Fremantle have overcome a herculean performance from Carlton skipper Patrick Cripps to post a 35-point AFL win at Optus Stadium.
Carlton suffered a huge blow in the opening minutes of Saturday night’s match when big man Marc Pittonet suffered a game-ending knee injury.
The Dockers controlled most aspects of the contest, and opened up a 38-point lead during the third quarter.
But Cripps simply refused to give up, with his three-goal second half dragging his team back into the match.
Carlton twice closed to within 21 points in the final quarter, but the Dockers ended the match with a bang to seal the 14.13 (97) to 9.8 (62) victory.
The result improved Fremantle’s record to 5-1, while Carlton slipped to 4-2.
Pittonet suffered a suspected cork to his left knee after clashing knees with Fremantle big man Sean Darcy in a ruck contest.
Darcy was subbed out of the game with concussion after copping an accidental boot to the head from Charlie Curnow in the third quarter.
Cripps, in his return from a hamstring injury, finished the match with 32 disposals, eight clearances and 3.1, while former Docker Adam Cerra was booed by the sellout crowd for every one of his 32 disposals and seven clearances.
Fremantle forwards Rory Lobb and Lachie Schultz booted three goals apiece, while midfielder Andrew Brayshaw was influential with 27 disposals, eight tackles, and seven clearances.
Dockers backmen Luke Ryan, Griffin Logue, Alex Pearce, and Brennan Cox were rock solid against Carlton’s potent forward line.
“I just thought we stuck to our task all night,” Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir said.
“We wanted to come in at quarter-time nil-all in some sense given that Carlton are fast starters and really good early in games.
“I just thought we were relentless with our footy all night, and the players got reward for effort.”
The Blues overcame Pittonet’s early exit and a knee injury scare to Harry McKay to take a four-point lead into quarter time.
But the weight of numbers eventually paid dividends for the Dockers in the second term, with Michael Walters proving crucial in the six-goal blitz.
Walters booted his first after catching Cerra holding the ball.
And he had the crowd off their seats when he dribbled through his second a short time later to give Fremantle a 19-point lead at the long break.
The inside-50m stat read 32-15 in favour of Fremantle at halftime, and it was only Carlton’s efficiency up forward that was keeping the visitors in the match.
Fremantle threatened to blow the game apart in the third quarter but Cripps kept Carlton within striking distance with two goals.
And when he nailed a long-range bomb in the final term, the Blues had a chance of snatching victory.
But two goals to Sam Switkowski snuffed out the challenge and ensured Fremantle stayed in second spot on the ladder.
“We couldn’t get the flow in our game across the night,” Carlton coach Michael Voss said.
“Fremantle’s ability to keep it in their half was a real strength of theirs.”
West Coast coach Adam Simpson says the Eagles’ troubled season is rapidly slipping away after an 84-point loss to Port Adelaide.
Port banked their first win of the year with a 18.9 (117) to 4.9 (33) romp at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
The Power jump from last spot to 14th but triple club champion Robbie Gray was substituted with another knee injury.
Gray, in his third game this season after knee and COVID-19 related issues, limped off in the third quarter with a jarred knee.
“Rob just gave his knee a little tweak, nothing too bad,” Port coach Ken Hinkley said.
“As I sit here right now, I doubt that he would miss next week.”
The pressure has eased on Hinkley after Port’s worst-ever start to a season, five straight losses.
But it’s mounting on his Eagles counterpart Simpson, who admitted: “The season is well and truly slipping away.”
The Eagles have been battered by a perfect storm of issues: COVID-19 crises and injuries have cruelled Simpson’s selections.
“There’s some guys who you have got no choice but to get them fit through playing footy,” he said.
“But that’s not an excuse.
“We have moved on from that and there will be some residual from what we went through.
“But we can’t sit here every week and say ‘oh we have had a tough run’. So we have got to own it.
‘We are still missing six of our starting 22 but that’s not really COVID-related, it’s injuries and return to play so that’s not an excuse (either).”
West Coast, in the mire in 17th spot with one win, scored with a Jamie Cripps goal in the first minute. But they didn’t manage another until Josh Kennedy’s snap three minutes into the final term.
In that barren Eagles period, Port booted 10 consecutive majors including seven in a stunnning 25-minute burst in the second term.