A powerful North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos outfit has stormed over Fremantle to claim a crucial win on the road, ending the match with seven unanswered goals - four from Tahlia Randall - to win by 45 points at Fremantle Community Bank Oval on Sunday.

Led by brilliant midfielder Jasmine Garner, the Kangaroos soaked up the Dockers’ best and controlled the game through the second half, kicking their equal highest score this season to win 10.6 (66) to 3.3 (21).

Garner was unstoppable in the midfield battles, finishing with 30 disposals and 12 inside 50s, while Ash Riddell was prolific with 37 possessions (16 contested) and six clearances.  

With support from Jenna Bruton (27 and four clearances) and Mia King (21 and six), the Kangaroos delivered on their status as the AFLW’s best stoppage team and gained a territory foothold that put the Dockers on the back foot throughout.

The final inside 50s read 48-18 – an incredibly lopsided result that made it impossible for Fremantle’s forwards and made for a long day in the backline.

DOCKERS v KANGAROOS Full match coverage and stats

Emma O’Driscoll marshalled the defence well for the Dockers and finished with 28 disposals and eight rebounds, but the Kangaroos’ tall forwards got on top by the end in a powerful second half surge.  

Only four points separated the teams late in the second term after a tight battle, but Randall converted after the siren to give the Kangaroos momentum they would take into the second half.

They got the crucial break in the third, kicking back-to-back goals and holding Fremantle scoreless. The Dockers needed to move quickly to start the fourth, but, as for much of the day, it was Kate Shierlaw (two goals) and Randall (five) combining early in the fourth for the goal that broke their backs.

Bruton joins 1000 club

In her 50th game as a North Melbourne player, midfielder Jenna Bruton became just the 16th player in AFLW history to win 1,000 disposals. The understated star of the Kangaroos’ powerful onball unit, Bruton needed 22 disposals to hit the milestone on Sunday, and got there early in the fourth quarter. She powered on to finish with 27 in an excellent game.   

What's next?

The Dockers are on the road to take on Geelong next Saturday at GMHBA Stadium, where they last played an AFLW match in 2019, winning by 13 points. North Melbourne is back at home to meet Yartapuulti (Port Adelaide) at Arden Street Oval on Sunday for Indigenous Round, having beaten the Power by 25 points at Alberton last season.

FREMANTLE                         1.1   3.1   3.1   3.3 (21)
NORTH MELBOURNE           1.5   4.5   6.5   10.6 (66)

GOALS
Fremantle: Antonio, Lally, Tighe
North Melbourne: Randall 5, Shierlaw 2, Craven, Eddey, O’Loughlin

BEST
Fremantle: O’Driscoll, East, Strom, Verrier
North Melbourne: Garner, Randall, Riddell, Shierlaw, Bruton, M. King

INJURIES
Fremantle: Nil
North Melbourne: Nil

Crowd: 2,022 at Fremantle Community Bank Oval