FREMANTLE came from 25 points down late in the final quarter to snatch a thrilling five-point western derby Bushfire Appeal victory over West Coast at Subiaco Oval on Saturday night.
The Eagles appeared to have the NAB Challenge fixture in the bag after Mark LeCras kicked his fifth goal to give West Coast a 106-81 lead at the 25-minute mark of the last term.
But Freo came home in a hurry, slamming through the final five goals of the match, three of which were kicked by Ryan Crowley, to steal a 17.9 (111) to 16.10 (106) triumph in front of 20,002 fans.
The new rushed behind rule will again be in the spotlight after West Coast defender Brett Jones was penalised for punching through Rhys Palmer's shot on goal, gifting Crowley a six-pointer that closed the margin to one point.
Under the new law, defenders are only allowed to rush a behind if it's a spoil.
Crowley finished the match with four goals while Kepler Bradley kicked three.
2008 NAB Rising Star winner Palmer was influential through the midfield and also chipped in with two goals, while Roger Hayden, Daniel Gilmore, David Mundy and Byron Schammer also impressed.
Ben McKinley and LeCras booted five goals apiece for the Eagles, while Mitch Brown quelled Fremantle skipper Matthew Pavlich and Matt Spangher also put in an eye-catching performance.
Eagles tagger Adam Selwood faces a nervous wait after he was reported in the second quarter for striking Fremantle's Clayton Hinkley.
West Coast looked dangerous in their forward 50 whenever they breached Fremantle’s zone, but getting it in there proved tricky early on.
Daniel Kerr was flattened by Hayden midway through the opening term but the Eagles midfielder shook off the hit to help his side to a slender 26-22 lead at quarter-time.
The Eagles took a one-point lead into half time but pulled away from Freo after the break as LeCras came to life.
The 22-year-old kicked two third-quarter goals, while McKinley added two of his own for the term to give West Coast a 13-point advantage entering the final change.
The Eagles surged to a 25-point lead late in the final quarter but, just as the game looked done and dusted, Fremantle stormed home and stole the win.
FREMANTLE 3.4 5.5 8.8 17.9 (111)
WEST COAST 4.2 5.6 10.9 16.10 (106)
Fremantle: R Crowley 4, K Bradley 3, R Palmer 2, C Tarrant 2, M Johnson 2, R Hayden, B Schammer, M Walters, J Head. West Coast: B McKinley 5, M LeCras 5, Q Lynch 2, A Hansen, B Staker, J McNamara, A Selwood.
Best
Fremantle: R Palmer, D Gilmore, R Crowley, D Mundy, R Hayden, B Schammer. West Coast: B McKinley, M Brown, M Spangher, M LeCras, D Wirrpanda, D Kerr.
Reports
Fremantle: C Hinkley (Fremantle) by umpire B Rosebury in the second quarter. West Coast: A Selwood (West Coast) for striking
Umpires: B Rosebury, D Margetts, T Keating.
Crowd: 20,002 at Subiaco Oval.
