The Western Bulldogs have had some great wins over Fremantle in their 25 years of battles with the Dockers, but perhaps none better than the one on this day 20 years ago.
After a stuttering start to the 2000 season, the Bulldogs headed west for their match against Fremantle on the back of a thrilling, come-from-behind win against St Kilda and a 58-point thrashing of Sydney.
A third win in a row would consolidate the place in top eight that the Dogs had grabbed a week earlier.
The Dogs had met the Dockers twice before at Subiaco and returned empty handed both times. The Bulldogs engaged in a first-quarter shoot-out with Fremantle, and were perhaps lucky to hold a one-point lead at the first break. The Dockers kicked 5.6, with the more accurate Dogs booting 6.1.
In the second term the Bulldogs gradually began to get on top, and they kicked five goals for the quarter to the Dockers’ three to go into half time with a 16-point lead.
It was in the third quarter that the Dogs really hit their straps. With Scott West dominating, they booted nine goals for the term, the Dockers could manage just two in reply, and the margin had blown out to a whopping 61 points when the three-quarter time siren sounded.
With the game well in hand the Bulldogs could perhaps have been forgiven for taking the foot off the pedal in the final term. But, like good sides do, they did the opposite, closing out the game by booting another seven goals and again restricting Fremantle to just two.
When the final siren sounded, the Dogs had crushed the Dockers by 93 points, setting a number of records in the process:
- The winning margin was the biggest at Subiaco by a non-WA side to that point, a mark not beaten until 2008 when Geelong defeated West Coast by 135 points.
- The Dogs' tally of 27.12.174 set a record for highest score by a non-WA team at Subiaco to that point, also a mark not beaten until 2008 by Geelong's 28.14.182.
- Both the margin and the score were records for either side in Bulldogs v Dockers matches, and both still stand today.
For the Bulldogs, Scott West was at his burrowing best, collecting 31 possessions. He was named as best on ground in the following week's AFL Record, but the umpires saw things slightly differently, awarding three votes to 34-year-old Tony Liberatore, who had 29 touches, and two to West.
Lucky Darcy's ruckwork and three goals earned him one vote, while Paul Hudson booted 6.3 for the winners.
The win gave the Bulldogs a 6-5 record, entrenching their place in the top eight and setting them on the path to a record fourth consecutive finals series.
