IF RORY Lobb is to end up at the Whitten Oval this October, the Fremantle star nailed the job interview at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.

The Western Bulldogs have been on the record about their interest and the 29-year-old provided them with a taste of what might be to come, booting four goals to catapult the Dockers back into the top-four on the back of the 17-point win.

Lobb kicked all four goals from outside 50 – and all from set shots off a flurry of short steps – taking his career-best season to 34 goals from 18 games. 

BULLDOGS v DOCKERS Full match coverage and stats

Justin Longmuir’s side might not finish the weekend there, but they are now guaranteed of a finals spot for the first time since 2015, almost certainly forcing the Dogs to win the final two games of the season to play finals after the 14.11 (95) to 11.12 (78) victory.

After being held to just five goals across four quarters by Melbourne last Friday night, Fremantle kicked that many by quarter-time to record its highest first-quarter score of the season. 

The Dockers had eclipsed their score from last week by four minutes into the second quarter when Lachie Schultz slotted a goal and finished a dominant first half with 58 points on the board – second highest of 2022 – on the back of 61 more uncontested possessions and 44 more uncontested marks. 

It threatened to get ugly from there for the Western Bulldogs. And when Andrew Brayshaw kicked the opening goal of the second half the Dockers led by 29 points and almost looked home. 

But just when the game looked beyond their grasp, Aaron Naughton and Cody Weightman kicked clever goals to give the Bulldogs a pulse. 

Yet every time the Dogs made a move, Fremantle countered to maintain an advantage at the final change after both sides kicked four each in an entertaining third quarter. 

Naughton returned to form with three goals, while Josh Dunkley was the most dominant midfielder on the ground, finishing with a game-high 32 disposals, six clearances and a goal. 

But it wasn’t enough. 

After three weeks without a win – and only two wins from the past six weeks – Fremantle has reignited its season with another impressive win on the road. 

The Dockers have thrived away from home in 2022, especially in Melbourne and especially at Marvel Stadium. They have now won six games and drawn another – that memorable Friday night game against Richmond in round 19 – breaking their previous best haul of five wins outside Western Australia in 2013. 

TOUGH RUN HOME Dogs rue missed opportunities

Fremantle has struggled to kick goals at time of late – they were ranked No. 13 for points for after 20 rounds – and hadn’t registered triple figures since round eight, but they found form under the roof in Docklands. 

Matt Taberner kicked two first-quarter goals and provided a key target inside 50 before being substituted out of the game in the third quarter with a calf issue, while Michael Frederick kicked three goals. 

The Western Bulldogs will now most likely need to beat Greater Western Sydney at Marvel Stadium next Saturday and Hawthorn at University of Tasmania Stadium in round 23 to play finals.

Freo star facing fresh injury concerns
Matt Taberner’s frustrating season has continued with the key forward suffering a calf injury on Saturday. The Dockers star has been sidelined with hamstring and back issues this season and now might be facing a race against time to be fit for the finals if he has strained his calf. Taberner was on the cusp of being dropped ahead of this game, but roared back to form in the opening quarter, slotting two goals.

A sneak peak of the future
It was only fitting that the son of a gun made his highly anticipated debut in the retro jumper. After arriving at the Whitten Oval with a stress fracture in his foot, Sam Darcy was finally unleashed after building form in the VFL across nine games. The 2021 No. 2 pick became the latest Western Bulldogs’ father-son recruit to play – the sixth at the kennel right now – at the highest level, following in the footsteps of his famous father, Luke. He started with an intercept mark four minutes into the opening quarter and showed glimpses of his marking ability behind the ball, finishing with eight marks and 10 disposals.

Final Victorian appearance for Mundy
'Mundy four hundy' was a dream many Fremantle supporters had before Monday when games record holder David Mundy announced he is walking away from the game at the end of this season. Such has been his form in 2022, many thought the 37-year-old would go on for another year and have a crack at becoming just the sixth player in VFL/AFL history to play 400 games. That won’t happen, but the veteran midfielder produced another strong showing in what could potentially be his final game in Melbourne.

WESTERN BULLDOGS     3.4      5.5       9.9      11.12 (78)
FREMANTLE                     5.1      9.4      13.8     14.11 (95)

GOALS  
Western Bulldogs: Naughton 3, Weightman 3, Bruce, Dunkley, English, Smith, Vandermeer
Fremantle: Lobb 4, Frederick 3, Taberner 2, Brayshaw, Logue, O’Driscoll, Schultz, Walters

BEST   
Western Bulldogs: Dunkley, Smith, Naughton, Liberatore, Macrae, Weightman
Fremantle: Ryan, Lobb, Serong, Clark, Chapman, Brayshaw 

INJURIES  
Western Bulldogs: Nil
Fremantle: Taberner (calf) 

MEDI-SUBS  
Western Bulldogs: Toby McLean (unused)
Fremantle: Liam Henry (replaced Matt Taberner in the third quarter)