Fremantle have made their first appearance in the AFLW’s winners circle this season as they cruised to a 20-point win over Collingwood at Victoria Park.

The Dockers’ first win of the campaign was a dominant one as they had the Pies’ number in all facets of the game en route to a 8.2 (50) to 4.6 (30) victory.

Fremantle led by double digits at each change and were spurred on through the middle by a scintillating Kiara Bowers performance (26 disposals, 331m gained, seven tackles, five score involvements), while ruck Mim Strom was similarly excellent with 28 disposals, 27 hit-outs 21 contested possessions, eight clearances and five score involvements.

After struggling for connection inside 50 in round one, forwards Eden Zanker and Bella Smith combined for five goals as they feasted on some improved service.

From the outset, it was clear Fremantle were going to methodically work their way up the field, prioritising short kicks and handballs to dink and dunk their way forward.

It was a high-risk strategy, with Collingwood always eager to jump the passing lanes — but the Dockers managed to make it work.

Emma O’Driscoll (11 intercepts) slotted seamlessly into the backline after missing round one through injury, hoovering up any loose balls, while Sarah Verrier’s calm distribution kept Fremantle ticking over.

When Fremantle did find space, they exploited it as their three-pronged midfield of Bowers, Gabby Newton and Aisling McCarthy slowly asserted their will, suffocating the life out of the opposition midfield.

Bowers had 12 disposals alone in the second quarter, while Orlagh Lally (24 disposals and 424m gained) added some extra burst to the Fremantle midfield.

By half-time, Fremantle had 10 more inside 50s and five more clearances but most starkly, enjoyed 54 more disposals and 47 more uncontested possessions. At full-time, they had racked up 211 uncontested possessions.

Last week, the Dockers’ inside 50 efficiency was just 31.3 per cent. Against Collingwood, it sat around the 40 per cent mark for most of the game before fading late, but their entries looked a lot more cohesive than the previous week.

After McCarthy and Gabby O’Sullivan had bagged the opening two goals of the game, Smith made it three and even though Ruby Schleicher nailed an opportunistic snap, the game was being played on Fremantle’s terms.

Zanker suffered from a lack of service in her Dockers debut last week. This time around, she was more involved and bagged her first goal in a Fremantle guernsey after she led up well following some O’Sullivan poise.

Strom grew into the game and took the third term by the scruff of the neck to remind everyone of her credentials as one of the game’s best rucks.

After a clever shake-and-bake shimmy inside 50, she slammed the ball through the middle of the sticks and from the very next clearance she set up Smith for her second of the game.

Smith then nabbed her third of the match to effectively kill the game, rolling the ball into an open goal to extend the lead to 34 points midway through the third term.

SCOREBOARD

FREMANTLE 3.1 4.2 7.2 8.2 (50)

COLLINGWOOD 1.2 1.4 2.4 4.6 (30)

Goals — FREMANTLE: B Smith 3 E Zanker 2 A McCarthy G O’Sullivan M Strom. COLLINGWOOD: R Schleicher 2 A Centra M Barwin.

Best — FREMANTLE: M Strom K Bowers G Newton O Lally B Smith E O’Driscoll S Verrier A McCarthy. COLLINGWOOD: B Davey R Schleicher A Schutte J Allen M Nankivell.

Injuries – COLLINGWOOD: M Nankivell (quad).

Umpires: K Nund E Stark H O’Connor. Crowd: 1616 at Victoria Park.