WHEN his team needed him most, Fremantle superstar Matthew Pavlich stood tall.

And on a day when dogged was the norm and class was the exception, it was Pavlich's five-goal haul which brought Fremantle its first win of the season, Mark Harvey his second derby win in as many attempts, Pavlich his first Ross Glendinning medal — but more importantly, four precious premiership points that will keep Fremantle in touch with the top eight.

The Dockers had to overcome the loss of three players pre-match to get the win, including accomplished pinch-hitter Luke McPharlin.

They had to withstand a West Coast second-half rally. The Eagles may lack the class of recent seasons but they still have persistence.

And fittingly, it was teenager Rhys Palmer who ignited the Dockers — his 17-possession first half with Pavlich's three second-quarter goals the reason Fremantle took a lead to the main break.

The Eagles got good service from late replacement Ben McKinley, who kicked three, and they got their usual excellent efforts from ruckman Dean Cox and midfielder Daniel Kerr, but there is simply a lot less class in the Eagles' line-up than there used to be, and for the second week in a row, that added up to many possessions for insufficient result.

It had rained steadily in Perth for 12 hours, but the skies cleared an hour before the game and it started in brilliant sunshine.

But Fremantle would have felt like the storm clouds were still gathering overhead as it had to leave out key position pinch-hitter Luke McPharlin with a hip injury and forward Chris Tarrant (bruised back).

With Heath Black replacing Garrick Ibbotson (infected knee), Fremantle played all three emergencies, with lanky Robert Warnock and Ryan Murphy also coming in.

West Coast were not without late changes either, replacing tall Josh Kennedy with in-form mid-sized forward Ben McKinley.

But without McKinley, who was playing just his second game, they could have been all but out of the match by half-time.

McKinley, who kicked seven goals for East Perth in the WAFL last weekend, kicked the last two goals of the first half to drag a 26-point deficit back to 14 points and give the Eagles hope.

West Coast had also kicked the first two goals of the game, but their game plan disappeared down a black hole for more than a quarter during which time Fremantle steadied, and then unleashed Pavlich early in the second quarter.

Pavlich kicked the first three goals of the second quarter and handballed the fourth to his captaincy predecessor Peter Bell.

The worry for the Eagles at half-time was that their good players couldn't do much better.

Dean Cox had had 14 touches, defying a first quarter injury scare to engage in a monstrous ruck tussle with Aaron Sandilands.

Daniel Kerr had had 19, but as the Dockers gradually worked their way on top he was getting them further and further down the ground.

But the Eagles were alive, and after a dogged third term in which the teams traded goals and turnovers, they had edged a bit closer.

Pavlich kicked his fourth, but McKinley kicked his third and the Eagles got a bonus goal after Black had foolishly thrown West Coast rookie Brad Ebert to the ground after the young Eagle had sprayed a shot at goal.

There was not much blistering pace on display, but there was a lot of dogged football and the Eagles nudged to within 10 points at the last change to give themselves a sniff of a comeback win.

They got within five points in the final quarter but simply didn't have the midfield run to go on with it.

Best-on-ground Pavlich kicked his fifth goal to restore a handy buffer, and when Sandilands got away with a push in the back to take clean possession and kick Fremantle's 12th, the Dockers were home.

FREMANTLE 3.2 8.5 10.8 12.15 (87)
WEST COAST 3.5 5.9 8.10 10.13 (73) Pavlich 5, Farmer 2, Sandilands, Mundy, Headland, Crowley, Bell. West Coast: McKinley 3, Lynch 2, Hurn, Waters, Wirrpanda, Ebert, Priddis.

GOALS Fremantle:

BEST Fremantle: Pavlich, Palmer, Hayden, Johnson, Schammer, Mundy. West Coast: Priddis, Kerr, Cox, McKinley, Staker, Wirrpanda.

INJURIES Fremantle: Tarrant (back) replaced in selected side by Murphy, Ibbotson (infected leg) replaced in selected side by Black, McPharlin (hip) replaced in selected side by Warnock.

West Coast: Cox (foot), Glass (knee).

REPORTS Nil.

UMPIRES McLaren, Schmitt, Jeffery.

CROWD 39,000 at Subiaco Oval.

THE UPSHOT WEST COAST is 1-2 and faces Sydney at Homebush next week. It is crunch time.

HOT AND NOT MATTHEW Pavlich was a towering influence in attack and Rhys Palmer was the match that lit the Dockers' midfield. The Eagles' midfield can possess the ball but can't hurt opponents. It misses Chris Judd and Ben Cousins and has come right back to the field.

TALKING POINT THE West Coast dominance of derbies has disappeared into the ether. It may lead the overall tally 18-9 but the tally is 9-9 since Fremantle won its first in 1999 and the Dockers have now won four of the past five.