Matilda Banfield celebrates a goal during round six, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos/Getty Images

FREMANTLE has revived its season with a powerful 48-point win against a weakened Essendon, dominating the contest at Fremantle Community Bank Oval and keeping the Bombers to a single goal on Saturday afternoon.

Two weeks after their season hit a flashpoint with a 100-point loss to North Melbourne, the Dockers produced a brilliant pressure performance and flexed their midfield muscle to win 9.2 (56) to 1.2 (8), squaring their season at 3-3.  

DOCKERS v BOMBERS Full match coverage and stats

It was a forgettable day for the injury-ravaged Bombers, who were held to just 0.1 across the first three quarters and only avoided a record low score when Daria Bannister got free to kick a running goal and Bonnie Toogood kicked a late behind in the dying minutes.

It was a third straight defeat for the visitors, who are also now 3-3 after making a bright start to the season, with the defeat coming on the back of a 52-point defeat to St Kilda last week.

Star midfielder Kiara Bowers was outstanding for Fremantle, laying a massive 21 tackles to fall just short of her own record of 22, and racking up 22 disposals and 13 contested possessions.

Midfielder Aisling McCarthy was the spark early, kicking back-to-back goals and then pushing on to finish with 24 disposals and eight inside 50s, while Gabby Newton (27 and 10 tackles) was terrific in a complete midfield performance. 

It was a clinical performance from the Dockers, who built their win with relentless tackling pressure (92-63) and a hunger for the contested ball (131-119) in an even team performance.

When the Bombers did go forward, Freo was unrelenting and won critical contests, with Emma O’Driscoll wearing star forward Bonnie Toogood closely in the team’s best performance this season. 

The Dockers jumped into the game with a daring and direct style, but it came as a cost as they handed the ball back to Essendon several times through the opening 10 minutes.

Pressure was high and neither team could break through to score, with the game crying out for some class. Enter McCarthy, who slotted back-to-back goals in a minute to turn the contest.

When Georgie Brisbane marked at the top of the goalsquare and converted, and Gabby O’Sullivan snapped accurately, the Dockers had kicked four unanswered goals in five minutes with the Bombers hardly touching the ball.

The Dockers’ tackling pressure and physicality was at another level and they continued to create opportunities in the second term, with Newton and Gabrielle Biedenweg-Webster slotting set shots to open a 36-point lead at the main break.

The Bombers’ only score came when Toogood, who had been well held by O’Driscoll, snapped a behind, with the Dockers entering the main break in complete control.

The second half was more even on the scoreboard and included the bombers sole goal when Bannister converted on the run, with interest centring on whether Bowers would break her own tackling record as the Dockers reignited their campaign.  

Memorable goal for Docker debutant
Poppy Stockwell was sandwiched between Bombers opponents Chloe Adams and Georgia Clarke when Mim Strom’s high kick came down close to the goalline, but the young Docker showed her class to take a clever mark in the third quarter and convert the first goal of her career on debut. A former State cricketer, Stockwell was quiet in the first half but she made a nice cameo to kick the only goal of the third quarter. The South Fremantle product played as a deep forward and, while it didn’t always come off, she showed an ability to fly for marks and apply pressure at ground level.  

Bombers hit wall with ball movement
For the second time in three weeks, the Bombers were restricted to just 21 inside 50s for the game, with their ball-movement unable to pierce through Freo’s revitalised team defence and relentless pressure. The Bombers trailed 5-12 in forward entries at quarter time and never recovered, despite sending an extra forward to stoppages to try and gain a foothold in the match.  Uncontested marks (43-38) was one of the few stats the Bombers were able to gain an edge in, but it wasn’t effective against a disciplined Freo team that worked as hard as it has this season.  

Next up
The Bombers face the biggest test in the AFLW when they return home to host North Melbourne on Friday, starting at 3.05pm AEST at Windy Hill. The Dockers will also feature on the Grand Final eve public holiday, travelling to take on Carlton at Ikon Park, starting at 5.05pm AEST.

FREMANTLE                    4.0   6.1   7.1   9.2 (56)
ESSENDON                      0.0   0.1   0.1   1.2 (8)  

GOALS
Fremantle: McCarthy 2, Banfield, Beidenweg-Webster, Brisbane, Miller, Newton, O’Sullivan, Stockwell
Essendon: Bannister

BEST
Fremantle: McCarthy, Bowers, Newton, Strom, O’Driscoll, Miller
Essendon: Prespakis, Nanscawen, Wales

INJURIES
Fremantle: Nil
Essendon: Nil

Crowd: TBC at Fremantle Community Bank OvalÂ