Wayne Carey, who clearly won his battle with Freo youngster Luke McPharlin, fired up in the second term to keep the Crows in it, kicking 2.3 - including a poster - while Mark Ricciuto worked hard for his team throughout the game.
And to make matters worse, Rhett Biglands was reported for collecting young Docker Graham Polak with an elbow in the final term.
The game was characterised by players getting the ball a lot and doing very little with it, but the recalled Troy Longmuir made the difference in the third term with three goals before sealing it in the 27th minute of the last with his fourth.
By half time, the Crows had hit the post four times on their way to 4.10, while the Dockers had had just seven shots at goal.
For the Dockers, most players worked hard but used the ball badly, but Paul Hasleby and Troy Cook worked hard in the middle and Robbie Haddrill stood out in the backline.
Brett Burton kept trying all day on his wing and beat Freo speedster James Walker, and veteran Nigel Smart never gave up.
The teams split the first term, but Adelaide finally got some value for their shots at goal in the second and led at the break by two goals.
The teams traded goals in the third before Longmuir kicked his three in eight minutes to turn the tide Fremantle’s way.
Three goals to one in the last term sealed the Crows’ fate.
Adelaide coach Gary Ayres took heart from the signs that his team was on the improve after poor showings against the Kangaroos and Brisbane.
“It’s not looking all that flash at 0-3, but at least we competed in a genuine manner today,” he said.
“At least we actually made the opposition play for the win, we haven’t done that in the last two weeks. Today we started to crawl up the mountain.”
He named Andrew McLeod, Mark Ricciuto and Brett Burton as players that had returned to form against the Dockers.
Ayres said both sides squandered chances in front of goals, but conceded that the Crows had cost themselves the chance of winning.
“I think both sides butchered the ball in front of goal a fair bit,” he said.
“We had opportunities to build a lead much more substantial than we had early. If you are missing, it does become a blanketing type effect. That inaccuracy really hurt us.”
FREMANTLE: 2.2, 3.4, 7.8, 10.13 (73)
ADELAIDE: 2.3, 4.10, 6.12, 8.16 (64)
GOALS: FREMANTLE: Longmuir 4, Medhurst, Grover, Simmonds, Hasleby, Bell, Waterhouse
ADELAIDE: Smart, Carey, Edwards 2, Johncock, McGregor
BEST: FREMANTLE: Longmuir, Hasleby, Haddrill, Cook, Hayden, Grover
ADELAIDE: Burton, Ricciuto, Smart, Stenglein, Johncock, Carey
INJURIES: FREMANTLE: Polak (concussion)
ADELAIDE: Goodwin (groin)
CHANGES: Nil
REPORTS: Biglands (Adel) reported for striking Polak (Frem) by field umpire Kieron Nicholls
UMPIRES: Kennedy, Nicholls, Margetts
CROWD: 32575 at Subiaco Oval
