Purple army crosses the Nullarbor for Fremantle's shot at history
Thousands of Fremantle fans are driving more than 3,000 kilometres across the Nullarbor to Melbourne for Saturday's grand final.
The Dockers, known to supporters as the purple army, will face Brisbane at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. They are chasing the club's first premiership since joining the competition in 1995, after booking their place on Friday night, ABC News reported.
The decider — the one game that settles the whole AFL season — is scheduled for Saturday, 26 September at 2:30pm AEST, which is 12:30pm in Perth, at the MCG, according to the AFL. Fremantle earned its spot in the preliminary final, effectively a semi-final, against Sydney at the SCG at 7:40pm AEST on Friday night.
Many supporters looked at flights and then looked at the road. Airlines added extra flights to Melbourne after Fremantle qualified, but prices also climbed.
So cars, utes and buses are pointing east. Fuel is part of the cost. Diesel at Eucla, the border town on the Nullarbor, was $3.22 per litre on Tuesday, according to FuelWatch, compared with $2.59 for Perth's cheapest diesel.
About a dozen fans left Perth on Monday night on a large purple bus calling itself "The Longmuir Coach". Driver Phil Robbins is at the wheel of the bus, emblazoned with "GO FREO", for the long haul across the desert plain.
Former Docker Hayden Ballantyne is on board. He played in Fremantle's only previous grand final in 2013. Now he is riding with the fans.
Retired Wheatbelt farmer Noel Stone is making the trip with precious cargo. He is carrying some of the ashes of his late nephew Cameron to the grand final at the MCG.
Cameron died in a car accident in 2015. He played football for Corrigin and West Perth. Stone is travelling with Quairading farmer Vincent Hadlow, a St Kilda supporter who will barrack for Fremantle on Saturday.
Others are heading over with no guarantee of getting in. Natasha Cornish, her husband Troy and their 17-year-old son Jayden are driving from Canning Vale to Melbourne without tickets to the MCG.
They are not alone in the scramble. Fremantle ran a member ticket ballot on Saturday, 19 September once the fixture was locked in, and dedicated Dockers and Lions fans have queued in Melbourne amid a ticket frenzy.
The Grand Final Parade is scheduled for Friday, 25 September, starting at 10:30am AEST at John Cain Arena, for fans who make it in time.
What makes this stand out is the distance. Perth to Melbourne is the longest road trip in the game. For fans, this means days in the car for two hours of football — and, if Fremantle wins, a first flag to tell the grandkids about.
