Fremantle fought to the end in the 49th RAC Derby as the young Freo Dockers went down by 13 points in a combative RAC Derby on Saturday night.

Fremantle never gave up in the 10.9 (69) to 7.14 (56) loss, in a match where Fremantle had control for long periods in front of a home and away record crowd of 58,219 at Optus Stadium.

Freo Dockers veteran and acting captain David Mundy (36 possessions) was huge at the coalface and comfortably Freo's best player in the absence of skipper Nat Fyfe.

The opening term was even in most facets of the game, except the scoreboard.

Both teams had 13 inside 50s but the Eagles scored 5.1 while Fremantle were ineffective with their ball movement heading forward and a couple of set shots to be 0.5 at the first change.

Fremantle raised their bar in the second quarter, enjoying more than their fair share of the ball but scored 1.9 to half-time.

They lost Joel Hamling to concussion in the second term but their defence stood firm and held the Eagles to just the one goal as well, meaning they were still close enough.

And while it didn’t quite click after the long break, Freo chugged into gear through sheer will.

Jesse Hogan’s first goal for the club was followed by two in a row to Cam McCarthy to get Freo within nine points.

But Reece Conca’s turnover deep in defence, which led to an Oscar Allen goal from his intercept mark was a hammer blow just seven seconds before the final break.

And while West Coast never quite put Fremantle away it proved to be just a bit too much in a low-scoring affair despite two goals to Michael Walters.

MEDICAL ROOM
West Coast: The Eagles lost Lewis Jetta to hamstring tightness before the bounce and brought in defender Josh Rotham for just his second AFL game. Oscar Allen was dazed after a final-term collision with Josh Kennedy.

Fremantle: Already battling without Nat Fyfe, the Dockers lost key defender Joel Hamling before half-time to concussion as well. Nathan Wilson left the field in the last term with a sore hamstring and faces scans.

NEXT UP
West Coast will be hoping to make it a really Good Friday next week when it hosts Port Adelaide at Optus Stadium. Fremantle heads to the nation's capital to face the flying Giants fresh off their historic victory at Geelong on Saturday.

WEST COAST   5.1   6.3    8.5    10.9 (69)
FREMANTLE     0.5    1.9   4.12  7.14 (56)

GOALS
West Coast: Darling 3, Kennedy 3, Petruccelle 2, Ryan, Allen
Fremantle: McCarthy 2, Taberner 2, Walters 2, Hogan

BEST 
West Coast: Hurn, Sheppard, Redden, Gaff, Yeo, Darling
Fremantle: Mundy, Langdon, Pearce, Taberner, Hill, Matera 

INJURIES 
West Coast: Nil
Fremantle: Hamling (concussion)

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Chamberlain, Hay, Williamson

Official crowd: 58,219 at Optus Stadium