Fortress Subiaco is still yet to breached in 2003 despite an under strength Adelaide storming home in the second half in a one-point cliff-hanger at Subiaco Oval on Sunday.
An eight-goal-to-two second term took the hosts from a 22-point deficit to a 17-point lead at the long break, before the Crows kicked the only four goals of the third quarter, then Fremantle kicked three goals to two in the last.
The game ended after courageous captain Peter Bell grabbed the ball in the middle before being strongly tackled by two Crows, and time ran out for the visitors.
Fremantle won 13.13 (91) to 13.12 (90).
In the last term the ball spend a lot of the term in the Adelaide forward line but the Crows were inefficient, although Ronnie Burns kicked a couple for the quarter - the first an absolute gift when Robbie Haddrill kicked it straight to him for a mark just 25 metres out.
Troy Simmonds gave Fremantle the lead in the 15th minute of the last with a point, but Nigel Smart replied with a point a minute later to tie it up again.
Paul Hasleby had a shot from 50 a couple of minutes later, but didn’t make the distance, and Adelaide cleared the danger zone.
Shane Parker kicked a point with five minutes remaining to put the Dockers in front, but Brett Burton goaled with two-and-a-half minutes left.
With 1:23 remaining, Farmer took a good grab and then kicked truly to take the Dockers to a one-point lead and the crowd erupted.
With 30 seconds remaining on the clock, Bell grabbed the ball, got tackled, the clock kept running, and it was all over.
The Crows were struck hard before the match with Wayne Carey, last weekend’s six-goal hero Scott Welsh and defender Kris Massie unable to travel.
Coming into this match, Adelaide’s record at Subiaco was poor – just three wins from 12 matches, although against Fremantle it’s two from five, including a round 22 clash last year.
For Fremantle, the midfield again stood up, with Bell, Paul Hasleby, Troy Cook, Matthew Pavlich and Des Headland leading the possessions.
The defence also did well, with Luke McPharlin and Dion Woods the main contributors.
For the visitors, Andrew McLeod was again at his sublime best in the first half, while Mark Ricciuto, Chris Ladhams, Mark Bickley and first-gamer Ben Rutten doing well.
Fremantle jumped out to a good start with the first goal of the game after a good mark in the third minute to Justin Longmuir, but Adelaide then set about using the strong breeze, kicking the next five, before Farmer goaled after the siren to give Freo its second.
Adelaide’s fourth was kicked by the incomparable McLeod – a smother, a handball, got it back, goal.
Ben Rutten stepped up in his first game of AFL, and kicked three goals with his first three kicks – reviving memories of former Eagle Daniel Metropolis, who kicked four with his first four AFL kicks.
In the 18th minute of the term, Dion Woods crunched Robert Shirley, who appeared to be knocked unconscious when his head hit the ground, and he left the arena on a stretcher, taking no further part in the game.
Freo then turned it on in the second term – Adelaide kicked the first and fifth goals, Fremantle kicked the other eight.
Farmer kicked three, Matthew Carr kicked two, and Longmuir kicked his second, as the Dockers made the most of their turn to kick with the breeze.
Despite four goals in the third, the Crows again squandered the advantage of the breeze – although it was dropping - kicking 4.6 to have 9.11 in their two terms with the breeze.
FREMANTLE: 2.1, 10.4, 10.9, 13.13 (91)
ADELAIDE: 5.5, 7.5, 11.11, 13.12 (90)
GOALS: Fremantle: Farmer 4, J.Longmuir 3, Carr 3, Headland, Simmonds, Medhurst. Adelaide: Burton 4, Burns 3, Rutten 3, McLeod 2, Perrie.
BEST: Fremantle: Bell, McPharlin, Pavlich, Farmer, Hasleby, Simmonds.
Adelaide: Riccuito, McLeod, Burton, Ladhams, Burns, Clarke
INJURIES: Adelaide: R Shirley (neck).
REPORTS: Nil.
UMPIRES: S McBurney, M Ellis, S Jeffery
CROWD: 31,225 at Subiaco Oval
