AFL’s ‘poor cousin’ was set up to fail... but still found its ‘soul’: Inside ‘crazy’ 31-year rise

AFL The AFL’s ‘poor cousin’ was set up to fail... but still found its ‘soul’ — Inside Freo’s ‘crazy’ 31-year rise Longmuir praises battle-hardened Dockers | 12:39 Courtney Walsh from Fox Sports September 23rd, 2026 4:17 pm As former Docker Robbie Haddrill was pondering the remarkable influence his good mate Justin Longmuir has had on Fremantle over a beer on Saturday, his phone buzzed with a message.

It was his mum, Marge, writing from the family farm situated in the Western Australian wheatbelt gently ribbing him for the enduring heartbreak Haddrill had inflicted on the family through his connection with the grand finalists.

Haddrill grew up about an hour away from Longmuir’s farm near Koorda, another small wheatbelt town, and would catch the school bus each day with now Port Adelaide coach Josh and Matt Carr, both former Dockers as well.