Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir lamented a lacklustre first half from his side but remained defiant about their AFL finals prospects after an 11-point away loss to Sydney left them outside the top eight.
The Swans, who never trailed, twice held a 20-point lead in the third quarter at the SCG before the Dockers clawed back to within a point in a nerve-shredding final quarter.
But despite having plenty of ball In their offensive half, the visitors couldn't muster another major, with goals to Will Hayward and Hayden McLean securing Sydney a 14.10 (94) to 12.11 (83) victory.
The Swans snapped Fremantle's six-match winning streak and with the Bulldogs, Suns and Giants all winning, the Dockers dropped from sixth to ninth.
"We're a game out of the four, we lost a game, we're not out of it, (we'll) keep fighting," Longmuir said.
Sydney rose to 10th with their third win in eight home games, but are still three wins out of the eight with seven rounds remaining.
"We're not in a position to be able to go, 'Oh yeah, what's happening a month out'. We're just continually looking at what's right in front of us," Sydney coach Dean Cox said.
McLean kicked three goals, with Joel Amartey, Jake Lloyd and James Jordon bagging two each in an intense contest which brought the first upset of a round in which the top nine faced the bottom nine.
Fremantle had three more inside 50s and four more contested possessions while Sydney notched nine more clearances.
Sydney scored 60 points from stoppages, with Longmuir saying clearances at the centre bounce was an issues for his team in the first half.
"There was some structural set up stuff that wasn't right in the first half and those centre bounces were unacceptable," he said.
"We gave ourselves a chance, which I'm proud of, but in the end they had too much class and finish than us."
In-form Sydney ruckman Brodie Grundy piled up a match-high 12 clearances and dominated early, but Sean Darcy fought back well In the second half.
Jordon held Caleb Serong to just four touches in the first half and 11 for the game while also hurting the Dockers with two goals.
"He was unbelievable," Cox said of Jordon.
Captain Callum Mills topped Sydney's possessions list with 26, while fellow prime movers Errol Gulden and Chad Warner tallied 25 and 24 respectively.
Fremantle forward Shai Bolton, playing his 150th AFL game, didn't touch the ball till late in the second quarter but was far more dangerous in the second half.
Luke Jackson and Josh Treacy both kicked two goals for Fremantle. Nathan O'Driscoll accumulated 26 possessions and Andrew Bradshaw 24.
After all the criticism of the SCG surface at the Paddington End over the past week there were no issues on a dry sunny Sydney day.
Sydney will check on the condition of forward Tom Papley who was replaced at halftime after suffering a hamstring injury, and forward Joel Amartey, who had groin tightness.
It was just Sydney's third home win in eight games.
