Photo via The Sydney Morning Herald

Why Dockers fans are putting tape on their team’s guernseys

Read the original at The Sydney Morning Herald ↗
Cite

Myles, C., & Thompson, H. (2026, September 23). Why Dockers fans are putting tape on their team’s guernseys. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/national/western-australia/why-dockers-fans-are-putting-tape-on-their-team-s-guernseys-20260923-p60zv9.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Sydney Morning Herald · collected 2026-09-23 · by Cameron Myles, Holly Thompson

Quick Summary

Fremantle MP Josh Wilson has joined Dockers fans protesting against Woodside Energy’s sponsorship of the team by covering up the logo on his guernsey. This move follows a similar action by fan and musician Kevin Parker during a U.S. concert, part of an ongoing campaign to pressure the club into dropping Woodside’s sponsorship due to environmental concerns. The campaign includes activists altering public murals and projecting messages onto buildings owned by Woodside. Despite these efforts, Woodside remains committed to its long-term partnership with Fremantle Football Club, highlighting the divide between fan sentiment and corporate support.
Written by AI on 2026-09-23, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Josh Wilson, a Fremantle MP and fan of the Fremantle Dockers football team, has joined protests against Woodside Energy's sponsorship by covering up the Woodside logo on his Dockers guernsey. This action reflects broader environmental concerns and aligns with the City of Fremantle’s policy against fossil fuel advertising. Wilson’s stance puts him at odds with some Labor colleagues who support extending Woodside’s North West Shelf gas project, viewing natural gas as essential for transitioning away from coal power. The protest highlights tensions within political circles regarding energy policies and environmental activism in Australia.

Written for “Dockers Fan Protest” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Dockers Fan Protest
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans strongly left and hedges 15% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 3 of 74 claims Outlet record 68/100
“Article A discusses a protest against Woodside's sponsorship of the Fremantle team, while Article B provides match results leading up to and including the grand final.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
20
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
15%
3 of 20 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
61/100
The Sydney Morning Herald's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-23 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Sydney Morning Herald · 5572 article(s) · 15 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 15 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Cameron Myles
8 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 Another $5 million will be spent this financial year on shark mitigation, bringing the total to $12 million, in the wake of a horror fatal attack at Sorrento Beach last month.
🔮 On Monday, the Town of Cambridge revealed all beaches in the local government’s boundaries would remain closed for another 24 hours after water samples taken at the end of last week revealed high levels of the bacteria E. coli at City Beach, City Beach North and Floreat Beach.
🔮 On Tuesday, WA Fisheries Minister Jackie Jarvis said the decision to take the whale carcass to a tip was made out of concern it would break up and attract more sharks to the area if it were towed out to sea.
🔮 Of the West Australian 1000 households surveyed in mid-August, 20 per cent said they had been unable to pay their bills on time, and about half reported they would cut discretionary spending to offset cost-of-living concerns.
🔮 “WA Police thank the thousands of patrons who enjoyed the event safely and responsibly and remind the community that violence and antisocial behaviour will not be tolerated,” the police spokesperson said.
🔮 The move could put Wilson at odds with his Labor colleagues, both federal and state, who have approved a major extension to Woodside’s North West Shelf gas project, and have been open about their support for gas to play a big role as the nation moves away from coal-fired power.
🔮 The City of Perth faces yet another inquiry as it battles to overcome “fractured working relationships” and “ongoing governance issues” plaguing the council Local Government Inspector Tony Brown revealed the commencement of his formal inquiry after addressing councillors and city staff at a behind-closed-doors meeting on Monday evening, where he presented them with the findings of a five-month probe that began with the appointment of former Kwinana mayor Carol Adams as a monitor in January.
Also by Cameron Myles
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 8 articles by Cameron Myles →
Holly Thompson
15 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 “The letter outlined how the EPA was so concerned about the proposal, it bought in independent experts to peer-review Woodside’s claims dismissing potential impact on threatened species, including green sea turtles and pygmy blue whales,” Roberts said. “The EPA also expressed deep concerns about the risk of oil spills from the Browse gas to North West Shelf proposal, saying these events could have irreversible, catastrophic consequences for Scott Reef, Rowley Shoals and the Kimberley Coast.
🔮 The first story alleged Poland coached a contact on how to engineer a land swap deal with the WA government that would see “toxic soil” from a Metronet project dumped and buried in exchange for a sand mining operation.
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🔮 Whitby was one of several WA politicians expressing dismay and shock after Victorian Independent MP Helen Haines was hit by a car on Monday afternoon in what appears to be a targeted attack.
🔮 “Especially when I was younger, I was really looking at other young people my age and seeing them hanging out with their friends or travelling or socialising, and I couldn’t explain to them that I do want to join you guys, but I have responsibilities that I have to go home to,” she said.
🔮 A leader of one of the state’s major universities says the institution will “vigorously oppose” a planned merger of Curtin, Murdoch and the University of WA after the Cook government announced it will progress a business case to create a mega-university.
🔮 “The land won’t be able to support farming because nothing will grow, and all those native plants will be gone too.
🔮 About 9.20pm on August 12, it will be alleged an orange McLaren MA3 coupe was detected by a camera travelling at excessive speed northbound on Forrest Highway in Binningup, at an alleged speed of 259 kilometres per hour.
🔮 Collins said he had believed he would never be able to afford a suitable home after moving back to Perth, following a stint in Broome living in government-assisted housing through his work.
🔮 It developed five actions it would like the government to take, including investing $2 million per year on early intervention, and a further $350,000 to create a dedicated plan to end child and youth homelessness across the state.
Also by Holly Thompson
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 15 articles by Holly Thompson →

