Freo have lost their sixth-straight game, this time to Adelaide by 33 points at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
Crows star Rory Sloane (31 possessions, one goal) was the pick of the midfielders on Saturday, while Tom Lynch recovered from a disastrous miss early in the game to boot two majors and Eddie Betts continued his stellar run with another four.
Michael Walters was great for Freo (29 disposals, three goals), as was Stephen Hill (25 possessions) and Michael Barlow (33 possessions, seven tackles), while Alex Pearce did a great job on Adelaide skipper Taylor Walker (goalless).
Pearce happy to play on big-name forwards
In a game marred by poor skills from both sides it was the Crows who made more of their opportunities, particularly through the second and third quarters.
From midway through the second when Fremantle held a two-point lead early in the third term, both sides had six shots on goal – Adelaide kicked five goals and Freo missed all six.
It was the point when Fremantle coach Ross Lyon felt the game slip away.
“The scoreboard didn’t reflect, really, how well we were going in the game to be truthful,” Lyon said.
“But then we lost some composure in the third quarter, didn’t use the ball well…they counter punch you pretty quickly.”
Ross Lyon post-match Q & A: Round 6 v Adelaide
It was the Fremantle Dockers who controlled the bulk of early possession and had taken six marks inside 50 to zero inside 10 minutes, but that ascendancy resulted in just a single goal.
The momentum swung to the Crows but the home side was unable to make the most of the play.
Had it not been for their poor kicking in front of goal, Freo would have taken a handy lead into the main break, but their 1.7 from set shots to half-time allowed Adelaide a 12-point lead.
And they were quickly forced to rue those missed opportunities.
Jarryd Lyons slammed home from point-blank range before Betts nailed a classy left-footer from hard up against the boundary and then Brodie Smith finished from long range to extend Adelaide's lead to 29 points.
The Crows improved their efficiency in the final term and it paid dividends on the scoreboard as Josh Jenkins, Betts and then Sloane sealed the win.
ADELAIDE 2.4 5.5 9.10 14.13 (97)
FREMANTLE 1.3 2.11 3.14 8.16 (64)
GOALS
Adelaide: Betts 4, Lynch 2, Jenkins 2, Douglas, Atkins, Lyons, Smith, Sloane, McGovern
Fremantle: Walters 3, Taberner, Crozier, Pavlich, Mayne, Griffin
BEST
Adelaide: Sloane, Lynch, Laird, Jacobs, Betts, Hartigan
Fremantle: Hill, Walters, A. Pearce, Neale
Who do you think were Freo's best? VOTE NOW
INJURIES
Adelaide: Laird (foot)
Fremantle: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Farmer, Hosking, Ryan
Official crowd: 47,423 at the Adelaide Oval
