Dockers Survive Carlton Thriller to Cap 20-Win Season

Fremantle beat Carlton by six points in a Round 24 shootout at Docklands Stadium on Saturday, 16.16 (112) to 16.10 (106), capping a 20-3 home-and-away campaign that has the Dockers sitting on top of the AFL ladder with one round to play.

Both sides piled on 32 goals between them in a match that swung on margins as thin as a single scoring shot. Fremantle led by as many as 23 points during the contest before Carlton, already locked into a wildcard final, clawed back to within a kick in the dying stages.

Fox Sports' match centre recorded a 71–29 split in Fremantle's favour for general play, but Carlton refused to go away.

Fremantle's forwards shared the load. Andy Brayshaw slotted a set shot — a kick taken from a mark or free kick, with time to steady — while Pat Voss and Josh Treacy each added their own. Shai Bolton booted a set shot from the 50-metre arc, the painted line marking 50 metres from goal that tests any kicker's range. Mason Cox, the 211-centimetre former basketballer, also featured in the Docker forward structure.

Carlton had their moments. Harry McKay hit the scoreboard. Ben Ainsworth nailed a set shot from 45 metres out. And Frankie Evans kicked a goal gifted by a 50-metre penalty — the umpire's maximum sanction, advancing the kick 50 metres downfield — after Fremantle's Bailey Banfield dragged him to the ground off the ball.

In the midfield, Carlton ruckman Marc Pittonet led all players with four clearances early — a clearance is winning the ball out of a stoppage, the congested scrimmage where the umpire throws or bounces the ball. Young Blue Jagga Smith topped the disposal count early with eight touches, the stat counting how many times a player handles the ball by hand or foot.

Carlton has been getting the jump on opponents since coach Fraser took the reins, according to the ABC's match blog, and the Blues' fast starts were on display again despite the result not falling their way.

Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir rested key forward Jye Amiss for the clash, bringing Oscar McDonald into the side to fill the vacant forward spot. Amiss, a focal point of the Docker attack all season, was given the round off with the minor premiership all but secured.

The match was Fremantle's final home-and-away game of 2026, confirmed when the AFL locked in the Round 24 fixture last month. A 1.15pm AEST start on a Saturday at Docklands — Marvel Stadium, the indoor venue in Melbourne's CBD — gave the Dockers a prime-time finish to a dominant regular season.

For Carlton, the result does not change their postseason path. The Blues were already locked into an AFL wildcard final, a knockout final introduced to give more teams a shot at September, before the first bounce.

For Fremantle, it is 20 wins from 23 starts and top spot on the ladder. That is the position every club spends 23 rounds chasing.