With nerves of steel built on decades of policing, WA’s longest-serving cop Jim Migro has promised a steady hand when he tosses the coin to start tomorrow’s match between Fremantle and Gold Coast at Optus Stadium.

The dead-set Dockers fanatic, who has been a WA Police officer for nearly 53 years and dealt with some of the State’s most fearsome criminals, said the coin-tossing offer was one he proudly accepted. Fremantle have dedicated the match to the men and women of the WA Police force for keeping WA safe.

“It shows how Freo as a club is a part of the community,” the state traffic superintendent, who joined the force as a cadet in 1968, said. “And the bonus for us as an agency is the opportunity to showcase the employment opportunities we have.”

Mr Migro is almost quintessentially a Fremantle person. He had grown up in North Fremantle after his family moved there in 1920 following his grandfather’s tragic death in a mining accident. His father Clem worked on the wharf as a lumper.

He said the life of a Dockers supporter had been a robust ride.

“It’s exciting, it’s different every week ... and Fremantle is the centre of the universe,” he said.

“Being a Fremantle person, I always knew we were going to have a team in the AFL and because of that I never barracked for the Eagles. I only supported VFL teams who had a South Fremantle player in them.”

“We have our ups and downs, but part of being a Fremantle supporter is having the belief that one day we’re going to get there. The ambition is not to die beforehand.”

To mark the occasion tomorrow, WA Police have released a video purporting to show how the match ball has been safely delivered from Fremantle headquarters to Optus Stadium.

The ball goes through the hands of Dockers star David Mundy, Police Commissioner Chris Dawson and several officers from several different force units and even Premier Mark McGowan, who shows as a rugby-loving New South Welshman that he is more adept at eating a kebab than hand-balling.

Watch the video in the player at the top of the page