As most AFL clubs can attest, the trip West to play the Dockers or Eagles is one of the toughest assignments in football.

The Bulldogs are no exception, having saluted in just four out of the last 18 trips to Perth Stadium or Subiaco.

One of those wins for the Bulldogs was a famous one, in 2008 against Fremantle, in what is the slimmest margin ever between the two sides.

It was Round 8 that year that the Dogs crossed the Nullarbor on the back of an unbeaten record (six wins and a draw), while the Dockers had recorded just the solitary win in their first eight matches.

Neither side could get the ascendancy in a high-scoring opening half, with just one point separating the sides.

The Dockers edged their way ahead in the third term with five goals to two, with Matthew Pavlich and Chris Tarrant (three goals each) proving a handful up forward, while Bob Murphy had managed three of his own to keep the visitors in the contest.

Thirteen minutes into the final stanza, Fremantle led by 18 points and, on their home deck, would take some beating.

But up stepped Adam Cooney, who kicked two goals in two minutes to reduce the margin to five points, and Scott Welsh put the Bulldogs in front at the 22-minute mark.

The Dogs finished with the last six scoring shots of the game, surviving a tense last few minutes to clinch a famous victory.

The Bulldogs went on to play in the 2008 finals, eventually falling to Geelong in the Preliminary Final. 

MATCH DETAILS

Fremantle                           6.2          9.5          14.8        17.9 (111)
Western Bulldogs            6.3          9.4          11.8        17.12 (114) 

GOALS

Fremantle: Pavlich 4, Tarrant 4, Peake 2, Bradley, Crowley, Farmer, Ibbotson, Mundy, Palmer, Solomon
Western Bulldogs: Murphy 3, Akermanis 3, Cooney 2, Giansiracusa 2, Welsh 2, Eagleton, Hahn, Hudson, Johnson, Minson,

LEADING DISPOSALS

Fremantle: Bell 29, Palmer 27, Black 25, Peake 24, Johnson 24.
Western Bulldogs: Cross 26, Cooney 24, Griffen 23, Eagleton 22, Giansiracusa 21, Boyd 20.