West Coast Eagles supporters are getting worried. This week the Dockers will attempt to make it 6 Derby wins in a row as they continue their dominance of WA football. But it's not the losing that will worry them. Most of them can only count with their fingers and, aside from the 6 fingered Joondalup mutants, on Saturday night they're going to have to put down their glass of chardonnay to keep track.

Last time Fremantle had the bad luck to have to share an oval with the Eagles was just a few weeks ago in the NAB Cup. Fresh from their appearance in the Grand Final, the Eagles went in a couple of players short of their premiership side, against an undermanned Fremantle. The word coming out of Fremantle Oval in the lead up was that they weren't taking the match too seriously, while the Eagles were desperate to put  another one of their pre-season indiscretions behind them, when Daniel Kerr mistook a taxi driver for a piñata. Nevertheless, Fremantle flogged the Eagles, winning all over the ground , showing their class and proving themselves the dominant force in WA football once again. Matthew Pavlich kicked 3 goals and Andrew Browne was best on ground. Chad Jones kicked a couple for the Eagles but they didn't have any players of note.

There are some people who will tell you that pre-season games count for little. Those people are also known as the losers. In Fremantle's case it doesn't matter, they’ve also dominated in the home & away matches in recent memory. Last year they went undefeated in the Derbies. After dropping the Grand Final to Sydney and the London Cup to Fremantle in 2005, then a pre-season Derby in 2006, the Eagles entered Round 6 last year frothing at the mouth, desperate for a win against their home town rivals. It was the season proper and, if you listened to their supporters,  they'd just been taking the Dockers lightly in the meaningless off season stuff. They were sitting on top of the ladder, they'd been forgiven for all the trouble they'd caused society during the off season and this was their moment. But Freo did it again.

Despite the fact the Dockers had just returned from Tasmania and spent most of the week in court fighting the AFL over an incident with a siren, it was still a resounding victory for Fremantle. With that stress handicapping the Dockers, it evened up the contest and made for one of the classic Derbies of all time. It had it all, flashy goals, screamers in the goal square, big hits, dodgy umpiring and even the odd punch up. But it was the superior class of the Dockers that shone through in the end, running rings around the highly fancied Eagles midfield and, despite being without a ruckman for most of the game, overcame the odds to win by 5 points in a thriller. 16.16 (88) to 12.11 (83).

Matthew Pavlich kicked 4 goals. Josh Carr managed 3 and Brent Staker for the Eagles somehow managed to get 3 of his "kicks" to go where he wanted them to. Chris Judd topped the possession count with 18 kicks, 15 handballs, 11 chips and a bit of left over hamburger bun than had fallen over the fence. Josh Carr had 26 devastating possessions and, close behind him was Peter Bell with 23.

There was some controversy in the Clinton Wolf Medal when the local media were given the honour of handing out the votes. Chris Judd picked up the 3 votes as a result but Josh Carr and Byron Schammer managed to sneak in for the placings.

A few months later the Eagles had another shot at the Dockers. Despite Fremantle showing everyone else how it should be done, the Eagles were still sitting on top of the ladder. Fremantle were making a late charge though and, when the Eagles came face to face with the newest contenders for the flag, they ran away like scared little girls. After a close contest early, the Freo boys focused in the second and third quarters, keeping the Eagles goalless and putting through 11  straight to have the gate shut by three quarter time. They cruised in for a 57 point victory, so convincing that the judges even had to give the Ross Glendenning Medal to a Fremantle player. Not by so much that they'd give it to Jeff Farmer, though, with Peter Bell winning the medal but The Wiz taking home the Clinton Wolf Medal Votes. Farmer kicked 4 goals and the now recovering amphetamines addict, Ben Cousins, kicked 3. Ben also had a lot of the ball, despite vomiting at quarter time. He and Josh Carr had 31 touches each.

Because they still control some rocks near Argentina, you'll often hear the poms referring to something called The British Empire. It's the same with the Eagles. They did some things last century that got them a few accolades at the time and have struggled to update their self image from that time.

So, yes, there have been some times when the Eagles have beaten the Dockers. Their last win was back in 2005 when they were lucky enough to catch an undermanned Fremantle in Round 20. Despite Luke McPharlin and Matthew Pavlich dominating the goal kicking, West Coast fell over the line by 48 points. Former ketamine taker, Daniel Kerr, Chad "Flat Line" Fletcher and Chris "It's Only a Matter of Time" Judd topped the possession count and the Brownlow votes went to Kerr, Judd and Michael Braun but it was a clean sweep for the Dockers in the Clinton Wolf Medal with Grover, Pavlich and Cook taking the honours.

As you've probably been told by now, that was the Eagles 17th Derby win. Saturday looks like making it 8 wins for the Dockers and should put Chris Connolly over the top of John Worsfold with a 6-5 record up for grabs.

Last week the Eagles made guests of wooden spoon favorites, Collingwood, in a rare trip for the Magpies outside of Victoria. Collingwood took it right up to the Eagles but, down a couple of key players and with their overall lack of talent to cover for, they fell short by a couple of kicks. David Wirrpanda kicked 3 goals and Daniel Kerr was at his high energy, high endurance best with 36 touches. It was their second win for the season after they managed to beat the quickly deteriorating Sydney in a low scoring game of rugby.

Fremantle are yet to open their account this season after close matches against quality opposition. Last week they travelled to the shifting surface of the Telstra Dome where they met a full strength and inform Essendon. Fremantle didn't let the absence of several key layers hold them back and, but for some highly suspicious blows of the whistle, would have come back with the points. They will, however, take comfort in the fact that last time they lost to Essendon at the Dome before a Derby, they beat the Eagles by 14 points and played in the finals the next week.