Perth Footy Live Rd 5: A Grade North Fremantle v Fremantle CBC

~ A Recap by Scully ~

Last Saturday the Perth Footy Live team filled up the long-range tanks, strapped on the bog boards, and threw in an extra fan belt and some hose clamps for the trek down to Gil Fraser Oval to cover the annual grudge match between A Grade North Fremantle and Fremantle CBC. Rocket Man even fancied himself Russell Coight driving across the Swan River, explaining to us on arrival that as each kilometre passed there was one less.

From the moment we hit the home of the North Fremantle Magpies one key phrase was repeated time and time again, and that was rusted on. Not the kind of ‘rusted on’ caused by the chemical bonding of oxygen and iron, but the ‘rusted on’ that bonds one person to one club, and one club to one community. I’m surprised North Fremantle’s colours aren’t brown and orange with so much rusting going on, and judging by the Carlton Draughts consumed over the day, I’m certain there would have been a few rusty Magpies on Sunday morning.

In North Fremantle’s centenary year it was fitting that we started with their president, Tony Misich. Pop a mic in front of Tony and fire off some questions about his beloved club, and magic happens. Tony spoke knowledgeably about the club’s history from around 1901 onwards, explaining that most of their players enlisted in World War I, decimating their numbers. At the insistence of a grieving community desperate for a rowdy sideline rather than a hushed room, the club regrouped again in 1921 and have proudly worn the North Fremantle black and white strip ever since.

Tony spoke with heavy responsibility about how this history shapes the modern culture of the club. “We made a promise to this community, a hundred years ago, that their sons would always be remembered and never be forgotten. Each year when the Colts come in we orient them into the ANZAC spirit and understanding, and that their role now is to take the baton for the next generation.”

When you understand what is woven into the fabric of the Magpies’ guernsey and the legacy that the players carry onto the field every game they play, it becomes clear why they are the oldest amateur club in WA, and why local footy is the lifeblood of a community.

It seemed that service was another running theme throughout our discussions with North Fremantle. Once Tony was done he handed the microphone over to Magpies' patron, Ross McCaffrey, who handed it over to Colts players, half-backer, Ben, and forward pocket, Riley, who handed it over to League coach, Shane Woewodin, and so it went for the rest of the broadcast. Each individual built on the image of a club that thrives on the generational service of its rusted on members.

Fremantle CBC has a selfless club culture too. Brad Grant, the club’s president for the last 18 years, also spoke about the valuable contributions of his members. “We’ve got a wonderful group of life members that chip in and great support around the club, so it makes it still enjoyable to [be president] because you’re never really having to ask people to do stuff, it just gets done.”

In between chats, we did get time to watch the footy. Having run the numbers by looking at the ladder positions before the game, I determined that Fremantle CBC were most likely favourites, but the Magpies had other plans. At least, that is, for three quarters of the match until CBC had the audacity to snatch the win from the centenary club in the closing minutes. I would have loved to see the North Fremantle supporters surge to their feet had they won, because, let me tell you, the Colts were in fine form in the grandstand, no doubt with coaches, Jordan and Conrad, leading the charge.

Not that the footy score mattered too much to the Perth Footy Live team, it was the free feed score at the forefront of our minds, and North Fremantle did not disappoint. The club’s canteen team smashed the competition with the near insurmountable score of 9.85. With steak lasagne and Donna’s homemade caramel slice, you’d literally have to earn a Michelin star to beat the centenary club. So while CBC won the battle, the Magpies still won the war and are now perched and preening themselves on top of the free feed ladder. We also have it on good authority that the canteen food at CBC is shit anyway, which might account for why their president tucked into the butter chicken before the rest of us even had forks in our hands.

As always, the festivities continued in the clubrooms for the fifth quarter, and if you think I go alright around a bar, you should see Mrs Woewodin. Hand her a microphone and she’d have given Tony a run for his money. Actually, Mrs Woewodin epitomised the warm hospitality of the North Fremantle Magpies, and we spent a fabulous day in their wonderful company.

To finish this week’s recap with all the class and style I can muster, I’d like to throw one of my teammates under the bus. Unfortunately, Cam couldn’t join us for some Carlton Draughts after the match so one Craig Wilson took the opportunity to discredit the great commentator, making the claim that Cam was never a recruiter for Hawthorn, he simply confused a kid’s membership pack in the mail for his 70^th birthday present as an employment contract. Happy reading, Cam!

As we all know though, you can’t be a lover of footy if you can’t take a sledge or two, and the Perth Footy Live team does that the best. Perhaps we even need to institute a shameless sledge ladder too?

Next week you’ll find us with some more rusted on local footy diehards, and maybe some commentary team biff, at Karoonda Park live streaming the C3 Brentwood Booragoon versus Ellenbrook match at 2:45 onwards.