Right place, right time

Secret Harbour’s Peter McClay speaks to Cameron Palmer 

Few clubs in the Perth Football League have had the structured progression towards becoming a premiership winning club, then the Secret Harbour Dockers Football Club.

Before they were crowned C4 premiers in 2017 to win the clubs first senior premiership, before they entered two senior sides in the Perth Football League in 2013, before they entered a colts side in the Perth Football League in 2011, before renaming and aligning with the junior club in 2010, before that junior club was incorporated in 2004, began the seed of a club with an Auskick program in 2002.

As long standing Secret Harbour Dockers Treasurer Karen Goodbody retells, those early origins remain significant for the Secret Harbour community embracing Australian Rules football.

“We always made the intent at the start that our first under 11’s team in our first year 2004 once we were incorporated was going to be our older age group of kids,” Goodbody said.

“Secret Harbour has created a lot of sports along the way as it’s grown, teeball, surf club and cricket.”

The strength in relationship by having the junior club and senior club so closely connected has been crucial for the community around Secret Harbour. This is a club that has thrived off having so many within the community connected back to the sporting clubs.

As long standing committee member and President Peter McClay explains, the senior club has continued to retain a high percentage of locally produced players and has prided itself on being competitive season in, season out with their own Secret Harbour players.

“To have sustained success to play finals, to go deep in finals says more about your club than winning premierships and I think that is one of the things we can put our hand on our heart, we’ve always been successful, we don’t finish down the bottom, we strive for that success,” McClay said.

“I’ve always said playing footy is about having fun, but I think you have more fun when your winning than when you’re losing.”

Beyond the strength that has come from having a closely aligned junior and senior club, to promote community spirit and provide continued playing stocks, another unique advantage has been picked up by the Secret Harbour Dockers thanks to its close junior ties. After all, not every community club boasts an AFL side as one of its biggest supporters and contributors.

The story of the Secret Harbour Dockers and the Fremantle Dockers forming a unique alliance was a case of right place, right time.

As with most AFL clubs, the Fremantle Dockers continue to innovate and find ways to give back to grassroots and community football. As Secret Harbour was in the process of incorporating, Fremantle were in the process of expanding their alliance club network. The timing was perfect and the Secret Harbour Junior Football Club ran out in the 2004 season wearing Fremantle Dockers jumpers for the first time.

“Timing, fortuitous timing as it turns out,” Goodbody said.

“They were literally looking for partner clubs in junior football clubs, particularly new ones starting out, hence the year that we formed, we had under 9’s, 10’s, 11’s, they wore the old iron man tough Dockers jumpers and for many,  many years they gave us jumpers, we didn’t buy a single jumper.”

While originally the partnership between Fremantle and Secret Harbour was around the promotion of football in the junior club, to Fremantle’s credit they continued to support Secret Harbour footy as a whole. When the club pressed for senior sides in 2010, Fremantle continued their support with jumpers for the senior sides and Secret Harbour returned the favour, officially renaming to Secret Harbour Dockers Football Club.

“What they do for football at grassroots level, I don’t think gets acknowledged enough what they actually do for football,” McCall said.

“They’ve supported our seniors, they’ve supported women’s, they even allowed us to have the Secret Harbour Dockers Cricket Club.”

The Secret Harbour Dockers, the story of how you turn 19 Auskick footballers and a bit of luck with an AFL side into a proud community club.