Fremantle Oval
Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia
Fremantle Oval, Fremantle, Australia — opened 1895 (Crown grant approved 1894; Victoria Pavilion opened 6 November 1897), 1 rugby league games hosted, home of South Fremantle Football Club (WAFL) since 1900; also historically Fremantle FC/Imperials (1895-1899) and East Fremantle (1898-1952, with a gap); used by the Fremantle Dockers (AFL/AFLW) for administration, training and AFLW matches since the 1990s.
Ground facts
| Opened | 1895 (Crown grant approved 1894; Victoria Pavilion opened 6 November 1897) |
| Home club | South Fremantle Football Club (WAFL) since 1900; also historically Fremantle FC/Imperials (1895-1899) and East Fremantle (1898-1952, with a gap); used by the Fremantle Dockers (AFL/AFLW) for administration, training and AFLW matches since the 1990s |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 1 |
| Top recorded crowd | 3,170 |
| Capacity | 17,500 today (capped at 10,000 for AFLW matches); record attendance 23,109 on 4 June 1979. Capacity at the time of the 1949 rugby league match is not confirmed. |
| Floodlights installed | Not confirmed in sources checked |
| Surface | Grass |
| Years used | 1949 |
| Location | Fremantle, Western Australia |
Name history
- Barracks Green (Barracks Field / Barracks Square) — pre-1895, when the site served as a parade ground for Pensioner Guards
- Fremantle Oval — 1895-present, standard name
- Fremantle Community Bank Oval — current sponsorship name; exact start year not confirmed
Rugby league history
Fremantle Oval is a heritage-listed suburban ground built for Australian rules football, not normally associated with rugby league. Rugby League Project records one match there: on 15 September 1949, a Western Australia representative side lost 10-29 to Balmain in front of 3,170 fans, during Balmain's 1949 tour of Western Australia. The fixture appears to have been an isolated exhibition/tour match rather than part of any ongoing rugby league tenancy, reflecting the code's limited historical footprint in WA.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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