Thousands of footy fans cheer Hawthorn and Fremantle in Grand Final parade
THOUSANDS of footy fans have packed Melbourne streets for the AFL Grand Final parade.
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THOUSANDS of footy fans have packed Melbourne streets for the AFL Grand Final parade.
Hawthorn and Fremantle fans have turned out in force for the annual parade, cheering on their sporting heroes ahead of tomorrow’s Grand Final.
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Players from both teams have been met with cheers and applause from spectators as they were driven through the CBD, adding a bit of theatre to Grand Final week before the main dance at the MCG tomorrow afternoon.
Bad weather was forecast for the parade all week but when the moment arrived Melbourne turned on some of its best with blue skies and sunshine bathing spectators and players alike.
With marching bands playing their club songs and city traffic brought to a standstill, Hawthorn and Fremantle players and Brownlow Medallist Gary Ablett have been ferried in the back of utes alongside balloons the colour of their teams.
Hawthorn players, many sharing the experience with their children, entered to huge applause.
Dockers stars entered to cheers and jeers.
The parade has taken its traditional route, commencing at 12 pm in St Kilda Road, adjacent to the Arts Centre Melbourne, travel north into Swanston Street, before turning right into Collins Street.
Dockers fan John Caskey came from Perth to take in the parade ahead of the big game.
"At my count there must be 30,000 fans in town," he said.
"It's great to see all the purple."
Kel Kerrigan, a Hawks fan from Brighton, said he was "supremely confident" of a brown and gold victory.
"Hawks by 27 points," he said.
The parade will conclude at approximately 12.45pm with the presentation of the teams to the public on the steps of the Treasury Building.
Among the masses were Jenny and Herb Barlow, proud parents of Michael Barlow who will compete in his first Grand Final for Fremantle tomorrow.
A purple haze has descended on Melbourne with Fremantle fans ready to take over the MCG and take home the premiership spoils.
Their team may be playing on white on Saturday but thousands of Dockers fans in Melbourne for Saturday’s Grand Final are determined to paint the town purple in a defiant show of strength for their team.
The interstate raiders continue to flood into town from Tullamarine airport and via the Nullarbor to witness Fremantle's first Grand Final in the club's 19-year history.
Yesterday, Hawthorn great Peter Knights said the team was determined to avenge its Grand Final loss to Sydney last year.
"They really want to make sure they go all the way on Saturday," he said.
Hawthorn president Andrew Newbold said the club was "up for the challenge" of facing Fremantle.
"Everyone keeps talking about this purple haze but to me it looks like a sea of brown and gold," he said.
"Go the Hawks."
Grand goals on game's biggest stage
Meanwhile, Fremantle players and coach Ross Lyon left a rock star farewell at Perth Airport yesterday afternoon to board a Virgin flight to Tullamarine ahead of their showdown with Hawthorn.
They followed hordes of Freo fans making the trip this week for the chance to witness premiership glory for the first time since their club entered the AFL 19 years ago.
Most will take the quickest route like their footy heroes - the three and a half hour flight from Perth.
But others are travelling by bus - a painful 35-hour trip across the Nullarbor.
Plenty of Dockers supporters are already making themselves known to Melburnians by wearing their purple guernseys.
Fremantle supporter Meagan Timms, 21, said she was thrilled to be able to farewell her heroes at the airport before heading to Melbourne herself.
"I got my flights booked a few weeks ago so it's a really exciting time," she said.
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