Opponents have had 42 chances to transfer the ball from one end to the other against the Dockers, and been halted every time.
It is an extraordinary effort, even for a team renowned for the defensive squeeze it places on the opposition and when playing against the three of the competition's bottom four teams.
The game's other defensive juggernauts, the Sydney Swans, have conceded just two points from 56 opposition kick-ins in the past month.
In that time the Swans have conceded 213 points in total, amazingly keeping three of its past four opponents (Richmond, West Coast and Carlton) to the same tally, 7.9 (51), in rounds 14, 16 and 17.
It's an unbelievable coincidence, given opponents have kicked that exact score against the Swans just 13 other times since 1897. (Good luck in a fortnight to Sydney's opponent Hawthorn, who restricted the Sydney Swans to - guess what - 7.9 (51) in last year's qualifying final).
But I digress. This story is about kick-ins.
West Coast defender Shannon Hurn had the unenviable task of returning the ball to play after a behind against Fremantle in round 15 and against the Sydney Swans the following week.
He said both sides have several smart players who read the game well and can anticipate what is likely to happen.
"You need to have good structures and good set-ups. But you also need to be good enough to adapt to what the game is telling you," Hurn told AFL.com.au.
The Dockers keep it simple enough.
The first point to make is that their players pick up a man as quickly as possible and stay with them. There is rarely complication with zones or guarding space, although if necessary the Dockers can adjust to the demands of the game.
If the opposition kicker goes long to a contest, the Dockers either spoil the ball back into their own forward 50, or punch the ball over the boundary line for a throw-in.
If the opposition goes short to an attacking position, Fremantle midfielders will stream towards the receiver to spoil or intercept the ball, or at the very least worry the life out of the man in possession.
"When you kick the ball to a contest they are very good at killing that contest as well, not letting it out the back [and] they just don't get out-marked," Hurn said.
"That's why they are where they are. They're the two best sides because they're very good at the contested footy, rarely get beaten, and even if they do get beaten they make it hard for the opposition to keep going."
God help anyone taking a handball from the receiver of the initial kick-in, because he will immediately find himself under pressure against these two teams.
The 211cm spectre of Aaron Sandilands also helps the Dockers. Opponents are keen to avoid him so they try to create play down the opposite side of the ground to the giant ruckman. Lance Franklin, Adam Goodes and a plethora of midfielders have the same effect for the Swans.
Whenever a team can limit its opponent's options and force manufactured ball movement, it has a distinct advantage.
Hurn said constant movement was vital for opponents hoping to break the top teams' defensive pressure.
"If we're kicking to 'Joe Blow' in the pocket and then we're going to try to do this, it doesn't work because no one wants to move, because they think 'oh well, that's where the ball is going'.
"So the more movement you have, the more it makes it hard for the opposition to realise where [the ball] is going. That creates space as well. Space is what you want to look for," Hurn said.
Although teams don't score an enormous amount from kick-ins, they become unsettled when they can't clear the ball from the defensive 50.
It builds pressure on defenders and gives them no time to rest, particularly when the likes of Fremantle forwards Hayden Ballantyne, Chris Mayne, Tendai Mzungu and Stephen Hill are lurking.
On the other hand, Docker defenders such as Zac Dawson, Paul Duffield and Luke McPharlin conserve energy while battles are happening inside their forward 50.
Mentally, and physically, it's a win.
In the past four games, the Giants, St Kilda and Collingwood are three of the four teams to have allowed opponents to go from one end of the ground to the other most easily. All three sides have let more than 30 per cent of opposition kick-ins reach the forward 50.
It is little wonder that trio of teams boasts just one collective win in the past month.
Full-ground defence starts in attack, and Fremantle and the Sydney Swans are the masters.
Neither side has lost since May 10.
If those two teams meet on Grand Final day, good luck to the player charged with kicking in.
Additional reporting by Alex Malcolm
Stats supplied by Champion Data
THE BEST AT STOPPING OPPOSITION TEAMS FROM SCORING FROM KICK-INS
TEAMS | Matches | Kick-ins | Inside 50 | I50 % | Score |
Fremantle | 4 | 42 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 (0) |
Gold Coast | 4 | 42 | 7 | 16.7 | 0.2 (2) |
Sydney Swans | 4 | 56 | 6 | 10.7 | 0.2 (2) |
Brisbane Lions | 4 | 36 | 4 | 11.1 | 1.0 (6) |
Essendon | 4 | 45 | 7 | 15.6 | 1.0 (6) |
Port Adelaide | 4 | 58 | 7 | 12.1 | 1.1 (7) |
Melbourne | 4 | 27 | 4 | 14.8 | 1.2 (8) |
North Melbourne | 4 | 54 | 10 | 18.5 | 2.0 (12) |
Carlton | 4 | 34 | 8 | 23.5 | 2.1 (13) |
Geelong | 4 | 50 | 9 | 18 | 2.2 (14) |
Richmond | 4 | 37 | 10 | 27 | 2.2 (14) |
| West Coast | 4 | 46 | 11 | 23.9 | 2.3 (15) |
Western Bulldogs | 4 | 44 | 11 | 25 | 2.3 (15) |
Adelaide | 4 | 49 | 10 | 20.4 | 3.1 (19) |
Collingwood | 4 | 45 | 14 | 31.1 | 3.2 (20) |
St Kilda | 4 | 36 | 12 | 33.3 | 3.2 (20) |
Hawthorn | 4 | 51 | 9 | 17.6 | 4.0 (24) |
Greater Western Sydney | 4 | 45 | 17 | 37.8 | 6.3 (39) |
