Fremantle midfielder Matthew Johnson believes Sunday’s RAC Derby 60 win over West Coast will ignite the flame for the year as the Club notched up its first win of the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season.

A five-goal first term, highlighted by debutant Isaiah Dudley’s two, set the tone early as Fremantle dominated the territory game with 21-7 inside 50s.

“It’s taken a while to get on the board this year, but I’m glad to get the four points, and what better way to do it than in the RAC Derby,” Johnson said post-match.

“We knew it was a significant game, but at the end of the day, we just had to stick to our processes, and we knew that if we played our footy for four quarters, we’d be able to walk away with the win.”

Fremantle were forced to make two late changes an hour before bounce down, with Jaeger O’Meara (illness) and Corey Wagner (injury) both sidelined. However, the team’s connection was unfazed, leading inside 50s (65-37), contested possessions (122-108), and clearances (40-25) at every break.

“A connected game of footy (was the most pleasing). Across all three lines, our connection was really strong, and everyone was helping each other out,” Johnson said.

“The trademark performance was the best of our season so far.”

“I think the midfield group worked well. We set the ground up well defensively as well. I think our front-half game was pretty good today. It went a long way.”

Dudley, Shai Bolton, and Murphy Reid all featured in their first RAC Derby, with Johnson saying the Club’s newest faces handled the pressure of a passionate Eagles crowd well.

“They did really well. We knew that if we let the crowd get into it, then it would be tough to stem the Eagles' momentum,” Johnson said.

“All those boys played their role for the team, and I’m sure it’s the first of many for all three of them.”

Looking ahead to Round 4 and the meeting with the Bulldogs, Johnson said the team would treat the week as any other, regardless of the result.

“JL (Justin Longmuir) spoke about it; we’ve got to attack this coming game with the same scrutiny of our review and stuff to get better,” Johnson said.

“We know that it’s only the third game of the year. We’ve got a long way to go, so we’ll look forward to celebrating the win tonight, but then reviewing it on Monday and getting back on the horse.”

The RAC Derby 60-win sees Fremantle move up to 13th on the AFL ladder.