Fremantle will be sweating on the fitness of Alex Pearce after the star skipper hyper-extended his left elbow during his side's 20-point AFL win over Gold Coast at Optus Stadium.
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The Dockers' midfield produced an unexpected glut of goals to help the hosts to a 12.13 (85) to 10.5 (65) win in front of 40,637 fans on Sunday.
The result lifted Fremantle (8-5-1) into fifth spot, while Gold Coast (7-7) have slipped to 12th following back-to-back losses.
Fremantle's premiership mettle will be severely tested when they take on leaders Sydney at the SCG next Saturday.
And they may be without Pearce, whose elbow briefly bent the wrong way when he came crashing to the turf late in the third quarter.
Pearce immediately made his way to the bench, and was subbed out of the game, with concerns over his elbow and forearm.
Dockers forward Josh Treacy also sent a scare through the camp when he hurt his left shoulder while laying a huge tackle in the final term.
Treacy was able to return to the field a short time later.
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir accused his players of stuffing their stats book during last week's 67-point loss to the Western Bulldogs.
They did it again on Sunday - but in the best possible way this time.
Goals from the midfield have been rare for Fremantle this season, but Hayden Young (three goals), Caleb Serong (one goal), Andrew Brayshaw (one goal) and ruckman Sean Darcy (one goal) all hit the scoreboard.
Nat Fyfe almost scored a goal as well, only for his close-range snap in the third quarter to drift just wide.
Darcy finished with 12 clearances to go with his 20 disposals and 39 hitouts, while Treacy (two goals, three contested marks) was a bullocking presence in attack.
Gold Coast winger Wil Powell, playing his first match since serving a five-game ban for a homophobic slur, finished with 22 disposals, three score assists and 523m gained.
Gold Coast entered the match with a 7-0 home record this season but a 0-5 return on the road.
That road record for 2024 now stands at 0-6, and it's seriously compromising their chances of making the finals for the first time.
Matt Rowell (23 disposals, 10 clearances) caused Fremantle some early troubles in the midfield as Gold Coast kicked the opening two goals.
Young's snap and Treacy's big pack mark and goal gave the Dockers a three-point lead at quarter time, and Fremantle kicked four goals to one in the second term to open up a 23-point lead by the long break.
Fremantle led the clearance count 22-11 at half-time, with Dockers ruckman Darcy tallying six clearances in a dominant first-half display.
Jordan Clark provided the highlight of the third quarter when he took five bounces on the wing before centring the ball to Brayshaw for a goal.
The Dockers led by 34 points at the final change, and they were able to hold off Gold Coast's belated comeback.
Australian Associated Press
