You might remember the Fremantle Dockers hi-vis wear that we wrote about last year?
The one which – despite combining fluorescent yellow, reflective grey, purple and white – somehow wasn’t the worst of a combined AFL/NRL batch being offered up by Queensland-based manufacturer Ashtabula.
Well, on same the weekend as the Dockers enjoyed a high watermark by ending Melbourne’s 17-match unbeaten streak, so too did the Freo hi-vis find its way into the spotlight.
The garish get-up was rocked on-stage by Tame Impala frontman Kevin Parker at the Forecastle Festival in Louisville, Kentucky.
Parker, a long-time Freo fan, contributed a song to the Dockers in 2021 that is now used frequently during games at Optus Stadium.
There is no word yet on what American audiences made of his on-stage apparel over the weekend – which probably isn’t surprising given it combines a sport (AFL) with which many of them would be unfamiliar, with a sector (mining) that only employs about 0.3 per cent of US workers.
The hi-vis Dockers work shirts are compliant with AS/NZS 4602.1:2011 Class Day/Night” (garments for high-risk applications), have a a UPF rating of 50+, feature oversized font pockets with a button flap to hold mobile phones of up to 15cm, and come in a range of sizes from small all the way up to 5XL.
They are available at the Freo team store for $80, the same price as last year – indicating inflation hasn’t quite reached hi-vis footy wear just yet. That said, the store is currently out of sizes L, 2XL, 3XL and 5XL, so maybe Parker’s show of support is turning them into something of a collector’s item.
Although Ashtabula has made a hi-vis shirt in West Coast colours, there’s no sign of it as yet on the Eagles team store.
Which seems kind of fitting, given basically nothing has worked for Adam Simpson and his team this season.
