When Fremantle departed the field and made hay for the rooms after another triumphant western derby, it was not captain Alex Pearce, nor Glendinning-Allan Medalist Caleb Serong, holding the trophy.
Instead, it was debutant Isaiah Dudley who had the honour bestowed upon him by Pearce, who told the small forward it was a tradition for a new face to walk in with the trophy.
It is a memory which will stay with Dudley for a long time to come, the icing on the cake of a memorable debut which included two classy first quarter goals, six score involvements and four inside 50s.
And the South Australian’s debut was made even more special by the arrival of 20 family members and friends who travelled interstate to watch Dudley’s lifelong dream come true.
“It’s pretty special and incredible. They’ve been every step of the way with me and my journey, so having them on my special day was pretty amazing,” Dudley said.
“Five minutes after it got announced, I rang my mum straight away, and it was pretty special. They booked flights straight away.”
While there were some customary pre-game nerves, Dudley said his family and teammates helped him quickly settle into the swing of things.
“My heart rate was pretty chilled. I hung out with a lot of family, so that took my mind off the game, and then all the boys here were helping me, guiding me, giving me advice,” he said.
“Once I got my first touch here, everything just went away, and I just played footy.”
Dudley moved interstate on a wing and a prayer in the off-season, arriving at Fremantle as a train-on player in December, and the former SANFL goalsneak admitted the first few weeks were tough before the Dockers signed him on a permanent deal in February.
Dudley’s teammate Serong said the mere presence of the crafty small forward’s friends and family in the Fremantle rooms pre-game gave everyone a lift.
“He’s crafty. He has got some tricks. I am so happy for him. He’s come in, he’s moved away from his family and gave his all in trying to get a spot and nothing was guaranteed,” Serong said.
“He has worked his backside off. To see his family in the rooms tonight and how much it means to them… his mum, his grandma, when he got his list spot, they came over here before the All Stars game. You could see how much it meant to him and to them.
“It gave us so much energy and lifted us. To see him go out there and kick a couple today and get some reward for effort, he is a player.”
Dudley said coach Justin Longmuir’s pre-game message was to bring pressure, and it was a message not only he heeded, but one his teammates did too.
“We knew that if we kept pressuring them, they were always going to hack it back to us. We had the backs and mids set up pretty well and then we always knew we were going to play front half footy,” he said.
“I found the pace pretty good, I thought it’d be a lot quicker but it was actually enjoyable and obviously that helps when we were on top and then pressuring them.”