Brownlow Medal favourite Nat Fyfe played a starring role but was also reported as unbeaten Fremantle overcame the Western Bulldogs by 13 points in an AFL thriller.
Fyfe clattered into the legs of Koby Stevens late in the third quarter of the 15.11 (101) to 14.4 (88) win at Etihad Stadium and went into the umpire's book.
Led by a career-best seven-goal haul from Tory Dickson, the Bulldogs looked set to record a stunning upset when they drew level with the Dockers with six minutes left.
But a Michael Walters goal with 1:11 to go took his side's lead to seven points and skipper Matthew Pavlich put the result beyond doubt with his fifth major inside the last minute.
Fyfe gathered 30 possessions, had 10 clearances and kicked three goals, but he faces a nervous wait to learn how the match review panel assesses his clumsy attempt to tackle Stevens.
Dockers coach Ross Lyon wouldn't be drawn on the Fyfe incident, but he was delighted with the way his players answered the challenge to record the team's seventh win of the season.
"You're not always going to be at your very, very best," Lyon said.
"I thought our leadership and will to win when we were under more pressure than we probably should have been was really strong."
The Dockers looked set to cement their hold on top spot with ease after they bounced out of the blocks with six of the first seven goals to lead by 34 points early in the second quarter.
But a week after the Bulldogs gave up a 55-point lead to lose to St Kilda, they launched a determined counter-attack with skipper Bob Murphy (29 disposals) once again a key figure.
They started the last quarter 22 points in arrears, but kicked the first three goals to set up the thrilling finale.
With veteran ruckman Will Minson still cooling his heels in the VFL, Ayce Cordy was complemented by Tom Boyd and Marcus Bontempelli in the ruck against Aaron Sandilands and Zac Clarke.
The Bulldogs trio proved no match for the seasoned Fremantle pair, who finished with 50 and 14 hitouts respectively in a lopsided 69-13 team tally.
Coach Luke Beveridge revealed that he'd conceded that Fremantle would win the hitouts and was willing to allow that to unfold as he tried to test the Dockers in other areas.
The coach, while gutted for his players, said there were plenty of positives from the performance.
"I think the most important lesson we'll learn is that (we're) a strong group and they're willing to persist under some duress," Beveridge said.
"It's just another feather in their caps to fight their way back and learn a little bit about playing a side like Fremantle who don't let up."
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