Essendon coach John Worsfold will consider resting more of his stars in the coming weeks after watching his team run out of puff in Sunday's 37-point loss to Fremantle at Domain Stadium.
The Bombers held a 27-point lead at the 18-minute mark of the second term, but were steamrolled in the final quarter as the Dockers piled on six unanswered goals.
Under-fire forward Joe Daniher, who booted 1.6 in a loss to Melbourne last week, was a strong presence up forward to finish with 3.0 and five score assists from 20 disposals.
But Essendon faded badly in the second half, with Dockers forward Matt Taberner booting four goals to help power Fremantle to the 17.14 (116) to 11.13 (79) win.
Dockers midfielders Lachie Neale (38 disposals) and Brad Hill (37) were crucial in the win, while Taberner, Cam McCarthy and Shane Kersten combined for eight goals as Fremantle's forward line finally clicked into gear.
The result boosted Fremantle's record to 4-3, while Essendon have lost four of their past five matches to slump to 3-4.
The Bombers were playing their third game in the space of 12 days, and the 30-degree heat that greeted them at bounce down compounded their woes.
"Fremantle were definitely running stronger than us in the second half," Worsfold said.
"I thought the boys hung in there really strongly in the third quarter, but could not match them in that last quarter.
"It was tough. The players looked pretty physically stressed in that last quarter especially."
Worsfold rested Jobe Watson, Andrew McGrath, and Ben McNiece for the trip west.
All three are expected to return for Saturday's clash with Geelong at the MCG, but Worsfold will consider resting some other players in the coming weeks to avoid burnout.
"We've got to assess the form of players and how they're tracking physically," Worsfold said.
Daniher entered the game under a mountain of pressure following his wayward return last week.
His nerves would have been calmed somewhat when he took a mark just outside the goalsquare and then played on to snap truly at the eight-minute mark.
And he had two straight goals to his name when he sneaked through a 30m set shot early in the second term.
Daniher produced his best moment of the match in the third quarter when he brushed off two tackles before kicking a goal with a clever check-side kick.
But Taberner was just as good at the other end.
The 23-year-old had been overlooked for selection in the first six games of the season, leaving his AFL career at the crossroads.
But he made up for lost time on Sunday with arguably the finest performance of his 46-game career.
Taberner finished with 18 disposals, nine marks, six hit-outs, and 4.1.
"David Hale has worked really closely with him and it's nice that he got some reward for effort," Dockers coach Ross Lyon said.
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