Buti's Call: Western Derby rivalry real, but does it stack up?

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Opinion

Buti's Call: Western Derby rivalry real, but does it stack up?

By Tony Buti

Sporting contests between two rivals in close geographical proximity are often known as a local derby, and some of the most famous across the world come from soccer.

When these arch rivals - such as Inter Milan and AC Milan, Liverpool and Everton, Manchester United and Manchester City and Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid - clash, hostilities can come to the fore, due to cultural, historical and political differences.

Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers have one of the fiercest rivalries in any sport.

Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers have one of the fiercest rivalries in any sport. Credit: EPA

Only last month Everton hosted their more successful neighbours Liverpool (their grounds are separated by less than 2kms) in a game very important to the Premiership aspirations of Liverpool, who are in a battle with Manchester City for the title.

If you think Everton would do their neighbours any favours you are mistaken. The pre-match playlist of Oasis songs was a clear indication Everton was hoping to dent Liverpool’s fight to wrest the title from Man City, the boyhood home of Oasis.

The old adage of the enemy of my enemy is my friend was on full display as Everton displayed unusual joy from the 0-0 result, which may deny Liverpool their long-desired title.

Of course one of the fiercest rivalries in any sport is the Old Firm Derby between the two most successful teams in Scottish soccer, Glasgow clubs Rangers and Celtic.

This local derby is one of the oldest and most fiercely contested in the soccer world and has a history of violence, with pitch invasions and after-game brawls among supporters sometimes resulting in deaths. The rivalry has a religious origin, Rangers the Protestants and Celtic supported by the Catholic population of Glasgow.

Saturday night's Western Derby between West Coast and Fremantle, while not having the history or violent rivalry between the respective supporters as the Old Firm Derby, has witnessed its fair share of flashpoints.

The one that often springs to mind is the demolition derby in round 21 of 2000, which became a lightning rod for passionate arguments among supporters from both clubs in the weeks after.

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Both teams were out of finals contention and the word coming out of the Fremantle camp was that it was time for the team to stand up against their more successful crosstown rivals, having ever recorded only one victory in the first 11 derbies and being hammered earlier in the season by the Eagles to the tune of 117 points.

Docker Brad Dodd gives Eagle Philip Read a left hook during the infamous "demolition" derby of 2000.

Docker Brad Dodd gives Eagle Philip Read a left hook during the infamous "demolition" derby of 2000.

Enigmatic Fremantle forward Clive Waterhouse was reported as saying that “blood was going to be spilled” and by the end of the first half, more punches had been thrown than in many 12-round boxing contests. Four players were suspended for a total of 15 matches and 11 players were fined, with Fremantle’s Dale Kickett the major culprit and suspended for nine weeks for three separate striking charges.

Oh yeah, the Dockers won that game by a solitary point.

But three other Western Derbies stand out for me, more so for the reaction of the supporters.

In Derby 26 in 2007, which the Dockers won by 27 points, the Carr brothers, Josh and Matthew, ganged up on Eagles’ midfield stars Ben Cousins and to a lesser extent Daniel Kerr. They were physically forceful and “in the face” of the esteemed duo but the actions of the Carr brothers did not amount to reportable offences. However, the brothers and other players from both teams were the recipients of fines totalling $14,700 for a third quarter melee.

But the reaction of the Eagles’ supporters at the ground and the days following bordered on hysteria. You would have thought from the level of protestations and the booing of Josh Carr when he collected the Ross Glendinning Medal for best on ground that the Carr brothers had permanently maimed Cousins and Kerr.

The Dockers won Derby 23 in 2006 in a tight game by three points. As a Freo supporter I was over the moon. But my exhilaration was soured by the booing Chris Judd received from some Fremantle supporters when trying to make his speech after winning his third Ross Glendinning Medal.

Maybe call me old fashioned but I was brought up not to boo others. Just shouldn’t happen; Judd was a champion, one of the all-time greats and Fremantle had just recorded a victory against the arch enemy. Time for cheering from the Dockers’ supporters.

Then we come to round 20, 2018, when in the third quarter Andrew Gaff forcefully struck first-year Docker Andrew Brayshaw in the face and off the ball, breaking his jaw.

Brayshaw underwent surgery and Gaff was suspended for eight weeks, missing West Coast's premiership.

Facebook (thankfully not around at the time of the demolition derby) exploded with posts and commentary from rival supporters. I was appalled by some West Coast supporters who sought to make light of the severity of the assault, showing no empathy or concern for young Brayshaw. It smacked of tribalism at its worse.

Gaff's strike and return to the field prompted retaliation from Brayshaw's riled teammates in the last western derby.

Gaff's strike and return to the field prompted retaliation from Brayshaw's riled teammates in the last western derby.

But the Facebook posting by a prominent Perth criminal defence lawyer where he called for Gaff to be charged and convicted of a criminal offence was over the top. It was a surprising post as the lawyer in question is constantly advocating for the rights of those accused for a fair trial and against legislation imposing a more punitive law and order regime.

While the actions of Gaff could have possibly led to a criminal charge, conviction might have proved difficult. But it is for the police to lay charges and the law courts to determine guilt, not the court of public opinion on Facebook.

And now we come to Western Derby 49, this Saturday night at Optus Stadium.

The current ledger stands at 28-20 in favour of the Eagles. Both teams have won two of their first three games this season, although West Coast will start favourites. They are coming off an impressive win against Collingwood while Fremantle are unlikely to have the services of champion skipper Nat Fyfe, knocked unconscious in Sunday’s five-point home victory against St Kilda.

Whether Saturday night is a classic remains to be seen but the game can’t come quick enough for the football mad WA public and respective club supporters.

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