The game was in the balance at three-quarter time, but Freo ran away in the final quarter kicking six goals to Essendon's two behinds to win a rare game on the road, 17.11 (113) to 9.15 (69).
It was a tight encounter for much of the game with Fremantle kicking two crucial goals to wrest the momentum early in the third term.
The majors to Hayden Ballantyne and the ultra-impressive Michael Barlow gave Fremantle the lead and Mark Harvey’s side never looked back.
And the coach will be encouraged by the fact that his big stars were not overly prominent.
Matthew Pavlich was well held by Tayte Pears and made some bizarre decisions with the ball, while Adam McPhee was clearly nervous in his first game against his old side.
McPhee dropped easy marks and turned the ball over several times in the first half but he slowly improved as the game went on.
Speaking after the game, Harvey said he deliberately didn’t draw any extra attention to McPhee facing the Bombers.
“Put yourself in his situation and there has been a lot spoken about him. He has had an interrupted run with injuries, playing the old side, the circumstances as to why he finished up at Fremantle,” Harvey said.
“I thought he should have taken five marks inside our forward-50 that could have been a lot more damaging. It wasn’t to be but maybe the touch is just around the corner for him."
Barlow continued his impressive form to kick off his AFL career - he gathered 34 possessions and used his disposals well. He also used his size to advantage on several occasions.
Aaron Sandilands’ sheer size was a challenge Essendon could not overcome both in the ruck and up forward.
Jobe Watson got the better of Ryan Crowley, finishing with 28 disposals and shaking the close-checking 26-year-old.
The highly-credentialed Scott Gumbleton started well, pushing up the ground and taking some tough marks to kick two early goals. But like his team, he faded.
Fremantle was forced to play one down in the rotations after Garrick Ibbotson appeared to dislocate his shoulder in the second term.
Harvey said Ibbotson’s injury was a perfect example of why the AFL should extend the interchange bench to include at least one extra player.
“You may have to look at extending the bench - that's my opinion. We should have a look at five. We lost Ibbotson early today which then puts pressure on the other guys to be able to play out there for longer periods,” Harvey said.
"It won’t detract from the game, it will only add.”
Fremantle went some way to shaking its reputation of being unable to close out games with its final-quarter burst pounding the Bombers into submission.
The game looked over at the 10-minute mark when David Mundy gathered on the wing, took five bounces and goaled when all Essendon players around him looked completely exhausted.
A brilliant last quarter for Fremantle was soured somewhat by an ankle injury to Chris Tarrant in the last minute of the game.
Tarrant was helped from the ground as his side celebrated just its second ever win over Essendon in Melbourne.
Essendon 3.4 6.10 9.13 9.15 (69)
Fremantle 3.2 6.6 11.10 17.11 (113)
GOALS
Essendon: Gumbleton 2, Monfries 2, Zaharakis 2, Prismall, McVeigh, Watson
Fremantle: Ballantyne 3, Headland 2, Pavlich 2, Hasleby, Barlow, Mayne, Tarrant, Ibbotson, Johnson, Mundy, Duffield, Silvagni, Sandilands
BEST
Essendon: Watson, Pears, Dempsey, Slattery, Stanton, Howlett
Fremantle: Sandilands, Barlow, Hill, Johnson, Tarrant, Ballantyne
INJURIES
Essendon: Prismall (head)
Fremantle: Ibbotson (shoulder), Tarrant (ankle)
Reports: Dempsey (Essendon) reported for striking Ballantyne in the second quarter
Umpires: Margetts, Armstrong, Avon
Official crowd: 29,651 at Etihad Stadium
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
