Mosman Park prides itself on being between the river and the sea and I reckon you could see both from the scoreboard.

The ground is the home to the Mosman Park Football Club that has been around in one form or another since 1906. This year they have teams in C3, reserves and colts. In the summer it’s used by the Fremantle Mosman Park Cricket Club.

We were there for a promotion of the book Derby by David Whish-Wilson and Sean Gorman. The book looks at games between the Fremantle Dockers and the West Coast Eagles through the eyes of fans – 36 of them. The derby (pronounced dur-bee) is, according to veteran broadcaster Dennis Cometti, “… the best in the AFL.”

The authors rounded up 18 Dockers fans and 18 Eagles to talk about the derby and they got more than they were hoping for – especially a clear connection to the WAFL. A reminder of the fact that footy was well and truly part of the scene in WA before the coming of the Eagles in 1987 and the Dockers in 1995.

The promotion, a photoshoot for the local Community Newspaper group got off to a disastrous start with Gorman doing a hammy in a pre-shoot kick-to-kick with one of the book’s subjects Jesse Dart. Luckily the book is finished so Gorman’s injury won’t derail the project.

Derby, published by Fremantle Press, is in bookshops now. It will be officially launched on derby day. I’ve read half of it – it’s wonderful.