If you're above a certain age you might still consider Fremantle Football Club as a new addition to the AFL, and you might therefor be surprised to learn that today marks a quarter of a century since the Dockers came to Whitten Oval to play the Bulldogs for the very first time.

The two sides played out a thriller.  The match was described by Channel 7's Peter Landy as a "ball-burster", and the result was in doubt right up until the final siren.  In fact, it was still in doubt after final siren.

Fremantle, resplendent in their purple, red, green and white jumpers, ran out onto Whitten Oval full of confidence, having defeated Geelong at the WACA a week earlier to record their first-ever win.

The Dogs, too, were feeling confident, heading into the Round 5 match with a 3-1 record and on the back of a solid win over Melbourne six days earlier.

Kicking with the breeze to the scoreboard end, the Dogs kicked four goals in the first term but were unable to stop the Dockers from kicking four of their own.  By half time Fremantle was ahead by 10 points and the Bulldogs were looking to make better use of the wind in the third quarter.

They were unable to do so, and they went into the final term still trailing by 10 points and kicking into the wind.  Footscray had to dig deep, and they did just that, booting two of the first three goals of the quarter to cut the deficit to just four points.

Then, some beautiful midfield manoeuvring from 21-year-old Rohan Smith saw him break free and find Chris Grant in the forward pocket.  From a difficult angle Grant, who was acting captain in the absence of the injured Scott Wynd, ran around and kicked truly.  The Bulldogs were in front, with seven minutes left on the clock.

For the next five minutes the Dogs defended grimly, but when Docker Leigh Wardell-Johnson marked and goaled with just two minutes to go, Fremantle was back in front and heartbreak loomed.

Enter Jason Watts.  A long kick towards the goal square from Grant came off hands and Watts, in perfect crumbing position, roved the pack beautifully and snapped truly.  With a minute to go the Bulldogs were once again in front and almost home.

But there was to be one final twist.  Fremantle attacked in the final minute but the Dogs' defence held firm, playing 'keepings off' in defence.  Then with seconds remaining, Bulldog Peter Quill inexplicably tried to centre the ball to a team-mate, but the ball landed in the arms of Fremantle captain Ben Allan just before the final siren sounded.

A goal from the Fremantle skipper would give the Dockers victory.  He had to kick from outside 50, but he had the wind behind him.  Allan unleashed a beautiful torpedo.  It was on-line, but it fell just short, the Dogs defenders knocking it away from the goal mouth.

Victory to the Bulldogs by just two points.

Leon Cameron and Tony Liberatore were stars for the Dogs, both collecting more than 30 touches and each kicking an important goal.  Ilija Grgic was a tower of strength in the ruck, while Richard Osborne (four goals) and Chris Grant (three goals) were also pivotal to the win.

Twenty-five years on and that inaugural meeting remains the closest encounter in the 32 games the Dogs and Dockers have played.  The ledger is square at 16-16 between the two sides, so the Bulldogs will be looking to edge ahead the next time the teams meet.

In a statistical oddity, Fremantle holds an interesting record against the Bulldogs.  Including the finals, the Dogs won seven of their last eight games of their premiership year, 2016, and then won four of the first five matches of 2017.

The Bulldogs' only losses in that period came in Round 23, 2016 and Round 3, 2017, both against Fremantle. 

That streak lasted from 30 July 2016 until April 27, 2017 so the Dockers can claim to be the only team able to match the might of the Bulldogs over a period of nine months!