Fremantle held off a plucky Brisbane Lions by 36 points in a brutal wet-weather slog to maintain its two-game buffer at the top of the ladder.
But Fremantle had to work exceptionally hard to beat the Lions after the visitors served it up to them for three quarters.
The Lions led at quarter-time and trailed by just three points at the last change but the Fremantle Dockers found an extra gear in the last term, kicking seven goals to one to seal the 13.6 (84) to 7.6 (48) victory.
The Lions belied their inexperience and lowly ladder position to match Fremantle in their physicality.
The two sides combined for second most number of tackles recorded in a game with a total of 233. Only Richmond and Port Adelaide in round 10, 2010 have combined for more in a single game with 258.
The Lions narrowly edged the clearances (52-50), but the Freo Dockers finally arrested midfield control in the last quarter and they capitalised on a mountain of inside 50s.
"(It was) a bit of a grind," Fremantle coach Ross Lyon said.
"Credit to a really young team. I thought they really came and brought a lot of pressure to the game. I don't think we adapted to the conditions very well. We were one to one kick to handballs. Around the stoppages we had it, we just got stripped a fair bit, which is a credit to their pressure, but we should have just kicked it out more."
They kicked six goals from 39 entries in the first three quarters before kicking seven goals from 14 entries in the last.
Michael Walters kicked four goals for the second week in row and Matthew Pavlich returned to form with three goals after three goalless weeks.
Pavlich stands up
David Mundy collected 30 disposals while Nat Fyfe and Lachie Neale had 27 each.
Matthew Leuenberger was outstanding for the Lions up against Aaron Sandilands. The big Lion almost leveled the hit-outs (51-53), booted two goals and also laid nine tackles.
Dayne Beams gathered 30 touches, had 10 clearances and 11 tackles, while Jack Redden, Josh Green and Mitch Robinson all laid more than 11 tackles.
The Lions conceded the opening two goals of the match before taking control in the first term. They won the clearances 12-9, led the inside 50s 12-7, spent 60 per cent of the quarter in their forward half and had five scores to three to lead by two points at the first change.
Robinson tagged Fyfe and kept him to four touches for the term with Danyle Pearce giving away a free kick when he floored Robinson in frustration of the attention he was paying Fyfe.
Walters kicked two goals from two set shots to keep Freo in touch.
Late surge sparks Freo
The game was played almost exclusively in the Freo Dockers' forward half in the second term but the hosts could not capitalise on the scoreboard. They had 17 insides 50s to four for the quarter, but their four set shots yielded just two behinds.
The Lions kicked two goals from two free kicks at stoppages inside forward 50 with Leuenberger's second goal right on half-time levelling the scores.
The third quarter was a scrap with stoppage after stoppage and just one goal apiece for the term.
Fremantle had 15-6 inside 50s but continued to fail to capitalise on the scoreboard.
But the Freo Dockers kicked four goals in the first nine minutes of the last quarter after winning the first five clearances to finally put the Lions away.
FREMANTLE 3.0 5.2 6.5 13.6 (84)
BRISBANE LIONS 3.2 5.2 6.2 7.6 (48)
GOALS
Fremantle: Walters 4, Pavlich 3, D.Pearce 2, Barlow, Clarke, Ballantyne, Neale
Brisbane Lions: Leuenberger 2, Green, Robinson, Bewick, McStay, Taylor
BEST
Fremantle: Walters, Fyfe, Pavlich, Mundy, Spurr, Neale
Brisbane Lions: Leuenberger, Beams, Redden, Green, Rich
INJURIES
Fremantle: TBA
Brisbane Lions: TBA
SUBSTITUTES
Fremantle: Matt de Boer replaced Matt Taberner in the third quarter
Brisbane Lions: Sam Mayes replaced Brent Staker in the third quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Farmer, Bannister, Margetts
Official crowd: 32,970 at Domain Stadium
