Fremantle got a shock when they walked off the plane and into Melbourne. An AFL official handed Chris Connolly a note telling them they were allowed to set foot inside Telstra Dome before the opening bounce of the match. It was the first time they’d even been given permission to wander through the carpark there.

Another shock came when they arrived at the ground. As they took their stroll around the ground the players noticed that the surface was covered with a strange grass like substance which, on closer inspection, turned out to be grass. They’d only been invited to play at the Dome in the middle of winter before and had just assumed it was an artificial surface made up of dirt and green paint. ...more