Nat Fyfe was the best man on the ground at quarter time. He had 13 possessions and three clearances and was the architect of Fremantle's 14-point lead at the first change. Adam Simpson sent Scott Selwood to Fyfe at the start of the second quarter and the Eagles vice-captain was vice-like in locking down his new opponent. The Dockers' reigning best and fairest did not have a single disposal in the second term and he gifted Selwood a shot at goal with an ill-disciplined act off the ball. The pair broke even in the second half as Fyfe kicked an important goal in the third term and was able to have an influence again.

The Eagles kicked 1.8 in the final term against Carlton in round six to turn a 24-point lead into a three-point loss, and repeated the dose in the second term against Fremantle. West Coast's inaccuracy ensured the Dockers did not relinquish their quarter-time lead despite the Eagles dominating the quarter in all facets. The Eagles' forwards and midfielders were guilty of easy misses from set shots and on the run. Adam Simpson has been playing down the Eagles' kicking woes, saying it's not the most urgent issue that needs to be worked on. If it keeps costing them games, the coach may change his tune very quickly. 

On Friday morning Matt de Boer was preparing to play for Peel Thunder in the WAFL, having been dropped entirely from the Dockers' 25-man squad. But a hamstring strain to Stephen Hill gave de Boer a reprieve; not only was he added back into the 25-man squad after a late request to the AFL, he was named in the final 22. De Boer delivered for his coach with a very impressive performance. His high-pressure work without the ball is always a feature but he won possessions and was damaging moving forward. He kicked the opening goal of the day and had a hand in several others. It is doubtful de Boer will be dropped next week on the back of this performance.  

Ryan Crowley was beaten badly last week by North Melbourne's Brent Harvey. Rarely is he beaten twice in two weeks and he proved that with a superb performance on Luke Shuey. It was a different type of tagging job, however. He negated Shuey's influence by pushing deep forward to provide a one-out marking target for his midfielders, kicking one goal in the third term from a mark. But Shuey's most damaging work is done forward of centre and he was never allowed to get there, due to the threat Crowley posed in Fremantle's forward line.