The Eagles controlled the game in the first half, but a third quarter fightback from the Dockers saw them level the scores at the last change, before West Coast kicked away to win 16.16.112 to 13.10.88.
Young West Coast ruckman Michael Gardiner was best man on the ground, picking up 14 possessions and nine marks as he dominated the ruck and then caused further headaches in his stint at centre half forward.
West Coast has never had a dominant centre half forward, but with the emergence of rookie ruckman Dean Cox, Gardiner, who the Eagles picked up as their No.1 draft selection in 1996, could spend more time in the key post.
Despite last week's seven-goal hero Troy Wilson spraying four points and an out-of-bounds on the full, before tuning his radar to finish with two goals, the Eagles had too many avenues to goal.
The Dockers were again well-served by their possession-hungry midfield of Peter Bell, Adrian Fletcher and Paul Hasleby but received just two goals from tall forwards Matthew Pavlich, Clive Waterhouse and Tony Modra.
For the Eagles, Drew Banfield, who has made his mark as a gritty run with player, cut loose to boot three goals from his 30 possessions while captain Ben Cousins continued the stellar form he has shown since assuming the captaincy this year with 28 touches and two vital final-quarter goals to seal the victory.
Neither side could gain the ascendancy in the first quarter, but the Eagles made more of their forays into the attacking 50m arc and went into the break with a 13-point lead after full forward Scott Cummings, who booted 10 in the corresponding match last year, kicked two off strong marks.
But the Dockers came out firing in the second, booting four unanswered goals to take a 13-point lead.
But when Troy Cook gave away a 50m penalty to Drew Banfield, which resulted in his first goal, the momentum swung back into the Eagles favour.
Adding to the Dockers' woes, bustling forward Clive Waterhouse left the field mid-way through the second quarter with a torn hamstring and did not return.
Waterhouse had been the Dockers major attacking force until then and looked set to tear the game apart as he dominated Michael Collica in the air and on the ground.
With Banfield putting in his best performance of the past two seasons, the Eagles finished the quarter full of running to head into the main break with a 15-point lead.
Half way through the third term the result looked beyond doubt as the Eagles midfield continued to pump the ball forward as the lead stretched to 31-point lead.
But as they had in the second, the Dockers once again fought back with four unanswered goals.
This time Daniel Bandy was the unlikely hero.
Bandy, who was relieving Justin Longmuir in the ruck, floated deep into attack to pull down three crucial marks.
However, twice he played on after strong grabs in an attempt to beat the man on the mark and twice he failed, squandering certain scoring opportunities from set shots.
The scores were tied at three quarter time and it was just a matter of which side wanted it more.
Scoreboard:
WEST COAST: 3.4, 7.9, 9.14, 16.16 (112)
FREMANTLE: 1.3, 5.6, 10.8, 13.10 (88)
Goals:
West Coast: M Gardiner 5 D Banfield 3 B Cousins 2 S Cummings 2 T Wilson 2 M Merenda R Taylor.
Fremantle: S McManus 3 D Bandy 2 D Metropolis P Haselby T Modra H Black M Carr A Grover J Longmuir C Waterhouse.
Best:
West Coast: M Gardiner D Banfield B Cousins P Matera A MacIntosh C Morrison.
Fremantle: A Fletcher S McManus P Haselby J Longmuir P Bell M Carr.
Injuries:
West Coast: D Kemp (concussion).
Fremantle: C Waterhouse (hamstring).
Crowd: 38,804 at Subiaco Oval, Perth.
