The article discusses the concept of "Wharfie Time," a viral celebration used by the Fremantle Dockers football team during the 2026 season, which involved dimming lights and playing AC/DC's Hells Bells after scoring goals. Despite initial excitement surrounding this unique tradition, it ultimately backfired for the team in the grand final when their use of Wharfie Time just minutes before the game’s end seemed to signal a premature celebration that distracted from their efforts to secure victory against the Brisbane Lions.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-27,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
→
As the bells tolled around the MCG on Saturday, Fremantle fans screamed in exhilaration.
This was finally their moment in the premiership sun after 31 long years of waiting.
asserted
This → toll → waiting
Wharfie Time had arrived, and with four minutes and 18 seconds left on the clock, there was surely no way that the Dockers could bottle this one — particularly with their viral celebration in full swing.
uncertain
celebration → arrive → swing
And then it all fell apart.
asserted
it → fall → ?
You will no doubt have heard about it by now.
asserted
You → hear → it
Before this year the phrase "Wharfie Time" would likely never have passed your ears, and now it's all the AFL world can talk about.
asserted
world → pass → ears
Wharfie Time is a viral celebration the Dockers have been using sparingly in close games at Perth Stadium during the 2026 season.
asserted
Dockers → use → season
It's only ever used after a Fremantle goal, it's only ever used once in a game, and it's designed to get the crowd up and about to inspire the Fremantle players to see the game out as strongly as possible.
asserted
crowd → use → game
The lights in the stadium dim, leaving only an eerie glow of purple, as the bells from ACDC's song Hells Bells toll through the stadium and the words "Wharfie Time" appear on the big screen.
asserted
words → dim → screen
The Dockers have recently gone all-in on embracing ACDC, with former lead singer Bon Scott buried in the area due to his family emigrating there when he was young.
asserted
he → go → area
A guitarist at the top of the stadium starts every game playing Hells Bells, with the whole show being Fremantle's answer to the after goal songs that the Brisbane Lions do, or Port Adelaide fans singing INXS's Never Tear Us Apart before a game.
But what does the phrase 'Wharfie Time' even mean?
asserted
phrase → start → what
It all goes back to former Dockers skipper and now Sydney Swans boss Matthew Pavlich using the phrase in a pre-match rev up in 2009.
asserted
Pavlich → go → 2009
Pavlich was mic'd up before the match and was caught telling his teammates "put on your Superman capes boys, it's Wharfie Time", as can be seen at 39 second mark of the video below.
asserted
it → mic'd → video
When it happened nobody really knew what the hell he was talking about.
asserted
he → happen → hell
The "Wharfie" part was in reference to the dock workers and the club's mascot being the Dockers, but mixing it with Superman capes reference was a little … odd.
asserted
mixing → mix → reference
It went down in viral footy moments folklore, on par with Brett Kirk's infamous "Thanks Basil" speech.
asserted
It → go → speech
The Dockers went on to embrace the quirkiness of it all and started the Wharfie Time celebration this year.
asserted
Dockers → go → celebration
How did it backfire in the grand final?
asserted
it → backfire → final
In the lead-up to the match there had been a heap of talk around whether the Dockers would be allowed to use Wharfie Time at the MCG.
asserted
Dockers → allow → MCG
The Lions and the Cats had been allowed to use their goal celebrations in the 2025 grand final, with Charlie Cameron's Take Me Home, Country Roads celebration a particular fan favourite, often appearing to lift the Lions when they needed it most.
asserted
they → allow → it
On the morning of the grand final, it was finally properly confirmed — the Dockers would be allowed to use Wharfie Time in the 2026 decider.
asserted
Dockers → confirm → decider
Just after confirmation, Brisbane football manager Danny Daly confirmed to ABC Sport's Corbin Middlemas and Ben Cameron that coach Chris Fagan had played the tolling bells to his Lions players in their Friday afternoon meeting.
asserted
Fagan → confirm → meeting
He didn't elaborate further.
asserted
He → elaborate → ?
We then witnessed one of the great grand finals in the history of the game.
asserted
We → witness → game
After an incredible to-and-fro throughout, with 4 minutes and 18 seconds left on the clock, Fremantle's Patrick Voss kicked a goal to put the Dockers up by 17 points.
asserted
Voss → leave → points
The bells started to toll.
asserted
bells → start → ?
Dockers fans went wild.
asserted
fans → go → ?
It felt as if the end was nigh.
asserted
end → feel → ?
And the Lions came back from the dead.
asserted
Lions → come → dead
Legendary Lions coach Leigh Matthews has always said that he thinks the absolute limit of how many goals a team can kick in a particular amount of time is one goal per minute left.
asserted
team → say → minute
Four minutes left.
asserted
minutes → leave → ?
Several Lions players would go on to elaborate on Daly's earlier reveal to ABC Sport, saying Fagan had told them to use Wharfie Time against the Dockers, energising their own game instead.
asserted
Fagan → go → game
"We talked about Wharfie Time and making that our energy [before the game]," Lions midfielder Josh Dunkley said.
asserted
Dunkley → talk → game
"When I looked around at centre bounce and Wharfie Time came on, we all looked at each other, and connected, grew a leg and got it done.
"
asserted
it → look → leg
Other players would say they felt the Dockers thought they had it won, and that you could feel the energy immediately rise in the Brisbane camp.
uncertain
energy → say → camp
Will the Dockers use Wharfie Time again?
asserted
Dockers → use → Time
As ABC Sport writer Dean Bilton wrote in his analysis of the game, "it's cursed forever now, those bells now more likely to trigger an untimely bout of PTSD than to inspire the Freo faithful".
asserted
bells → write → faithful
The Dockers have not confirmed or denied, and we may have to wait until the first close clash at Perth Stadium next year to know if Wharfie Time has been finally laid to rest.
uncertain
Time → confirm → rest
The Aporia
