my undies on,” he said.

Unsurprisingly, the fans were unanimous in their consensus Fremantle would win the game and claim their first-ever premiership - and one was even happy to stick the boot into their cross-town rivals West Coast.

“I’m going (with a margin of) 20, with the good Reid getting the Norm Smith,” Peter Baker said.

We knew about Shaun McManus for Freo... but it’s now been confirmed that Simon Black will be Brisbane’s premiership cup presenter should the Lions salute.

Black was of course an integral part of the team that won a hat-trick of flags across 2001-03, including winning the Norm Smith in that latter year.

He won the 2002 Brownlow Medal, was a three-time All-Australian, and played a whopping 322 games at the Lions.

An amazing fact is that McManus and Black are not only both East Fremantle products, but also attended the same school: Corpus Christi College in Bateman.

There’s no shortage of purple on planes flying out of Perth today!

Among the travelling crew is Triple M’s Xav and Katie. It’s 18 years to the week since Xavier Ellis earned a premiership medal, and now, he’ll be watching first-hand as Dockers players try to do the same.

They hit a bit of a mechanical snag in South Australia on Wednesday... but the bus has arrived in Melbourne!

Hayden Ballantyne - the man who provided Freo’s first-ever score in a grand final back in 2013 - is on the ground at the home of footy.

How’s this from a crafty Dockers fan at Melbourne’s Flagstaff Station?

Elsewhere around the Victorian capital, the Footy Fest is starting to ramp up outside the MCG.

The Dockers appear a relaxed bunch as they fly out of Perth.

They’re going over two days before game day - their regular travel routine - in contrast to Brisbane, who arrived in Melbourne yesterday afternoon.

Our man on the ground at Perth Airport, Josh Kempton, reports that the Dockers are taking a squad of 27 to Melbourne - with Brennan Cox among that group.

Brennan Cox’s hopes of making a stunning grand final return have been given another boost after the Fremantle defender was among their travelling party to Saturday’s grand final.

Cox was one of the final Dockers to make their way through Perth Airport’s departure lounge on Wednesday morning, with his son Arlo in tow.

And Brandon Walker, Chris Scerri and Jaeger O’Meara also made the trip, alongside the 23 players to line up in both the semifinal and preliminary final.

Cox, who trained strongly on Wednesday, has not played since the final round of the home and away season, when he suffered a calf injury against Carlton.

He was slated to feature in Sunday’s WAFL grand final for Peel Thunder before later being withdrawn, meaning the season decider against the Lions at the MCG would be his first competitive hit-out for 35 days.

Walker was called up in favour of Judd McVee for Fremantle’s qualifying loss to Hawthorn but injured his ankle in the loss to the Hawks, returning through the State league as the Thunder smashed Claremont at the weekend.

Fremantle’s charter flight was one of eight which left Perth for Melbourne between 8.30am and 10.30am and dozens of Dockers fans gave their side a big cheer as they made their way up to security.

Freo’s players have piled into Perth Airport ahead of their mid-morning flight to Melbourne.

Caleb Serong had his customary pillow under his arm - continuing his usual travel routine - and his teammates appeared relaxed as they got off the team bus and headed into the terminal.

“By holding the Lions at bay with trench-like football, Fremantle can then get the big boys — who have been patchy — to get involved and take care of business at the front end.”

While we await Freo’s airport arrival, here’s what Mick Malthouse has to say about the Dockers’ match-up with the Lions in today’s The West Australian.

The master coach says Justin Longmuir’s side can’t afford to be dragged into a shootout (and that might be helped by an updated forecast of showers and up to 15mm of rain in Melbourne on Saturday).