A SPIRITED, much improved Fremantle has been overrun by the Brisbane Lions to lose an old-fashioned wet weather slog by 15 points at Subiaco Oval on Saturday night.

Heavy rain began to fall from the opening bounce and lingered throughout the night as the Lions took the lead in the third quarter to defeat Fremantle 9.8 (62) to 7.5 (47).

Jonathan Brown stood tall in the appalling conditions with four goals, while first-year player Daniel Rich gathered 31 possessions and Simon Black 21 as the Lions continued their push for the top four.

Both sides lost important players at key stages with Fremantle's Chris Tarrant (knee) and Andrew Foster (ankle) and the Lions' Daniel Bradshaw (hamstring) and Jared Brennan (ankle) failing to see out the game.

Garrick Ibbotson (27 possessions), Paul Hasleby (26), Paul Duffield (26), Tarrant and Dean Solomon were among Fremantle's best while Clancee Pearce (21), Nic Suban (20) and Greg Broughton (19) again showed why they would be a big part of the future.

A glimpse was there from the opening bounce when Zac Clarke, Matthew de Boer and Stephen Hill, with a combined total of 28 games' experience, joined 181-game veteran Hasleby as the starting midfield line-up.

The conditions assisted Fremantle in its early efforts to contain the more credentialled Lions forward line, with Tarrant blanketing the in-form Brown and Antoni Grover's opponent Bradshaw leaving the contest at quarter time with one goal to his name.

Kepler Bradley posted the first goal of the game for Fremantle after four minutes, reading Clarke's tap perfectly, but Bradshaw quickly replied.

Scott Thornton continued his knack of popping up as a goal-scoring option with Fremantle’s second for the quarter and the hosts went into the first break with an eight-point advantage.

Fremantle continued to set the tempo for the second quarter and while Luke Power, Black and Rich began to accumulate possessions, the Lions struggled to find a consistent avenue into the forward 50.

Lion Mitch Clark was on top at the stoppages but Fremantle's Clarke was providing a good contest around the ground.

Adam Campbell scrambled a goal from the goal square for Fremantle after five minutes and the Lions had to wait until time-on loomed before Clark converted from a free kick.

Fremantle draftee Suban then stepped up with the highlight of the quarter when he gathered the wet ball cleanly in the centre square, side-stepped an oncoming Lion defender and launched a 55-metre goal on the run.

Brown finally shook off Tarrant for a falling mark and converted from 10 metres out to narrow the margin to seven points at the long break.

The Lions seized back the initiative after half time with quick goals to Brown and Justin Sherman before Bradley settled the home side with his second.

Tarrant hobbled off late in the quarter with a knee injury after driving his foot into the turf. His absence saw Brown post his third goal before David Mundy brought Fremantle back to within eight points at the final change.

The rain eased for the final quarter but the heavy conditions had taken their toll on the young Fremantle side.

Fremantle hung in for the opening 10 minutes before a Brad Dalziell goal made it all the more difficult.

Brown’s fourth then shut the door on any faint hope of a Fremantle comeback despite a late consolation goal to Grover.

Fremantle     2.3   4.4   6.5   7.5 (47)
Brisbane Lions     1.1   3.3   7.7   9.8 (62)

GOALS
Fremantle: Bradley 2, Campbell, Grover, Mundy, Suban, Thornton
Brisbane Lions: Brown 4, Bradshaw, Clark, Dalziell, Rich, Sherman

BEST
Fremantle: Suban, Ibbotson, Duffield, Pearce, Hasleby, Bradley
Brisbane Lions: Rich, Brown, Clark, Dalziell, Power, Patfull

INJURIES
Fremantle: Foster (ankle), Tarrant (knee)
Brisbane Lions: Bradshaw (hamstring), Brennan (ankle)

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Donlon, Dalgleish, Wenn

Official crowd: 22,595 at Subiaco Oval

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.