Star Fremantle forward Gemma Houghton has produced a match-winning display to help lift her team to a 30-point AFLW win over the Giants at Fremantle Oval.
The Dockers led by just five points after a low-scoring first-half played in 35-degree heat on Sunday.
Houghton kicked the only goal of the opening term, and she exploded in the third quarter with two goals in as many minutes to help the Dockers open up a match-winning 27-point lead.
Fremantle kept the Giants at bay in the final quarter to secure the 8.10 (58) to 4.4 (28) triumph in front of 3,195 fans.
That was allowed only because the Perth lockdown was announced during the game. No AFLW matches are scheduled to be played in Western Australia next week.
Houghton finished with 19 disposals and three contested marks to go with her 3.2, while Kiara Bowers (21 disposals, nine tackles, five clearances) was also crucial.
Alyce Parker was the Giants’ best with 29 disposals and seven clearances.
A minute’s silence was held before the match to pay tribute to former Giant Jacinda Barclay, who died at the age of 29 in October.
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Both sides squandered a series of golden opportunities in the opening term, with Houghton’s miss from 15m out after three bounces the biggest of the lot.
Houghton made up for that mistake by nailing a set shot after the siren, giving her side a five-point edge at the break.
The Giants were also wasteful in front of goal, with Alicia Eva failing to even register a score from her 20m set shot early in the second quarter.
The visitors went to halftime with just one goal to their name, and they were blown off the park in the third term by Houghton’s burst.
The speedy forward got the ball rolling when she played on from a mark to kick truly.
And when she slotted one with a smart snap while being tackled a minute later, the lead was 19 points and the Giants were in trouble.
The lead ballooned to 27 points before the Giants hit back with goals either side of three-quarter time.
But any thoughts of a comeback were put to bed by Fremantle goalsneak Sabreena Duffy, who scored a goal and set up another to ice the win.
Earlier in the day, North Melbourne kept up their 2020 form, thumping Geelong 11.5 (71) to 1.3 (9) in a match where the Cats only got points on the board in the final quarter.
Brisbane also scored a healthy 29-point win but kept up the Lions tradition of missing a lot of chances in front of goal, kicking 5.11 (41) to Richmond’s 1.6 (12).
AAP/ABC
