McNamara proud to start and finish career with Sharks as he reaches 100Saturday, May 30, 2015 - 2:49 PM - by Chris Pike

JAMIE McNamara started his career with East Fremantle and now is looking forward to finishing it with the Sharks after stints with West Coast and Williamstown in between as he prepares for WAFL game No. 100 in the Foundation Derby this WA Day at ATOM Stadium.

McNamara made his league debut for East Fremantle in 2006 and went on to play 19 AFL games with West Coast between 2007 and 2009, and then spent the 2012 and 2013 seasons in the VFL with Williamstown, but it has always been with the Sharks where his heart has lied.

The 27-year-old will now reach his 100-game milestone this Monday in the traditional derby with South Fremantle at East Fremantle's ATOM Stadium as he makes his return after missing the last two games with a hamstring injury prior to the State game break.

McNamara enjoyed his time with both West Coast and Williamstown, but the two-time Lynn Medal runner-up has always considered himself an East Fremantle person, was keen to finish his career where it started and now is proud to reach the 100-game mark this Monday.

Reaching 100 games would have been a memorable occasion whoever it happened to be against and originally that was set to be against Perth at home before he suffered a hamstring injury, but now celebrating the occasion on WA Day makes it that extra bit special for McNamara.

"I guess it's not something you think about as much when you are playing but when you see a few of the names on the lockers of players who have played 100-plus games for East Fremantle it is something I will certainly look back on and really appreciate. Hopefully there a few more to come yet," McNamara said.

"They are always big games the derbies so while I guess it doesn’t really matter who you play against in a milestone game it's nice to come up against South Freo. They are in good form at the moment so we are really looking forward to taking them on.

"It is a massive day every year and hopefully we can get a good crowd down to the game as well, so I am certainly looking forward to the challenge. I got stuck on 99 there for a little bit but it's good to get up and play my 100th especially against South in a derby."

Derbies between East and South Fremantle, particularly on WA Day, are always among the biggest occasions of any WAFL season and it's something that has always been a highlight of McNamara's career to take part in.

McNamara has so far played in five of the Foundation Derbies on WA Day and it has been a mixed bag for him over the years.

His first experience came in 2007 when he had 20 possessions in a 14-point loss but that was a vast improvement from the Sharks on the 157-point loss the previous year.

It was another 29-point loss for the Sharks in 2008 at Fremantle Oval with McNamara finishing with 15 disposals and a goal before in 2010 he tasted his first win on the occasion to the tune of 55 points when he had 26 possessions.

It was another loss in 2011 when he racked up 27 touches and took 10 marks before last year he had 21 disposals and seven marks in the 15-point win at Fremantle Oval.

Over those five matches, there has been an average attendance of 7399 people at the games and it's always an occasion players on both teams look forward to.

"Part of that is the proud history between the two clubs that has been there for so long and the rivalry wouldn’t exist without that. Whether you are a first year player or a more experienced player like I guess I am now, that's sort of engrained in you as an East Fremantle player," McNamara said.

"Everyone knows how much this game means to us and I am sure down at South Fremantle it is the same, so that is probably what has built up this rivalry. You certainly know about it and throughout the week you hear about the history and how important the game is, and they are definitely special to play in."

McNamara enjoyed his opportunities in the AFL to play 19 matches with the Eagles including the 2007 semi-final against Collingwood, but he always wanted to test himself by playing in Melbourne and being part of that football culture.

That's why he enjoyed his two years in 2012 and 2013 at Williamstown so much, but he's now glad to be back with East Fremantle.

"It was a great experience over in Melbourne. It's an easy place to transition into especially if you love your footy and your sport because it's on another level over there," he said.

"Part of the reason I moved was for footy and part of it was to mix it up and experience something different, but going to a club like Williamstown was great. They are similar to East Freo in a way given their history in the VFL and being down on the port.

"They have a great bunch of blokes over there at that club and it was actually quite interesting because when I got to the club, I was probably one of the oldest blokes there.

"Now I come back to East Freo and we have quite a few older heads here so, in a way it’s a credit to our club that we have developed a culture where we’re able to hang on to our experienced players a bit longer."

East Fremantle had won four straight matches prior to losing to West Perth ahead of the State game break and McNamara is confident the Sharks can again be a real contender in 2015, but he knows for that to happen they can't afford to look too far ahead.

"It's been a steady start to the year, without being an absolute standout," McNamara said.

"We are starting to gel together a little bit better as a group and the thing I have noticed certainly this year and the last couple of years, across the board is that we have set the bar higher than we ever have and we have a really good mix of experienced players and blokes that are coming up between that 30 and 60 game mark who are really adding value to the side.

"I feel like we have a really good mix and we aren’t getting ahead of ourselves at all, we are just focusing on each week starting with the derby."