Topics

City Dockers Labor The City of Fremantle Woodside

Subjects

Dockers ORG · 9× Woodside ORG · 8× The City of Fremantle ORG · 4× City ORG · 3× Wilson PERSON · 3× Labor ORG · 2× Australia GPE · 1× Fremantle GPE · 1× Freo GPE · 1× Josh Wilson PERSON · 1×

Narrative

“The City of Fremantle does not support advertising of or by companies involved in production or supply of fossil fuels on property owned or managed by the City and will not accept sponsorship funding from companies involved in production or supply of fossil fuels.” Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-23
🔮 The move could put Wilson at odds with his Labor colleagues, both federal and state, who have approved a major extension to Woodside’s North West Shelf gas project, and have been open about their support for gas to play a big role as the nation moves away from coal-fired power.
2026-09-23 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Why Dockers fans are putting tape on their team’s guernseys · assertive framing

Claims (20 extracted, 3 hedged)

Fremantle MP Josh Wilson is the latest Dockers fan to jump on a protest against oil and gas giant Woodside’s sponsorship of the club ahead of this weekend’s grand final match. asserted
Wilson → jump → match
The federal Labor MP, who was taken to the wire by an independent campaign at the last election, was pictured wearing a Dockers guernsey with the Woodside logo covered up in a widely circulated social media post. asserted
who → take → post
In a statement, Wilson said the picture in question was a family photo, and “when I wear my Dockers gear I just want to show my support for Freo”. asserted
I → say → Freo
“This week is all about the opportunity to see the Dockers compete on the last Saturday in September, but it’s great that Australia is a place where people have the freedom to express their view and values through a range of creative and peaceful campaigns,” he said. asserted
he → see → campaigns
The move could put Wilson at odds with his Labor colleagues, both federal and state, who have approved a major extension to Woodside’s North West Shelf gas project, and have been open about their support for gas to play a big role as the nation moves away from coal-fired power. uncertain
nation → put → power
It echoes a similar protest by the Dockers’ No.1 ticketholder, Tame Impala frontman Kevin Parker, whose love for his hometown team has been on full display as the band tours the United States. asserted
band → echo → States
Parker was pictured during a concert at Ball Arena in Denver wearing a Dockers top – again, with the Woodside logo covered over by tape. asserted
logo → picture → tape
The protests form part of a growing campaign that has reignited calls for the club to drop Woodside’s sponsorship, following in the footsteps of a similar push in 2023, before the Dockers inked another two-year sponsorship deal the following year. asserted
Dockers → form → deal
The Get Off My Chest campaign has also sprayed over the Woodside logo on a mural of players Michael Walters and Nat Fyfe that adorns the wall of the Fremantle Markets tourist hotspot. asserted
that → get → hotspot
And, with the help of a projector last week, the activists broadcast another message below the giant “Wharfie Time” banner hanging from Woodside’s Perth headquarters, adding “for a gas tax” to the side of the building. asserted
activists → broadcast → building
For its part, Woodside has shown no intent to back down from its long-running sponsorship of the team, despite the pressure. asserted
Woodside → show → pressure
“We love our partnership of more than 15 years with the Fremantle Football Club and it’s great to see the success the club is having this year,” a spokesperson said when asked about Wilson’s photo. asserted
spokesperson → love → photo
“We’re looking forward to continuing our work together.” asserted
We → look → work
Still, if fans flocking to the port city on Saturday are desperate for a reprieve from the oil and gas giant’s advertising, they may find solace in the (mostly) environmentally conscious local council’s policies. uncertain
they → flock → policies
The City of Fremantle adopted a policy last year that “does not support advertising of or by companies involved in the production or supply of fossil fuels owned or managed by the City”. asserted
that → adopt → City
“The City of Fremantle does not support advertising which specifically promotes fossil fuels on property owned or managed by the City,” the policy states. asserted
policy → support → City
There is a caveat that fossil fuel ads may be displayed during or to promote an event as part of a sponsorship agreement, but it must not be displayed more than 48 before the event, and must be removed within 48 hours of the event’s conclusion. uncertain
it → be → conclusion
It’s worth noting that Fremantle Oval, in the heart of the CBD, where thousands of Dockers fans will converge on Saturday, is owned by the local council. asserted
thousands → ’ → council
“The City of Fremantle is firmly focused on delivering a great Grand Final day experience for Dockers fans this Saturday,” a City of Fremantle spokesperson said. asserted
spokesperson → deliver → Fremantle
“The City of Fremantle does not support advertising of or by companies involved in production or supply of fossil fuels on property owned or managed by the City and will not accept sponsorship funding from companies involved in production or supply of fossil fuels.” Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. asserted
City → support → stories
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