Fremantle’s barren AFL season has lurched further into crisis with a shock four-point loss to Carlton at Subiaco.
The Dockers, preliminary finalists last year, are the only side yet to win after five rounds.
Their Brownlow Medallist Nat Fyfe also finished the game on crutches with an ice pack on his left lower leg.
As Fremantle’s top-eight hopes took another battering on Sunday at Subiaco, it was also Carlton’s first win under new coach Brendon Bolton.
Jonathon Griffin kicked a goal at 25 minutes to bring the Dockers to within four points.
But Carlton then locked the ball in their forward line.
Fremantle tried to clear with a risky kick across goal and it went straight to Liam Jones, who marked and kicked truly with a minute left.
Chris Mayne’s goal at the final siren was immaterial as Carlton won 10.12 (72) to 9.14 (68).
“As much as you just focus on all the process, to get a little bit of the icecream is always good,” captain Marc Murphy said of the rebuilding Blues.
“To the boys’ credit, we (were) 0-4, heads could drop, but everyone has stuck fat and worked hard.
“We’ve had strong conversations about where we want to go and it’s exciting.”
Also on Sunday, GWS overwhelmed St Kilda in the last quarter at Etihad Stadium for a 47-point win.
Saints coach Alan Richardson blasted his side for having too many passengers in the 19.12 (126) to 12.7 (79) result.
Meanwhile, Port Adelaide are denying any disharmony after suffering their third heavy loss in four weeks.
The Power were thrashed by 48 points by Geelong on Saturday night, with captain Travis Boak admitting criticism from chairman David Koch had rattled some players.
Koch labelled last week’s loss to GWS as a “disgrace”.
Boak told Channel Nine’s Sunday Footy Show: “his comments, because he’s the man at the top, probably rattled a few players.
“A few of the players just didn’t understand it because it came up on social media. That was probably the main reason.
“If he had come into the rooms and we heard it, the boys would have understood it because we were talking exactly the same language he was.”
Port’s Jackson Trengove and Geelong captain Joel Selwood will face match review panel scrutiny after coming to blows behind play.
And North’s Ben Cunnington faces a nervous wait after appearing to sink his knees into Gold Coast star Gary Ablett during the Roos’ 38-point win on Saturday.
Other Saturday winners were Western Bulldogs against Brisbane by 63 points while Sydney downed West Coast by 39 points, with Hawthorn sneaking another three-point win – their third in a row – against Adelaide on Friday night.
