The Carlton Mid Derby takes centre stage on Friday night, and Fremantle coach Chris Connolly says the club is itching for it to start.Fremantle lost the first nine clashes between the teams and has lost the last two, and when you combine that with the need for a win to stay alive in this year's finals race, it's no wonder the anticipation is so high."We're certainly looking forward to the game," Connolly said at Thursday's traditional pre-game media conference."I think at the start of the season, the derby's the one that the players, the coaching staff and the administration at the club really pencil-in."They're special games and ones we really look forward to."Connolly said the game was always a special one, so Friday night made no real difference."In terms of the game, we don't approach it any differently, and I think Fremantle's such a big club now that all our games get watched by hundreds of thousands of people, so an add-on to that makes no difference."But for the Fremantle Football Club to be exposed nationally, and for us to gain respect in the competition, this type of exposure is very important for our club."The coach said the Dockers had more to play for in terms of ladder position than West Coast, which has already wrapped up a top-four position."Look, the ramifications of the four points are more significant to us, But John (Worsfold)'s done a great job with West Coast, taking them into a position where they can win a premiership."Anyone outside the top four is going to really struggle. History shows that."Despite the Eagles' injury worries, Connolly said his team still had enormous respect for their cross-town rivals."We have a lot of respect for the West Coast Eagles, and the one thing that John has been able to do for most of the year is play well with significant players out of the team."Michael Gardiner and the loss of Andrew Embley, and different players - young (Beau) Waters looks like a very exciting player. But to be able to cover them, with a lot of their youthful players coming through, the West Coast Eagles have done an outstanding job."We certainly have a lot of respect for them, and this is a big clash for the two teams in this town, and it's an exciting one we all look forward to."