Saturday, 16 February 2019:
A red-hot Fremantle have showcased their burgeoning AFLW premiership credentials with a 33-point thrashing of winless Collingwood.
The unbeaten Dockers powered past the Magpies on Saturday in blustery conditions at Fremantle Oval with a commanding first half propelling them to a convincing 7.9 (51) to 2.6 (18) victory.
Star Ebony Antonio continued to relish her new-found forward role with two goals and had plenty of supply from brilliant midfielder Kara Donnellan (18 disposals).
The Magpies, the lowest scoring team of the competition after two rounds, again struggled to find potency in attack and only kicked their first goal of the match midway through the third quarter.
Sarah D'Arcy and Ash Brazill, a former West Coast Fever netballer, tried hard for the hapless visitors who had kicked just six goals this season.
A competition minnow previously, the Dockers have made a statement this year after their third-straight high-octane performance under new coach Trent Cooper. They had earlier recorded stirring victories over Melbourne and Brisbane.
A confident Dockers started spectacularly against the Magpies, with Kellie Gibson and Antonio slotting brilliant goals from the pocket inside the opening two minutes.
The home side dominated through precise ball movement and blistering foot speed to overwhelm the sluggish Magpies, who struggled to make inroads into the Dockers' stifling defence.
After the initial onslaught, the Magpies held firm as a stalemate ensued but could not peg back the deficit when they kicked with the breeze in the second quarter.
The Dockers outran their opponents and the hard work was rewarded with late goals to Antonio and Kiara Bowers lifting Fremantle to a 31-point lead at halftime.
The Magpies played with more purpose in the second half and finally ended their goal drought when D'Arcy converted after receiving a 50m penalty, but they never seriously threatened despite outscoring the Dockers in the final term.
Collingwood coach Wayne Siekman said his team could take confidence from their second-half performance.
"I asked for a big effort in the last quarter to get momentum for next week (against GWS)," he said.
"It was a good outcome in the second half against a very good team."
Fremantle counterpart Trent Cooper paid tribute to his team's stifling defence when facing the elements.
"I thought we were really good defending for two quarters (when Collingwood kicked with the breeze)," he said.
The Dockers' impressive performance was soured slightly after former Perth Lynx basketballer Brianna Moyes suffered a knee injury in the first quarter to end her debut prematurely.
