If you had told me at the start of this year that we would finish 6th, win a final, and bow out to Geelong in a semi, I would take that.

I honestly did not expect us to make the finals this year, so to perform as we did has exceeded most expectations.
Some highlights of a great building season.

1. Barlow: Fremantles recruiting staff have gone from having the worst reputation to the best. Barlow figured in early Brownlow betting….not bad for a first year player. He will be back better than ever in 2011

2. Other young guns: Hill is developing nicely thank you…no one seems to be comparing him to Rich or Nic Nat anymore. DoBoer has decided that being good looking does not mean you cant be tough and throw yourself into contests. Suban and Broughton are developing into fine young players. Walters has shown more than enough to prove he will be a key player moving forward, helping out the brilliant and hard working Ballyntyne and Mayne.

3. Sandi! : Yes he got injured, but he is without doubt the best ruckman in the AFL, taking marks and kicking well when his confidence is up. A gamebreaker.

4. Winning in Sydney convincingly

5. Winning in Brisbane convincingly

6. Pavlich committing for life. Our most important player played the best he ever has in the first part of this year, he will probably play forward more next year as he is less needed in the midfield, prolonging his brilliant career.

7. Filling stadiums: Freo surpassed West Coasts crowds for the first time ever this year. The Purple Army is a great support for the team, something evident in the game against Geelong earlier in the year, where the noise was deafening, and against Hawthorn in our final…where the support spurred the players on.

2011: I am calling it…the Year of the Docker

Postscript: we need to resign Mundy…he has become a premier midfielder…and for a bloke his size, thats important.

As I prepare to speak at Harvest Time Mens Conference this weekend…this is part of what I am sharing from Matthew 15
Jesus turns to them and calmy and nicely gives them an answer right?
No…quite frankly Jesus mans up, he is sarcastic, he is angry, and he puts it straight back on them, you bunch of hypocrites. you lot violate the direct commands of God. forget about some obscure verse, you lot dont honour your mother of father, instead you keep your money for yourself. Now what Jesus is talking about here was the practice of Corban. What the Pharissees did was use a manmade loophole. If you said that land or property was Corban, which means dedicate to God, you did not have to use it, to care for your mum and dad. but what happened was in the year of jubilee, you were allowed to keep it. So they would declare their land or property Corban, which meant they did not have to care for their mum and dad, and later on once they had died or whatever, they would claim it back and use it for themselves…and they were all doing it. Pretending they were religious and good, and all the time not giving a stuff about their own responsibilities.
And Jesus just nails them to the wall.

One of the truly decent blokes travelling in AFL circles.
Cannot wait to see him back in Purple for next years season.

Great song, performed by an underrated band…great message too. Sobering.

Dockers have well and truly surpassed all my expectations for this year.
I would have been happy to have just had a good building year.
But this year we have finished 6th, and won a final.
Most pundits don’t give us a chance against the Cats on Friday….but I hope that Geelong are up to it in their knecks…and who knows…two teams go onto the field.

Either way I wont be questioning Harvey as a coach.

He was right about McPhee when I thought he was dead wrong.

He was right about taking the B Team to Tasmania….when many criticized him heavily.

And the coaching and recruiting team he has assembled around are arguably the most discerning team around…with the players we have picked up.
Barlow, Hill, Silvangi, Morabito, Fyfe……In fact in the game against Hawthorn, a vastly more experienced and some would say ‘tough’ team…Freo fields 10 1st and 2nd year players….and none of them looked out of place as we dispatched the premiers from 2008.

Ads like this used to be the domain of stars from high profile clubs such as West Coast.
The wheel has turned in WA.
Everyone likes a winner…..

When a couple decides to separate or divorce I think something inside them dies.
For most, they realise their is blame to be apportioned to both sides.
For some…blame seems to be directed to their partner solely.

Where it gets really ‘icky’ and painful is when the children are seen as some sort of pawn in a bitter game for power, creditability, reputation or just plain selfishness.

People who use own children as tools in a bitter divorce have stopped thinking about their kids and are being selfish and ultimately self harming.

Because even if you win the battle, you wont win the war. The children will eventually figure out what has happened, and what is going on…even if it takes years.

Husbands….love your wives…..Wives…love your husbands.