Given Fremantle’s stunning season, there was only one place where this year’s AFL premiership cup tour could begin.

The trophy’s month-long trip around the country started in the heart of the club’s spiritual home on Tuesday morning, with ambassador and three-time Hawthorn flag-winning captain Luke Hodge and Dockers great Peter Bell on hand at the Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour.

Much to their delight, a number of junior players from the nearby Fremantle City Dockers Junior Football Club also got their chance to hold and pose for photos with the cup.

After exiting last year’s finals in their first week, the Dockers have shot to the top of the ladder this season, securing just the second minor premiership in their history.

They are no longer a unanimous and decisive flag favourite among the bookmakers after winning only one of their last three games.

But their loss to Melbourne came with them already all but assured of a first-placed finish, while the weekend’s defeat to Carlton played out with the minor premiership fully secure.

Bell said the port city represented one of the State’s football heartlands and the impact of a breakthrough premiership for Fremantle would be “huge”.

“It’s a very proud footballing region of Western Australia with a storied history, with some of the best players to have ever played the game and certainly the history of South and East Fremantle in the WAFL,” Bell said.

“I’m expecting, if this group can give it a nudge, then it’ll be absolutely massive — and not just for this geographical region; I think Fremantle represents much more than that in Western Australia.

“They’ve got a lot of fans, as we can see by the numbers that are packing out the stadium regularly, and the interest across the State.

“It’s not just Fremantle the area, but something deeper and richer than that, for all the people who support Fremantle.”

The famous cappuccino strip has also been draped in purple ahead of the finals series, which the Dockers will begin with a qualifying final against Hawthorn at Optus Stadium next Thursday.