Fremantle have piled on the highest score of Justin Longmuir’s coaching tenure in a stunning 92-point demolition of Melbourne in Alice Springs.
The Dockers’ pressure, stoppage work and ball movement were levels above their opponents’ in the thumping 22.9 (141) to 7.7 (49) victory at Traeger Park on Sunday.
Young spearhead Jye Amiss kicked four goals as Fremantle improved to 7-4-1 and added 10.8 percentage points in the process, surging above their opponents into sixth on the ladder.
Hayden Young (26 disposals, four clearances), Caleb Serong (26, eight) and Andrew Brayshaw (25, eight) had field days as ringleaders in a dominant midfield unit.
Alex Pearce (12 intercepts) and Jordan Clark (35 touches, one goal) starred in defence while Sam Switkowski was everywhere in the front half, tallying a career-high 25 disposals, five clearances, four assists and a goal.
Fremantle ruckman Sean Darcy took a physical approach to quelling Max Gawn’s influence, helping the Dockers dominate the clearance battle (47-23) and score freely from stoppages.
Darcy’s partner Luke Jackson was also effective with 16 disposals and three goals, while Josh Treacy and Michael Walters also kicked three majors each.
On a dirty day for Melbourne, they lost experienced wingman Lachie Hunter to a calf injury before halftime and conceded their highest score under eighth-year coach Simon Goodwin.
Christian Petracca (26 disposals, one goal) and Jack Viney (23, one) battled on in a Demons side that was well beaten, while Tom McDonald kicked two goals.
Fremantle’s pressure was off early, allowing Melbourne to kick the first two goals, but quickly ramped up to a level that set the tone for the match.
The Dockers slammed on the next five consecutive goals, including four from forward-half turnovers, in their best opening term of the season so far, leading 5.2 to 2.3 at quarter-time.
Amiss was paid a spectacular high mark in a pack and converted the long set shot to boost his confidence in front of goal, following a wayward couple of weeks.
It came as Fremantle kicked another six goals to one in the second term, with the margin ballooning to 50 points by the main break.
Matters grew worse still for Melbourne, as the Dockers piled on seven goals to two in the third period and turned for home 81 points in front.
Fremantle’s lead reached 100 points at one stage and they briefly had eyes on the fourth triple-figure margin in club history, but couldn’t quite get there.