2026 AFL Grand Final: Fremantle Dockers’ time has arrived against Brisbane

Fremantle has arrived. Melbourne has turned purple. The dream is 24 hours away.

Coach Justin Longmuir and a squad of 27 players flew out of Perth on Thursday, emotionally and physically turnbo-charged for Saturday’s AFL grand final, each of them inspired by a note left on their lockers by midfielder Andrew Brayshaw.

“The first 22 men to win a premiership at Fremantle will be immortals,” it read.

This is so much more than a game of football.

It’s a life changer.

Coming off the best season in the club’s history which featured a record 12-game winning streak en route to the minor premiership, the Dockers have reached the second grand final in their history the hard way.

A shattering qualifying final defeat by Hawthorn in the wet was followed by a pulsating Wharfie Time-inspired victory over Geelong in the semifinal and a come-from-behind classic over Sydney in the preliminary final.

And now for Brisbane, a team that is aiming for three flags in a row in its fourth successive grand final.

Premier Roger Cook and Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti are among the Fremantle faithful headed to Victoria, along with several other WA cabinet ministers.

The Premier has offered free public transport on Saturday across the entire Transperth network, in anticipation of parties across the city – from Cockburn to Fremantle.

“We’re putting the ‘Free’ in ‘Freo’ this grand final weekend,” he said.

WA Governor Chris Dawson has flicked the switch and turned Government House purple.

“The Dockers have brought great pride and excitement to our State, and I know Western Australians will be cheering them on as they take to the field on the game’s biggest stage,” he said.

A-League team Perth Glory FC sent video shoutouts urging their “brothers in purple” to claim their first piece of silverware.

Thousands of Fremantle fans have made the pilgrimage in planes, trains and automobiles, outnumbering Brisbane fans 3-1.

They have swarmed the ’G and made it their own. They have filled the eateries and pubs. On every corner of the Melbourne CBD there are Freo fans looking at Google maps.

There is a nervous excitement about all of them.

They know what awaits could be among the best days of their lives.

“The mood’s fantastic. It’s a bit of a celebration of where we’ve come from,” said Fremantle legend Shaun McManus, who will present the cup to Longmuir and captain Alex Pearce should the Dockers salute.

“I think a lot of people are seeing it as a moment where they get to witness Fremantle on the big stage. We’re going to see them against the most important team over the last three or four years, so it’s going to be a massive fight. But people are eager to see how it works out.”

McManus, a foundation player, said a victory on Saturday would be sweet reward for all the club’s pioneers over 32 years.

“It was very quirky at the start, different with the purple, and going back to kind of our Italian roots, where the Fremantle heritage is from and they lent heavily on that,” he said.

“We were a team who had nothing to start with. We didn’t get many draft picks. We didn’t have change rooms. We didn’t have club rooms. It took us a long time to be able to find our feet in the AFL.

“We had to pay to be in the competition, which no other team has had to do.

“It was a difficult time, but it was exciting at the same time to be a part of that beginning.

“We probably always thought that it would only take us a few years to get going, and to be where a point where we’re one of the bigger clubs in the pond. It’s taken 32 years.

“It’s taken a fair while to get to this point, so for everybody who’s been diehard and rusted on from the beginning, it means so much more.” And if they win it, how will McManus celebrate?

Big.

“It means a lot to all past players. It means a lot to me to be a part of it and to be out there,” he said.

“I’ll be celebrating massively that night, and I’d imagine for the club there will be a bit of relief too. The fact that they’ve been able to climb the mountain and finally get there.”