It was a story of two halves for the cross-town rivals in Derby 59, with Fremantle finding another gear in the third term to defeat West Coast by 35 points at Optus Stadium.
After the Eagles took a 13-point lead into the long break following a ferocious first half, a withering five-goal burst proved the difference as the Dockers avenged West Coast’s stunning Derby win in round six.
Fremantle star midfielder Caleb Serong was awarded the Glendinning-Allan medal for his outstanding performance, finishing with 32 disposals and a goal.
The 17.8 (110) to 11.9 (75) victory sees Fremantle secure third place on the ladder, recording their 12th win of the season in front of a record-breaking crowd for a Dockers home Derby.
Eagles’ milestone men Tom Barrass (150 games) and Jake Waterman (100) didn’t get the fairy tale finish they would have been hoping for, though both delivered impressive performances for the blue and gold.
In what was a physical and hotly contested face-off, Tim Kelly stood tall for the Eagles, managing a team-high 32 touches and a goal, complimented by fellow midfielders Harley Reid (29 disposals) and Elliot Yeo (26) and seven tackles.
Josh Treacy (three goals), Michael Frederick (three) and Tom Emmett (three) were all damaging up forward for Fremantle, while acting captain Andrew Brayshaw was a standout with 36 disposals, seven tackles and a goal.
West Coast midfielder Zane Trew had his day ended early after colliding with the hip of teammate Bailey Williams in the opening minute of the game, with Jai Culley activated as the sub.
Liam Ryan opened the scoring for the game, kicking his first of two goals, before Jamie Cripps delivered an outstanding around-the-body snap to record back-to-back majors for the Eagles.
West Coast were off to a good start, Tim Kelly kicking the Eagles third-straight goal, before Michael Frederick put Fremantle on the board with his first of three majors.
Elliot Yeo impressed early for West Coast, leading all ball-winners heading into the second term with 12 touches and was a welcome return after missing last week’s game with soreness.
Eagles’ speedster Jack Petruccelle opened the second quarter for the visitors with a goal to extend West Coast’s lead, before Waterman kicked his first of three goals in his milestone match.
Star Eagles’ recruit Reid was finding a lot of the ball, leading all possession-getters in the second term, in a fierce midfield match-up with Fremantle’s Brayshaw.
Though Fremantle increased their pressure around the ground in the second quarter, West Coast took a 13-point lead into the main break.
Fremantle came out firing in the third term, kicking five unanswered majors through Sam Switkowski, Josh Treacy and Frederick, keeping West Coast to just one point for the quarter.
Waterman and Jack Williams provided some solace on the scoreboard in the fourth for the Eagles, but Fremantle continued to surge and piled on another five goals to push the margin out to 35 at the final siren.
FREMANTLE 3.0 7.3 12.8 17.8 (110)
WEST COAST 5.1 9.4 9.5 11.9 (75)
GOALS
Fremantle: Frederick, Treacy, Emmett 3; O’Meara, Switkowski 2; Brayshaw, Amiss, Serong
West Coast: Waterman 3; Ryan 2; Cripps, Kelly, Culley, Allen, Petruccelle, Williams
BEST
Fremantle: Serong, Brayshaw, Young, O’Meara, Darcy
West Coast: Yeo, Reid, Waterman, Kelly, Cole, Hunt, Ginbey
INJURIES
Fremantle: Nil
West Coast: Trew (neck)
SUBSTITUTES
Fremantle: James Aish
West Coast: Jai Culley
Crowd: 56,536 at Optus Stadium
