Another Nat Fyfe masterclass has ensured Fremantle stayed perfect at home, with the superstar skipper doing as he pleased against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night.
In slippery conditions, the Fremantle Dockers tuned up for next Sunday's historic Western Derby with a thumping 16.12 (108) to 8.6 (54) victory, continuing their love-affair with new home Optus Stadium, where they remain undefeated after three games.
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Freo piled on eight unanswered goals either side of half-time to kill-off the Dogs' fight.
Fyfe was simply unstoppable, returning a career-high 43 disposals, 21 contested possessions, 13 clearances, seven inside 50s and booting a goal.
"Your leaders have got to play well under pressure and Nathan's clearly doing that," coach Ross Lyon said post-match.
"We've had (Matthew) Pavlich in the past and (David) Mundy … if they don't stand up – or most weeks stand up – it's very difficult for young players.
"That's his job and that's what we expect him to do, and that's what he expects, but he's delivering really well."
The 2015 Brownlow medallist has spoken about reclaiming his standing as the game's best player after his broken leg battles, and will almost certainly pocket three votes for an imperious performance.
However, Michael Walters was also outstanding, bagging five majors, as Fremantle claimed a healthy percentage boost.
The triumph was soured by a lower leg injury suffered by on-fire forward Matt Taberner, who headed to the rooms before quarter-time.
Taberner got Freo off to a flier, booting the opening goal and taking five marks – three contested - but failed to reappear in a concerning sign after his pre-season stress fracture.
The Bulldogs had their own injury concern, with sharpshooter Tory Dickson pinging his left hamstring early in the second term on a dirty night for the visitors.
The Dogs only trailed by six points when Patrick Lipinski snapped truly at the eight-minute mark of the second term, but then went goalless until just before three quarter-time when Tom Boyd snuck through his second.
Boyd's comeback was a rare highlight, and every teammate ran to celebrate when he kicked their opening goal in his first appearance since taking time out of the game for mental health issues.
Fremantle's senior players have been critical in the rebuilding side's impressive home form and Fyfe, Walters, Lachie Neale, David Mundy and Aaron Sandilands stood tall again.
Fyfe relished the contest, repeatedly bursting through would-be tacklers, while Walters' back-to-back goals got Freo rolling in the opening term.
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Walters tapped his black armband and pointed to the sky after his first major in a moving tribute to former teammate Shane Yarran.
Sandilands (53 hit-outs) dominated young WA product Tim English in the ruck and gave the Freo Dockers' midfielders an armchair ride.
Mobile forward Cam McCarthy, Hayden Ballantyne and Adam Cerra each booted two goals as Fremantle continued their scoring spree at their new home.
Freo is averaging more than 103 points at Optus Stadium, compared to 55.5 in two games away, and will be full of confidence for the first Western Derby at the Burswood venue.
Fremantle had winners everywhere on a memorable night, when the club's fifth debutant Taylin Duman showed plenty of composure with 15 touches from half-back.
But the inexperienced Dogs relied too heavily on too few.
Half-backs Matthew Suckling (27 disposals) and Jason Johannisen (25) tried hard against a flood of inside 50s, while Toby McLean, Lin Jong and Jack Macrae never gave up the fight.
MEDICAL ROOM
Fremantle: Matt Taberner, who battled a stress fracture in his left leg over pre-season, was sore during the week and his night was over when he went down to the rooms just before quarter-time with a lower-leg issue.
Western Bulldogs: The Bulldogs lost some bite early in the second quarter when Tory Dickson pinged his left hamstring and was out of the contest. Young WA defender Aaron Naughton had a homecoming to forget after copping a knee to the head from teammate Zaine Cordy in the third quarter, although he bravely returned to the action after receiving some attention on the bench.
NEXT UP
The Dogs have a short turnaround with only six days before they return home to Etihad Stadium to take on the winless Blues, while Freo is gearing up for the historic first Western Derby against an Eagles outfit which has won four in a row.
FREMANTLE 4.0 6.3 12.6 16.12 (108)
WESTERN BULLDOGS 1.2 3.3 4.4 8.6 (54)
GOALS
Fremantle: Walters 5, McCarthy 2, Cerra 2, Ballantyne 2, Matera, Fyfe, Mundy, Taberner, S.Hill
Western Bulldogs: Boyd 2, Gowers 2, Wallis, Lipinski, McLean, Jong
BEST
Fremantle: Fyfe, Walters, Sandilands, Neale, Wilson, Ryan
Western Bulldogs: Bontempelli, Suckling, Daniel, Dahlhaus, Johannisen, Macrae
INJURIES
Fremantle: Taberner (lower leg)
Western Bulldogs: Dickson (hamstring)
Reports: TBC
Umpires: Brown, Nicholls, Findlay.
Official crowd: 43,056 at Optus Stadium
