Fremantle deny the opposition inside 50s, while Melbourne struggle to generate them. That obvious problem was underlined when Fremantle managed 16 inside 50s in the first quarter before Melbourne managed one. The Demons finally worked the ball inside 50 at the 21-minute mark when it won a free kick in the centre and Colin Garland booted the ball long. However, once they made it inside 50 their confidence grew. They matched the Dockers from that point until half-time with 19 inside 50s each. 

Fremantle's Lee Spurr celebrated wildly when he kicked his first AFL goal at the 12-minute mark of the second quarter. It was the 26-year-old's 32nd game, being elevated from the rookie list for 2013. He has played in three SANFL premierships so his boyish delight acknowledged the simple joys of football. Not to be denied, Melbourne's Troy Davis – a 2010 draft pick – kicked his first goal five minutes later. It was Davis' second game so his celebrations were more muted. With North Melbourne's Nathan Grima kicking his first goal after 72 games yesterday, it was a weekend to make Rod Carter proud. The former Fitzroy and South Melbourne full-back played 293 games for one goal, with his first goal coming against the Demons in his 13th season.

 

From the 10-minute to the 16-minute mark of the second quarter, the Dockers kicked five unanswered goals from five different players. In a flash it had doubled its score from 30 to 60 points and stretched the lead from 20 to 50 points. The heavy emphasis on defence is not to the exclusion of attacking. It averaged 86 points a game going into the match and had scored more than 100 points eight times. On Sunday it had 12 goalkickers, after 15 the week before against the Giants. With Matthew Pavlich back and quality small forwards such as Michael Walters and Hayden Ballantyne capable of tearing defences apart it has the talent and structure to do the job.

 

Aaron Sandilands kicked one goal and looked ominous early but he left the ground at the 16-minute mark after Jake Spencer's elbow inadvertently caught him in a marking contest. He was subbed off before the end of the quarter after failing a concussion test meaning he missed valuable game time. Ballantyne left the ground late nursing his arm, but his injury was unclear. In brighter news, Matthew Pavlich was playing his second game back from suspension and did well. He was double-teamed most of the game but contested strongly and took a screamer in the third quarter. He kicked four goals and became better the longer the game went. All are key players in the club's finals campaign. 

 

At one stage in the third quarter with Sam Blease subbed out, James Strauss off with an injured shoulder, and Tom McDonald and Shannon Byrnes down in the rooms Melbourne had no one left on the bench to come on the ground. Blease and Strauss were both picked in the 2008 AFL National Draft, at picks 17 and 19 respectively. Blease has played 31 games and Strauss 24 since that day almost five years ago with injury playing a large part in their absence. Melbourne had just one player on the bench in the final quarter. It was more crowded on the bench than on the ground in the last quarter with just 13,768 people at the game.