The home team gave its supporters something to look forward to for next season, with its young outfit easily accounting for the Pies,12.8 (80) to 8.8 (56)
For Fremantle, the match won't rank as one of its all-time great wins, but will be a welcome way to finish off a disappointing season.
For Collingwood, and its preparation for a finals campaign, the match could hardly have been less impressive. Intensity and skills were worryingly low, areas that must be addressed immediately now that the Pies have given up any hope of securing a double chance come next week.
Only Leon Davis (23 possessions, one goal) seemed up to the intensity of football in September, and even he faded as the match aged.
Rhys Palmer (27 possession, one goal) continued his outstanding debut season for Fremantle, enhancing his already excellent NAB Rising Star chances.
Unlikely as it seemed at the time, a ten minute period of the first quarter was to provide the brightest spot in an otherwise murky night.
After conceding the opening goal to Collingwood's John Anthony, Fremantle hit back with five in a row. Rhys Palmer and Mark Johnson, in his last game as a league footballer, were influential in the run which took the home team out to a 20-point lead at quarter time.
Lead by Davis, who was far and away Collingwood's best for the night, the Pies hit back early in the second term through majors to Marty Clarke and skipper Josh Fraser.
But Fremantle rode the surge and turned the momentum its own way. Some question marks might hang over Des Headland and Jeff Farmer but both players showed their class to re-establish their team's buffer before Davis launched a last-ditch nomination for goal of the year.
After harassing Headland out of the ball at centre half-forward, the miraculous Pie gathered and from hard on the boundary line, drilled through an absolutely marvellous goal.
Hopefully, the fans at Subiaco Oval lapped it up because highlights were rare in an error-ridden third quarter. Collingwood came out after the main break trailing by 14 points and looked to have momentum when a snap from Tyson Goldsack cut the deficit to single figures.
But the game degenerated into a series of turnovers, missed handballs and out of bounds on the full. When Kepler Bradley kicked Fremantle's first goal of the term, the quarter was already 16 minutes old.
Nevertheless, the home team's 17-point lead looked imposing in such a low-scoring affair, and almost insurmountable when Byron Schammer stretched it to 23 close to three-quarter time.
Travis Cloke, in his first meaningful contribution for the night, grabbed one back for the Pies just before the break to keep Collingwood in touch.
But the much talked about Farmer had other ideas. His third goal, from a tight angle in the pocket to open the last term, ended the match as a contest, and kept open the debate on the enigmatic forward's future. He ended the match with 21 disposals and two tackles.
Goals were traded in the closing minutes with Bradley -- another sometimes maligned figure at Fremantle -- rounding out his good night with a third major in his team's comfortable four-goal win.
The loss opens up a number of unpleasant scenarios for Collingwood, with chief among these being a trip away from Melbourne to face Adelaide or the Swans in week one of the finals.
Fremantle 5.0 7.1 9.7 12.8 (80)
Collingwood 1.4 4.5 6.6 8.8 (56)
GOALS
Fremantle: Farmer 3, Bradley 3, Duffield, Carr, Palmer, Headland, Schammer, Campbell
Collingwood: Cloke 2, Anthony 2, Clarke, Fraser, Davis, Goldsack
GOALS
Fremantle: Farmer 3, Bradley 3, Duffield, Carr, Palmer, Headland, Schammer, Campbell
Collingwood: Cloke 2, Anthony 2, Clarke, Fraser, Davis, Goldsack
BEST
Fremantle: Palmer, Schammer, McPharlin, Bradley, Farmer, Browne, Drum
Collingwood: Davis, Pendlebury, Cox, Fraser, Prestigiacomo
INJURIES
Fremantle: Nil
Collingwood: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Donlon, Rosebury, Ryan
Official crowd: 35,106 at Subiaco Oval
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
