Fremantle skipper Matthew Pavlich booted six goals to inspire his team to a 38-point AFL victory over the Western Bulldogs at Patersons Stadium on Sunday.

The Dockers led by just three points at halftime, but three goals to Pavlich in the third term proved decisive as Fremantle cruised to the 14.11 (95) to 8.9 (57) triumph.

Pavlich’s latest heroics, following bags of five, three and six goals in the previous three weeks, took his tally for the season to 34.

More importantly, Fremantle’s seventh win of the season kept them just percentage adrift of eighth spot, with winnable games against Melbourne (away), GWS (home) and Port Adelaide (away) to come.

The Bulldogs (5-9) sit in 14th spot and require a minor miracle if they are to reach the finals.

To compound their woes, star midfielder Shaun Higgins limped off in the dying moments of the match with a leg injury.

Fremantle forward Chris Mayne kicked four goals to play a crucial role in the win, while Pavlich would have enjoyed an even better day had the post not been in his way on two occasions.

“It wasn’t perfect by any stretch,” Pavlich said of the team’s performance.

“I thought we were playing some individual footy in the first half and weren’t disciplined – still plenty to work on.”

Bulldogs defender Brian Lake and midfielder Matthew Boyd battled valiantly, but the visitors lacked class through the midfield and had limited options whenever they did make a rare foray forward, Fremantle winning the inside-50s by 54-36.

The opening term was scrappy with Mayne’s goal after the siren giving the Dockers a slender seven-point lead at quarter-time.

The standard failed to improve in the second quarter but Bulldogs forward Luke Dahlhaus booted two opportunistic goals to keep the visitors within three points at the long break.

Bulldogs ruckman Will Minson cut a frustrated figure in the first half and took his anger out on Crowley by slinging the tagger down to the ground off the ball.

Defender Lindsay Gilbee, playing his first game of the season, made a few bad errors early but recovered to finish with 23 possessions.

Dockers defender Antoni Grover was left worse for wear in the third quarter after clashing heavily with Easton Wood and hitting the ground hard in a marking contest.