Fremantle have survived a massive scare from St Kilda to return to the AFLW’s top eight, launching a late comeback to topple the bottom-placed Saints by 11 points at Cockburn ARC Oval.
Hawthorn’s shock loss to Greater Western Sydney earlier in the day left the door ajar for the Dockers to vault back into the finals places.
And while they appeared no certainty to take it when they found themselves trailing as late as the ninth minute of the final quarter, they were able to do just enough to come away with a 7.9 (51) to 6.4 (40) win which returned them to eighth on the ladder.
While the Dockers will close out the home and away season with a tough pair of clashes against second-placed Geelong and seventh-placed Sydney, the victory has ensured they will enter the final fortnight in control of their own destiny.
Veteran Kiara Bowers continued a career-best season with a 36-disposal, 11-clearance performance which also included a goal, capitalising on the ruck dominance of Mim Strom (27 disposals, 30 hit-outs).
Lively forward Noa McNaughton was also crucial, kicking two goals while also setting up crucial late majors for Eden Zanker (two goals) and Hayley Miller.
In the first term, Dockers kicked into the teeth of the considerable breeze they have been forced to become accustomed with at their home ground, but managed to strike first through Bowers producing a classy finish on the run.
Having had several early attacking forays cut out by Fremantle’s spare defender Lily Johnson, the Saints were at last able to open their account through Zoe Besanko only moments before the opening break.
Despite being sent away from the scoring end in the second term, the spirited Saints continued to play much of the game in their own attacking territory, heading into half-time owning an 18-14 advantage in inside-50s.
But an efficient Fremantle were good enough to open up a 15-point advantage at the main interval, with McNaughton following up Matilda Banfield by slotting a checkside from deep in the pocket on the stroke of the siren.
When the Saints needed a lift, it came from their captain Serene Watson. Having gone without a goal in the first 75 games of her career, the All Australian defender managed two within the span of eight minutes in the third term to cut their deficit back inside one straight kick.
And as the pressure the Dockers had been put under began to tell on them, Nicola Xenos capitalised on a holding free kick paid inside the goal square to give the visitors their first lead of the afternoon.
With their season all but on the line, Fremantle franked a dominant start to the final term through Zanker to reclaim their advantage, only for Saints speedster Ashleigh Richards to hit back and set up a grandstand finish.
McNaughton gave the Dockers an instant response with a classy snap before twice turning provider, and they spent the game’s final minutes grimly defending to ensure they would come away with a crucial win.
SCOREBOARD
FREMANTLE 1.2, 3.5, 3.6, 7.9 (51)
ST KILDA 1.0, 1.2, 4.4, 6.4 (40)
Goals - FREMANTLE: E Zanker 2 N McNaughton 2 H Miller K Bowers M Banfield.
ST KILDA: S Watson 2 N Xenos T Smith A Richards Z Besanko.
Best - FREMANTLE: K Bowers N McNaughton M Strom A McCarthy M Banfield G Newton.
ST KILDA: G Patrikios S Watson M Louvel-Finn T Smith A Barr.
Injuries - FREMANTLE: M Scanlon (ankle).
Umpires: G Simmonds Z Mertens A Bennett. Crowd: TBC at Cockburn ARC Oval.