Matthew Pavlich openly declares WA as his home and then baulks at his own words, wondering how that can be as he considers his rich family heritage in South Australian sport.
Shannon Hurn, 27 and nearly six years Pavlichâ€[TM]s junior, is slightly more cautious but comes to the same conclusion that the longer he lives in WA, the more connected he feels to his adopted State. For both of them, the weight of a combined 501 games over 26 seasons in careers that started as 18-year-olds is too much to ignore.
â€oeFor a long time now Iâ€[TM]ve felt like Iâ€[TM]ve had dual citizenship,â€ Pavlich mused, having moved to WA in 1999.
â€oeI am a proud South Australian, all my family are there and I loved growing up there. But I strongly identify with being West Australian. Iâ€[TM]ve been here so long now, I call it home. My two children were born in Perth and itâ€[TM]s likely that theyâ€[TM]ll have a long life here in WA. So Iâ€[TM]m a proud West Australian with very strong heritage links to South Australia.
â€oeComing here as a 17-year-old and having those words come out of my mouth even shocks me to be honest. But thatâ€[TM]s the alluring nature of WA, the beautiful weather, the people and all the things that associate with this great State.
â€oeIâ€[TM]ve spent nearly half my life at the Fremantle Football Club and nine of my 16 years as captain. I love Fremantle, Iâ€[TM]ve embraced that and I just love the place.â€
Hurn admitted his thoughts around belonging had also been changed, explaining how the pure power of West Coastâ€[TM]s brand in WA was a hypnotising force for a young interstate draftee.
â€oeI always like going back home to the farm, but the longer Iâ€[TM]m here and as you get older, the more I feel West Australian,â€ Hurn said.
â€oeYou donâ€[TM]t take away from where you grew up and you remember that, but West Coast has had a big history and you donâ€[TM]t take that lightly. Pretty quickly, when you come over here, you take it pretty seriously and you donâ€[TM]t want to let that down.
â€oeEveryoneâ€[TM]s got a bit of a past and a history and weâ€[TM]re certainly proud of that. But you understand that when youâ€[TM]re part of a club, thatâ€[TM]s where your loyalties lie and that will be so for me forever, I think.â€
Rights to the western derby trophy, and the promise of a more lofty ladder finish that will come with it, will divide Pavlich and Hurn tomorrow. But their lives boast clear parallels. They were both big-bodied teenagers who showed in the SANFL that their step up to the gameâ€[TM]s elite ranks would come earlier than most. Their respective fathers, Steve Pavlich and William Hurn, carved out long SANFL careers to be players of note in their own right.
Pavlich had uncles and cousins who followed suit. Hurnâ€[TM]s grandfather Brian was a Sheffield Shield-winning cricketer for SA who once bowled in the nets to Don Bradman.
The pair are perfect poster boys for the fact that the AFLâ€[TM]s dreams of a purely national competition were thriving.
â€oeItâ€[TM]s great to see this national game truly becoming just that,â€ Pavlich said. â€oeItâ€[TM]s long been the AFLâ€[TM]s plan, direction and strategy to make it a truly national game. There are two South Australians captaining the WA teams and when you look at those teams, there are a lot of (interstate) guys who have been brought up or had significant careers in this State.
â€oeItâ€[TM]s a diverse group highlighting the direction in which the game has gone.â€
Hurn said it also proved the strong past links to the Melbourne-based VFL had been significantly loosened.
â€oe  Maybe through the 90s there was still a bit of Victoria against the rest, but I donâ€[TM]t think thatâ€[TM]s the case any more,â€ he said. â€oeThere are two WA teams, two Sydney teams, two Queensland teams and two SA teams. The national competition is what the AFL wants and I think itâ€[TM]s in a pretty good place with how it is.â€
Pavlichâ€[TM]s loyalty to the Dockers is legendary, having snubbed rival offers to move from WA, particularly back to his native SA. If Pavlich wins his race against the injury clock to play tomorrow, as he expects, he will suit up for his 32nd western derby â€" equating to nearly a season and a half in games just against the Eagles. He lost his first, but has won 19 of 30 since and admitted there was plenty at stake as the Dockers strive for their 21st victory in the 42nd clash between the two clubs.
â€oeIt just goes to show Iâ€[TM]ve been around for a while, Iâ€[TM]m not really sure what else that means,â€ he said at the almost bewildering personal statistic.
â€oeWhether itâ€[TM]s top two as it is now, or in years gone by when we were struggling down the ladder, it has always been a big game. This one has a bit more on it with regard to ladder positions and what that means, but both clubs have long moved past anything other than the derby is worth four points.â€
A game of such magnitude looked anything but possible in   April this year when Fremantle booted nine first-quarter goals to West Coastâ€[TM]s none to set up an eventual 30-point win.
That, plus the fact that Hurn has enjoyed victory in only four of his 15 derbies, are factors that donâ€[TM]t sit well with him and has him predicting a fierce contest tomorrow.
â€oeBeing here for 10 years, I know everyone gets pretty excited in a two-team town about who can win,â€ he said.
â€oeYou do treat them as another game, but the intensity is always up in these games. There is probably a little bit more speed in the game and good teams always play pretty hard and tough footy. It will be similar this week.
â€oeWeâ€[TM]ve worked hard this year to get to where we are, so for WA and the way it is, weâ€[TM]re proud of it. But everyone aims to win a premiership and both clubs are in reasonable position to be able to have a crack at that, understanding that there are still four weeks to go.
â€oeThis will be a good game and exciting because if you win youâ€[TM]re a good chance to stay up in the top couple.â€ 
Pavlich, who is yet to reveal whether he will play on past this season, hinted that while he had experienced much in his long career, he wanted to make the most of the positive notes his team was producing.
â€oeItâ€[TM]s been, at times, a tumultuous career and up and down,â€ he said.
â€oeBut realistically, no matter what club you play at, there is going to be some times when youâ€[TM]re up high and times when youâ€[TM]re really struggling. Iâ€[TM]m just another example of that really, but weâ€[TM]ve played in four of the last five finals series and weâ€[TM]re on our way to a fifth out of six. Iâ€[TM]m just really enjoying the group that goes out there each week to represent us and itâ€[TM]s a pleasure to lead them.â€