Fremantle has secured their second win of the season and brought Melbourne's dreams of a 3-0 season to an end in what can only be described as an amazing upset.
With zero inside 50s for the first quarter opposed to Melbourne's 15, it appeared the Demons would only cement their position as premiership favourites and dominate the rest of the game
. But the Dockers clawed their way back, and after a scoreless first quarter emerged victorious by five points at Fremantle Oval, much to the delight of the West Australian crowd.
Looking to rectify their slow starts to games, the Dockers were determined to make an impact from the opening bounce.
Yet it wasn't the impact they were after.
It was all Melbourne in the opening quarter who, with the wind to their advantage, repeatedly bombarded the ball into their forward line, providing ample scoring opportunities.
Even when the Dockers got control of the ball, their kicks always seemed to land on the chests of Melbourne players, who would immediately rebound it into their forward line.
With the Demons accumulating 15 inside 50s to none in the first quarter alone, luck was definitely on the Dockers' side.
Melbourne only scored 1.5 from their manic onslaught, and what looked like certain Demon goals - such as Ebony Antonio stepping outside the goal square following a kick-out - were somehow avoided, albeit narrowly.
Antonio and Evangeline Gooch were nonetheless standouts in the defence despite Fremantle's good fortune, with both limiting several Melbourne scoring attempts.
The Dockers needed a spark to reignite their fight in the second quarter, and that came in the form of debutante Emily McGuire.
Following a long-bomb from Antonio, McGuire found herself at the fall of the ball, and with a great deal of skill and agility, picked the footy up one-handed and snapped it around her body for Fremantle's first score.
McGuire's goal reinvigorated the Dockers, who were much more cohesive and were able to link the ball from end-to-end much cleaner than in the previous quarter.
Still, the Dockers were sloppy entering the 50, and appeared to be hoping for opportunities rather than creating them.
Antonio soon rectified this, and after finding herself in the forward line backed herself from 40m out to convert, giving the Dockers the lead for the first time in the match.
While Daisy Pearce had racked up 15 disposals in the first half despite being tagged by Kara Donnellan, her efforts were unable to result in any team score for the second quarter.
Desperate to hold onto their one-point lead, the Dockers got off to the ideal start with an Amy Lavell major, which was soon followed by another to Lisa Webb.
Three minutes into the quarter the Dockers were up by 13 points, but Richelle Cranston wouldn't have it that way.
Bursting through the midfield, Cranston took two bounces and went long, with goalsneak Aliesha Newman besting her opponent in a footrace to the ball and soccering it through for a goal.
Cranston continued to dominate in the quarter, accumulating another two inside 50s in rapid succession, one of which ended in another Cunningham goal which levelled the scores.
Karen Paxman off the back of a stellar game against the Crows, regained the lead for the Dees with an easy set shot in the final minute of the quarter.
With only six points separating the two sides going into the final quarter, the pressure lifted. Both teams were aware of what was at stake - a 3-0 start for Melbourne would almost guarantee a Grand Final spot, while Fremantle's finals flicker would turn into a definite possibility should they pull off a massive upset.
Fremantle were up for the challenge, and with remarkable coast-to-coast goals from Melissa Caulfied and McGuire, were back in the lead.
With a margin of five points following a heroic rushed behind from Leah Mascall, the Dees were desperate to steal the victory away from the valiant Dockers in the cruellest of fashions.
Despite a frenzied press into their 50 in the last few minutes of the quarter, Melbourne were unable to score that magical goal, resulting in Fremantle attaining their second win of the season.
The Dockers will be dreaming of 3-1 figures as they come up against Brisbane next week, while the Demons will come out firing against their old adversaries, the Western Bulldogs.
FREMANTLE 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 (36) MELBOURNE 1.5 1.5 4.6 4.7 (31)
GOALS Fremantle: McGuire 2, Antonio, Lavell, Webb, Caulfield Melbourne: Cunningham 2, Newman, Paxman
BEST
Melbourne: Pearce, Cunningham, Cranston
Fremantle: Donnellan, Antonio, Gooch
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