FREMANTLE has crushed West Coast in a brutal Derby demolition, piling on 17 unanswered goals on the way to a record 101-point win in the most one-sided clash between the WA rivals in more than 20 years.
Inspired by Glendinning-Allan medallist Lachie Schultz and young ruck star Luke Jackson, the Dockers took no mercy on their crosstown rivals, winning 20.14 (134) to 4.9 (33) in Derby 57.
EAGLES v DOCKERS Full match coverage and stats
It was the Dockers' biggest ever derby win, kicking their second-highest score in the WA rivalry's history, with West Coast held to its lowest ever score against Fremantle. The final margin was only eclipsed by West Coast's record 117-point win in round six, 2000.
The Eagles, who suffered their fifth 100-point loss in what has been the club's worst ever season, did not play with the level of intensity demanded and were punished in the contest and ultimately on the scoreboard.
Fremantle, meanwhile, produced the football that was expected of it this season, controlling stoppages, running forward in waves, and using the ball with precision as it handballed past its opponents.
Schultz won his second Glendinning-Allan Medal with a dynamic performance in attack, finishing with 24 disposals, seven inside 50s and a game-high five goals.
He tied with Jackson for best afield honours but won the award on countback, with Jackson supreme in the midfield with 19 disposals, 26 hitouts and six clearances.
The young star set up instrumental ground-level players Caleb Serong (30 disposals and five clearances) and Andrew Brayshaw (33 and three), while Hayden Young (25 and eight inside 50s) was influential up the ground again.
Schultz was joined in attack by Sam Sturt and Jye Amiss, who booted four goals each, while Jordan Clark provided constant drive from the back half with 28 disposals and 10 marks.
After a bizarre start that saw Eagles defender Brady Hough removed in the final minute before the bounce because of illness, West Coast had the better of the opening exchanges.
The Eagles kicked the first two goals of the game and dominated inside 50s (11-2) before Fremantle adjusted, lifting its physical approach, and enjoyed some dominance of its own with 13 of the next 14 forward entries.
And while the Eagles managed 2.2 from their dominance, the Dockers took full advantage of theirs and booted the next four goals of the quarter, with Matthew Johnson, Schultz and Sturt adding goals in 46 seconds of playing time.
Amiss added another when he was dumped in the goalsquare in a dangerous tackle by Tom Cole. Moments later, Alex Witherden won a free kick when he was slung by Michael Walters in a tackle that was also deemed dangerous by the umpire. Both Amiss and Witherden were both untroubled by the tackles and played on.
The match became a one-sided demolition in the second quarter as the Dockers piled on six unanswered goals and the Eagles' pressure dipped to alarming levels, allowing their opponents to control the stoppages and run in waves.
Freo ramped up its own pressure and started forcing repeated turnovers as Serong, Brayshaw and Young lifted around the ball to combine for 34 disposals in the quarter, repeatedly driving their team forward.
Jackson, meanwhile, took his own game to a new level and showed off his sublime ruck craft with a tap over his shoulder to set up Schultz's second goal at a forward line stoppage, opening a 38-point lead that quickly grew.
When the small forward booted his third from a 50m set shot that was set up by Serong's precise kicking, the margin had blown out to 51 points and the Eagles had concerns everywhere.
The interest in the match quickly descended into how many consecutive goals the Dockers could kick as forwards Schultz, Sturt and Amiss built into big games.
The streak got to 14 when returning Eagle Jamaine Jones looked to have ended it when he poked one through from the goalsquare. It was overturned, however, due to a prior free kick. The Dockers continued their run thereafter to build a 95-point lead at the last change.
Wingman Andrew Gaff ended the run when he kicked West Coast's third goal at the start of the final term, providing brief respite for his team's defenders, who were under the pump the entire day.
Hough gets to the last minute
The match started in bizarre circumstances, with the players lining up for the first centre bounce before proceedings were delayed by two minutes. West Coast coach Adam Simpson spoke with young Eagle Brady Hough on the bench as the club made a decision – quite literally in the last available minute – to make a late change due to illness. Simpson later said Hough hadn't trained all week and there was late information from the club doctor that he should be pulled, with tall forward Jack Williams coming into the 22 from the emergencies and warming up in the rooms for the first 12 minutes of the match. Jack Petruccelle (illness) had also been removed late and replaced by defender Luke Foley an hour before the bounce.
Dockers duck and weave with Young role
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir said on Friday that the Dockers would need to cut Hayden Young's midfield move short after two matches and send the regular defender back to cover injured teammate Ethan Hughes. As is every coach's right, however, he changed approach on Saturday night and started the 22-year-old in the first bounce, with Young going on to have a big influence in the midfield for the third straight week. Rather than a highly accountable role on Tim Kelly, Young had plenty of freedom and finished with a game-high eight inside 50s from the midfield.
A bottom-four derby with a difference
For the first time in the 18-team competition, the Eagles and Dockers did battle while both were stationed in the bottom four. If that meant there was nothing on the line, Fremantle didn't know it as it proved it is a bottom-four team with a difference. The last time the Dockers and Eagles met in such dire circumstances for both was round 17, 2009, when Fremantle was anchored to the bottom of the ladder in 16th leading in and West Coast sat 13th. It was one of only four occasions in derby history that the clubs had been alongside each other in the bottom four, with the second derby in 2008 and both meetings in 2001 the others.
WEST COAST 2.2 2.5 2.6 4.9 (33)
FREMANTLE 4.4 10.8 17.11 20.14 (134)
GOALS
West Coast: Allen, Gaff, Kelly, J Williams
Fremantle: Schultz 5, Amiss 4, Sturt 4, Aish, Erasmus, Frederick, Jackson, Johnson, O'Meara, Walters
BEST
West Coast: Kelly, Duggan, Hewett, Witherden, Foley
Fremantle: Schultz, Jackson, Serong, Clark, Sturt, Brayshaw, Amiss
INJURIES
West Coast: Allen (shoulder)
Fremantle: Nil
LATE CHANGES
West Coast: Jack Petruccelle (illness) replaced in the selected side by Luke Foley; Brady Hough (illness) replaced in the selected side by Jack Williams
Fremantle: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
West Coast: Greg Clark (replaced Tom Cole in the fourth quarter)
Fremantle: Neil Erasmus (replaced Josh Corbett in the third quarter)
Crowd: 51,172 at Optus Stadium