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S0ME FREMANTLE NOTES.
(By "Little Mark.'')
The hefty gladiators of North, East
and South are girding on their armor
in anticipation of the first trial of
strength, which Is to take place to-
morrow. It Is really astonishing the
intense enthusiasm which is pervading
all districts this year, and it is safe
to assert that the great leather game
will be in greater favor than ever.
Particularly is there a raucous chirrup
from the Magpie suburb, where great
big men from the various football cen-
tres of Australia have been booting the
atmosphere during the past two or
three weeks in the valiant attempt to
get as near to skin and bone as pos-
sible. There have been one or two
minor differences among the Fremantle
clubs, but none of much import.
North and East had a little difference
of opinion about ''Cock'' Wrlghtson,
It happened this way:— ''Cock'' applied
for a clearance to transfer from East
to North, giving as a reason his anxi-
ety ''to help a weaker club.'' East's
committee men wouldn't have it that
way, alleging that it was a matter of
opinion as to the Northern weakness,
and they refused to endorse ''Cock's''
little docket. Now, I fail to see it
quite the Eastern way. This year,
and for many years past, the
famous old blue and whites have been
very strong, and what would the los-
ing of one man meant to them? I hold,
and I always will hold, that if a man
commences to be discontented and
wants to pull up his pegs and shift to
another street— well, let him go, A
discontented, wayward member is of
no use to any club. If he cannot put
his whole heart Into the club's welfare
—fine player though he be— then It's
policy to present him with a first sin-
gle. I have a faint idea rankling In
my mind that East's committee, when
they refused the endorsement, had in
mind North's rather cavalier treat-
ment of Joe Cooper, when they for
three consecutive years refused the
latter's clearance to East Fremantle,
even though he persistently refused to
play with North Fremantle, and all
his sympathies were centred on that
part of the town situated on the south-
ern portion of the river. And it was
the same with Dolph Heinrlchs—
Norths fought hard against his trans-
fer to Easts. Of course, I am one of
those who believe in the Biblical adage
whlch directs one to turn the other
cheek when the first has been smit-
ten, and Easts might well have shown
Norths the royal road to charity and
forbearance by granting Wrlghtson's
clearance. However, the little dispute
aforesaid has been settled by the
League stepping in and refusing the
clearance, so every craft is running in
smooth water again.
Some Fremantle delegates are talk-
ing of taking action In regard to the
behavior of a certain well-known
metropolitan player. This gentleman
is alleged to have, during the past few
months, pjayed the part of the coy
maiden. He would be seen at different
times in company with executive
officers of the various clubs, and the
whisper would go abroad, ''Oh, I see
that - - is playing with — — .''No,
you are wrong.'' would come the reply
from another, ''he Is playing with
--- ,'' and so on, until the gentleman
with the liberal nature would have his
name connected with at least three or
four clubs. Like an industrious but-
terfly, he flitted from flower to flower,
until he finally alighted in a garden
set a hundred miles away from the
Perth Post Offlce. So in the words of
one disappointed delegate—
''There were we waiting at the
church,
Oh, how it did upset us.''
The delegates of some of the clubs
mentioned put their heads together,
and found out that they had all been
promised by the said flitting player
and all beautifully fooled. Not being
true Highlanders, none, of these dele-
gates could see the real humorous
moral underlying this inconsistent
behavior, and they want to tell the
League a lot of little secrets concern-
ing the aforesaid player. I think it
would be better to let well alone. If
the delegates were made to divulge
the methods employed by them In
''feeling'' for this player they might
be hoist on their petard.
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