Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Fremantle fans turned out at Perth Airport on Sunday hoping to welcome their heroes home but were left waiting after the devastated Dockers quietly slipped out another exit.
The Purple Army was still showing its colours at the airport after Fremantle’s devastating loss to Brisbane on Saturday, with fans telling The West Australian they could not be prouder of the team despite falling painfully short of a maiden premiership.
The Dockers led by 17 points late in the final quarter before Brisbane stormed home to win by seven points and secure their third consecutive premiership.
Fremantle captain Alex Pearce, who suffered an Achilles injury late in the match, was the final player to leave the aircraft at Perth Airport on Sunday afternoon with a lift brought over to the plane to help him off.
The players then boarded two buses on the tarmac and left via a rear Virgin Australia exit, meaning the fans gathered inside the terminal did not get the chance to see them.
While many fans were disappointed not to see the players at the airport, a couple of Dockers supporters managed to catch a glimpse of their heroes waving as they made their way on to the buses.
Among those waiting at the airport was Renee Andrews, who brought her children Samara and Ashton to the airport with a handmade welcome-home sign for the players.
Ms Andrews said she wanted the players to know the result did not change how proud supporters were of them.
“My message would be that I know that you didn’t get there, but we are so incredibly proud of the effort,” she said.
“We just want you to know that it doesn’t matter that you didn’t get there. That we will forever be with you, and we just want you to show that same guts and same passion that you showed through the entire series.”
Ms Andrews said the Dockers should take pride in finishing as minor premiers and making their first Grand Final since 2013, saying the result could ultimately become part of the team’s next chapter.
“You learn from the hardest times,” she said.
“So it’s not what happens, it’s what you do from here and we’re with them every step of the way.”
Ms Andrews said she had “not stopped crying” since the final siren, describing her emotion as a mix of pride and heartbreak.
Fiona Chapman drove 45 minutes from Hilbert to the airport with her husband and three children — all decked out in Fremantle attire.
Having not gone to Melbourne for the game, they were hoping to catch a glimpse of the players at the airport to show their support.
Instead, the family was left waiting as the team took a back entrance.
Ms Chapman said it was understandable if the players didn’t want to greet fans, considering “what the boys went through yesterday”.
“But we are just so super proud of them, they put everything on the line.”
“They absolutely deserved it.”
She was still “a little bit numb” after watching the “heartbreaking” game from home.
Ms Chapman said the family had supported Fremantle for years and would be back behind the team next season.
“We’ve got the boys behind it now,” she said. “They know what they’ve got to do.”
Another fan, Lucy McCormack, had travelled to and from Melbourne solo and was waiting outside the arrivals with her husband and kids also hoping to see the players roll in.
She said the atmosphere at the MCG had been “unbelievable”, with thousands of Fremantle supporters drowning out the Brisbane crowd.
“It was so loud,” she said.
Ms McCormack was sat behind the Fremantle cheer squad when the final siren sounded.
“Everyone was just silent,” she said.
“Head in hands, lots of people crying and hugging.”
The loss was particularly difficult given it had taken Fremantle 13 years to return to the grand final stage.
“I feel like my soul has just left my body,” Ms McCormack said.
“There was a point in the game where the guy sitting next to me, when we got three goals up, he was like, ‘That’s it! Like, we’re gonna do it. We’re gonna do it’,” she said.
Despite the result, she said she remained proud of the team.
“I’m very proud of them, and it was just an amazing season, and they didn’t let us down yesterday,” she said.
“It was so much effort the whole way through. They really wanted it.”
The charter flight carrying Fremantle supporters and some emergency listed players — such as Brandon Walker and Bailey Banfield — was delayed by almost one hour, with fans arriving at Perth Airport while Virgin Australia dealt with widespread cancellations and delays impacting passengers wanting to travel out of Melbourne.
