Some of the weird and wonderful numbers entering blockbuster clash between West Coast & Freo

Most people are aware of West Coast’s 33-28 all-time win-loss edge over Fremantle, and the Glendinning-Allan Medal feats of Caleb Serong and Paul Hasleby. But what are some of the lesser-know stats and facts as we enter Derby 62? We are in the midst of a streak of 14 consecutive double-digit margins in derbies – the longest such run in history. The most recent derby decided by single digits was West Coast’s eight-point win in the first-ever clash between the teams at Optus Stadium in 2018, while the last one with a margin of a solitary kick was the 2011 one-point thriller that featured Hayden Ballantyne’s late miss. A Freo win on Sunday would see Justin Longmuir shed his longstanding negative record against West Coast. Longmuir has a career clip of 11-12 as a player and senior coach, and has never had a win-loss record of 50 per cent or greater since making his AFL debut. The Dockers have won the final quarter in each of the past eight derbies, by an average of 16 points. Mason Cox is set to be the first recycled AFL player to make their club debut in a derby since 2013. That year saw ex-Power speedster Danyle Pearce play his first Freo game in a derby win, and ex-Saint Jamie Cripps and ex-Demon Cale Morton make their Eagles debuts on the derby stage. Cox has never lost a home-and-away match at Optus Stadium. He’s got six wins and a draw at the venue, with his sole defeat there coming in the 2018 qualifying final loss to West Coast. Almost a decade on from his retirement, Matthew Pavlich still holds the derby records for most games (34), most goals (61), most goal assists (23) and most behinds (35). Some of the more unlikely derby stat record holders: Brett Peake has the most career bounces in derbies (39), Matt Rosa gathered the most disposals in a derby with 43 in 2012, and Mark Hutchings set the mark for most tackles in a derby with 16 in just his sixth AFL game in 2013. The current player with the most flawless win-loss clip in derby clashes is fringe Docker Nathan O’Driscoll, who is 5-0 against West Coast. Fraser Gehrig has the best overall mark after winning in all 10 of his derby appearances before leaving the Eagles for St Kilda. West Coast have a 62 per cent winning record (23 wins, 14 losses) in derbies held on a Sunday, while that clip drops to just 39 per cent (9 wins, 14 losses) for Saturday derbies. The Eagles won the sole non-weekend clash in derby history, held on a Friday night in 2005. Fremantle have won four straight AFL games – their longest winning streak heading into a derby since the second local clash of 2015. No.3 is the most common jumper number to achieve Glendinning-Allan Medal success, saluting on seven occasions between four for Caleb Serong and three for Chris Judd. There have been five medals each for jumper No.4 (Paul Hasleby four and Sean Darcy), No.17 (Josh Kennedy three and Guy McKenna two), and No.27 (Lachie Neale three and Glen Jakovich two). Shane Parker played in the most derbies (22) without ever kicking a goal. At the other end of the scale, Scott Cummings has the most potent goalkicking clip in derbies with 4.75 per game, largely thanks to his haul of 10 in the first derby of 2000. Cummings remains in the all-time top 10 for western derby goals, with 19, despite featuring in just four derbies. Cooper Duff-Tytler will be looking to become the first player with a hyphenated surname to taste derby success. Leigh Wardell-Johnson and Sam Petrevski-Seton were winless in a combined five derby appearances. The surprising player with the best average of Brownlow votes per game in derbies is former Eagles big man Ilija Grgic, with 1.5 per game thanks to getting top votes from the umpires in the first of his two derby appearances in 1997. Serong (1.3) and Guy McKenna (1.2) are the only other players to average more than one vote per derby. With 13 career Brownlow votes in derbies, Serong is two votes shy of Daniel Kerr’s tally of 15 for the most votes in derby history. Despite his stellar record against Fremantle, Kerr never won a Glendinning-Allan Medal.