With the roof open and the sun shining, the Dockers broke the game open with a six-goals-to-two third quarter, but switched off in the final term as the Blues mounted a valiant but ill-fated late charge.
Peter Bell was important as usual for Fremantle with 23 touches, David Mundy was all class in defence and Ryan Murphy was dangerous up forward, finishing with five goals.
For Carlton, Kade Simpson continues to grow as a footballer with 28 possessions and 13 marks and, despite being well-held early, Brendan Fevola finished with five goals.
The Blues opened with plenty run and controlled the first five minutes of play, but let themselves down with poor kicking for goal. They could easily have had three goals before the Dockers registered their first, but as it happened they had just two points up when Ryan Crowley banged though Fremantle's opening goal.
That led to a period of Docker domination, but they too were wasteful in their forward 50 with Jeff Farmer, Crowley and then Luke Webster missing shots before Webster redeemed himself with Freo's second.
Simpson put in a nomination for ugliest goal of the year when he wobbled and floated one through midway through the term, but it cut the Blues' deficit to one straight kick nonetheless.
Bret Thornton made a good start matched up against Matthew Pavlich, but the dangerous Docker received a gift from Webster who hand-passed him a certain goal late in the quarter to help his side to a 14-point lead at quarter's end.
Both sides struggled to maintain possession of the ball in excellent conditions for football in the second term, but the Dockers eventually managed to get their ducks in a row and finished the half well to lead by 22 points at the main break.
It took a while for that gap to develop though, with Simon Wiggins making the most of a bad Luke McPharlin kick-in to goal and Lance Whitnall needing two shots and a 50-metre penalty to finally split the middle. Bell was getting plenty of the ball and put through his first midway through the quarter and Troy Cook did his best to miss an open goal, but squeezed it inside the post to maintain the Dockers' lead.
Fevola had been quiet, but he gave his minder McPharlin the slip twice to bang through a couple, but Fremantle slotted the last two of the half and McPharlin redeemed himself by taking a screamer in his defensive 50 to relieve the pressure.
The Dockers appeared to have ended the contest when they scored the first three goals of the second half, with two of those coming from the boot of Ryan Murphy who went on to boot four for the term in a dominant display from full-forward.
Jarrad Waite took a nice mark and goaled and Anthony Koutoufides turned back the clock with a vintage goal running inside 50, but they were the only Blue majors for the quarter with the Dockers leading by 45 points at the last change.
It was always going to be a tough ask for Carlton to get a positive result from that position, but the Bluebaggers gave the Dockers - who seemed to be on the way home mentally - a bit of fright in the last.
Six goals - including three to Fevola - to one saw Carlton steam home, but the damage had already been done as the Dockers hung on for the win.
CARLTON: 1.2 5.6 7.10 13.11. 89
FREMANTLE: 3.6 8.10 14.13 15.17 107
GOALS - Carlton:Fevola 5, Koutoufides 2, Walker, Russell, Simpson, Whitnall, Waite, Wiggins
Fremantle: Murphy 5, Pavlich 2, Farmer 2, Webster, Carr, Cook, Crowley, Sandilands, Bell
BEST - Carlton: Simpson, Walker, Fevola, Koutoufides, Scotland, Thornton
Fremantle: Bell, Johnson, Murphy, Pavlich, Mundy, McPharlin, Sandilands, Black
INJURIES - Carlton: - Nil
Fremantle: - Nil
CHANGES - Carlton: - Nil
Fremantle: Longmuir (knee) in selected side by Medhurst
REPORTS - - Nil
UMPIRES - Justin Schmitt, Chris Kamolins and Kieron Nicholls
CROWD - 17,518
