An incredibly inaccurate Melbourne outfit has persevered past Fremantle by a definitive 54 points in sweltering conditions at TIO Stadium on Saturday night.
While the mercury peaked at 24 degrees, the humidity of 78 per cent proved to be the real kicker, with both sides' subsequent fatigue playing a major role in the initial low-scoring affair.
Melbourne registered 78 inside 50s yet produced a scoreline of 13.24 (102) to show for their dominance in the forward half of their ground, with eight goals coming from the second half.
Without the seasoned heads of Nat Fyfe or Aaron Sandilands, Fremantle struggled to match the likes of Clayton Oliver (35 disposals, two goals) and Max Gawn (42 hit-outs, 20 disposals) who were best afield for the Demons up north.
It was all Melbourne to begin the match, yet their poor kicks at goal and 2.9 for the term allowed Fremantle to remain well within the contest.
Jesse Hogan was the focal point of the Demons' attack, proving himself to be a handful for the Fremantle defence with three marks and three shots on goal within the space of a few minutes.
The Dockers were fortunate that all three of Hogan's shots on goal were awry, and even ended up clinching the first goal of the game through Tommy Sheridan, but the Melbourne forward finally kicked true with his fourth attempt.
Despite owning the ball in their half of the ground, smashing Freo in the clearances (11-3) and inside 50s (21-6), the Demons were exceptionally wasteful in front of the big sticks.
Although down on the stats sheet and on the scoreboard, the Dockers made the most of their opportunities, with David Mundy cutting off an attempted Melbourne switch to put through his side's second from just their fourth entry.
The two Fremantle majors for the term ultimately came from their ability to spread and open Melbourne wide open, leaving them vulnerable as they streamed directly to goal.
With Jake Melksham responding soon after among a flurry of minor scores, the Demons moved to quarter-time with a narrow nine-point lead.
Although fortunate for Melbourne's wayward kicking, the Dockers still had a lot of areas to improve upon, most importantly their hardness around the contest - something which was evidently lacking given the contested possession count (37-24) at the first change.
Fortune once again favoured Fremantle in the second half, who clawed back two goals and left Melbourne ruing at their 3.6 second quarter effort.
As the humidity continued to climb, fatigue set in for both sides early in the piece, with the subsequently greasy conditions failing to make the situation any easier.
After a series of turnovers and the muggy weather contributing to the poor shots on goal, Fremantle once again got the opening goal of the term - albeit 14 minutes in - through the pacey Michael Walters.
Melbourne nevertheless managed to hit the scoreboard soon after, with Nathan Jones, Jeff Garlett and Tom McDonald combining to make it three consecutive Melbourne majors to undo all the Dockers' hard work.
Once again well on top of the inside 50 count for the term (23-6) and having 50 more possessions in the forward half than that of their opposition, Melbourne's margin should have been far greater at half-time.
Brennan Cox stemmed the potential flow after threading the needle from the pocket in the quarter's dying seconds, leaving the Dockers 19 points down at half-time.
Although the margin was well within reach, a four goal to two term in favour of Melbourne made the daunting task even more difficult, despite it taking a considerable amount of time before the Demons got a wriggle on.
Another dry spell ensued at the onset of the third term, with 13 minutes elapsing before Clayton Oliver slotted through the maiden major of he quarter off the back of a 50m penalty against Adam Cerra.
Much like the second term, the humidity severely impeded both sides' ability to string together clean ball and effectively penetrate the scoreboard, with stagnant forward lines becoming the norm from the get-go.
While both sides managed to pepper the behinds on occasion, resulting in the Dockers dragging one man back to help limit any majors, Melbourne finally kicked true through Christian Salem and Oliver.
The Dockers managed to piece together a late run with both Cox and Sheridan taking their tallies to two apiece, yet their efforts weren't quite enough to minimise the damage inflicted by the Demons.
A ruck infringement against Sean Darcy on the siren only worsened the situation, with Max Gawn slotting through a handy goal to extend the margin to 31 points at three-quarter time.
The margin only continued to grow in the fourth quarter, with the Dockers failing to register a major as the Demons piled on four goals to one.
It again took some time for the Dees to get the ball rolling, but before long the home side had steamrolled their exhausted opposition.
As Charlie Spargo, James Harmes and Alex Neal-Bullen each added their names to the scoresheet converted, the Dockers had been well and truly cooked by both the heat and the Demons' fiery finish.
With Hogan capping off the evening with his second major, Walters managed to claw one back in the final minutes of the game to put the final margin at 54 points.
Melbourne will be back on their true home deck when they take on the Western Bulldogs on the MCG next Saturday afternoon, while Fremantle too will head home to Optus Stadium face Port Adelaide on Sunday.
MELBOURNE 2.9 5.15 9.18 13.24 (102)
FREMANTLE 2.0 4.2 6.5 7.6 (48)
GOALS
Melbourne: Oliver 2, Hogan 2, Harmes, Jones, Salem, Farlett, Neal-Bullen, T. McDonald, Melksham, Gawn, Spargo
Fremantle: Cox 2, Sheridan 2, Mundy, Walters
BEST
Melbourne: S. Hill, Mundy, Sheridan, Cerra, Cox, Walters, Hamling
Fremantle: Oliver, Gawn, Brayshaw, Salem, Viney, Hogan
INJURIES
Melbourne: Nil
Fremantle: Nil
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