Star Fremantle midfielder Kiara Bowers has produced a scintillating display in the wet to lift her side to a gritty nine-point AFLW win over cross-town rivals West Coast.
In a match played in driving rain at Fremantle Oval, the Eagles closed the margin to six points early in the final quarter after forward Imahra Cameron booted a goal.
But the Dockers held their nerve, keeping the ball trapped in their forward half to secure the 2.11 (23) to 2.2 (14) win on Sunday.
Bowers finished with 22 disposals, 14 tackles, seven clearances, and a goal to win the western derby medal as best afield, while fellow midfielder Hayley Miller (14 disposals and five clearances) was also important.
Mikayla Bowen (18 disposals) and Belinda Smith (17) were West Coast's best, while captain Emma Swanson (16 disposals, three clearances) battled hard in an injury-hit midfield.
West Coast suffered a huge blow in the lead-up to the game when star midfielder Dana Hooker was ruled out for the rest of the season due to a freak domestic accident.
Hooker underwent surgery on her right foot after a knife fell from the kitchen bench and sliced her open.
The Eagles suffered another injury blow during Sunday's match when Niamh Kelly suffered a severe laceration on her left hand on the stroke of halftime.
Fremantle crushed West Coast by 45 points in front of 35,185 fans in the first AFLW western derby last year, and Hooker's absence meant the Dockers entered the rematch the hottest of favourites.
But it was the Eagles who got the early jump, with Aisling McCarthy booting the only goal of the first quarter to give the Eagles a 7-3 edge.
Fremantle needed a spark to kick into gear, and Gemma Houghton stepped up to the plate early in the second quarter with a spectacular no-look snap in the wet.
The Dockers won the inside 50m count 11-1 for the term, but a series of behinds let West Coast off the hook.
West Coast's stocks were running think when ruck Parris Laurie limped off with a right knee injury in the third quarter and Andrea Gilmore injured her hand.
Those setbacks came shortly after Bowers had bounced through a goal from 47m out to give Fremantle an important two-goal edge.
Laurie was able to return in the fourth quarter, and when Cameron caught Evangeline Gooch holding the ball and duly converted, the margin was just six points and West Coast sniffed an upset win.
But it was as close as the Eagles could get, with Fremantle lifting a gear from that point on to secure the win.
