FREMANTLE gave a reminder yesterday of why it has broken so many hearts in the West with a gutsy 28-point victory over Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium — without its injured star forward and captain Matthew Pavlich.

Inspired by a remarkable AFL record-equalling 16 goalkickers, the Dockers blew away the theory of "No Pav, no Freo" but raised the ire of their fans who have again been left pondering what could have been had the same spirited performance been a regular quality.

This win — only Fremantle's sixth in 19 contests with Port — has suddenly given next Sunday's Perth derby a whole new lease of life.

Fremantle led by six goals at quarter-time, squandered the lead midway through the third term, and when Port appeared as if it would dash to victory, the Dockers produced admirable fight against the odds.

Further hurting Port was the reporting of midfielder Nick Lower for alleged head-high contact on Brett Peake during the third term, and injuries to Steven Salopek (Achilles), Warren Tredrea (shoulder) and Troy Chaplin (ankle), who will all miss most of the run home.

To win without Pavlich, who withdrew because of a jarred knee — he is expected to play against West Coast — was admirable, and there seemed no doubt Port took a softer approach to this game without him, and paid the penalty.

It was Fremantle's first win on the road since round 16 against Adelaide last year, and coach Mark Harvey described it as a reward for the "boys" for putting in a lot of effort to redeem themselves in what had been a frustrating year.

"We are starting to see the rewards now, albeit too late," Harvey said.

"To play today without Matthew Pavlich and have 16 goalkickers … is a step forward. That's what we take out of it."

Fremantle also took great satisfaction that a few young players, especially Pavlich's late replacement Rhys Palmer, who had a game-high 31 disposals, Garrick Ibbotson and Chris Mayne, plus Josh Head, 25, playing only his third game, performed incredibly well under pressure.

Port coach Mark Williams said Fremantle wanted the win more than Port, but could not pinpoint why. "It gave our players an opportunity to show something so they could stamp their name and position for next year, but certainly there is a lot of undecided positions following today's result," he said.

To be so incredibly motivated the previous week in beating Adelaide, and to not be switched on against Fremantle, says little for Port's mental toughness.

For the most part, the game was cluttered with clangers, but there were also some superb moments, such as Head's tackle on David Rodan in the first term to deny Port a goal.

It was probably the first time someone had stopped him this season.

And there were some classy goals, in particular when Mark Johnson burst through a pack, shrugged off tackles and fearlessly kicked a goal at a crucial stage late in the second term.

Ultimately, some of Fremantle's shocking passages, clangers, dismal attempts at goal and slack defending were camouflaged by its admirable desperation to win the hard contests.

Port produced some quality moments, such as Justin Westhoff's two checkside goals and Tredrea's strong marks, but it, too, made numerous errors and bungled plays and goals. The difference was that Port lacked Fremantle's hunger for victory.

The crowd of 19,072 was the second-lowest at AAMI Stadium. Fremantle's 16 goalkickers equalled the record of Essendon (1988), Hawthorn (2000) and West Coast (2005).

FREMANTLE 6.3 8.6 15.9 20.9 (129)

PORT ADELAIDE 0.3 6.5 11.6 15.11 (101)

GOALS — Fremantle: Mark Johnson 3, McPharlin 2, Crowley 2, J Carr, Peake, Palmer, Grover, Tarrant, Mayne, Mundy, Murphy, Head, Sandilands, Ibbotson, Thornton, McManus. Port Adelaide: Tredrea 4, J Westhoff 4, Motlop 2, Cassisi 2, S Burgoyne, Pearce, Brogan.

BEST — Fremantle: Palmer, Sandilands, Schammer, J Carr, Crowley, Ibbotson. Port Adelaide: K Cornes, Brogan, Rodan, Cassisi, Pearce, Tredrea.

INJURIES — Fremantle: Pavlich (knee) replaced in selected side by Palmer. Port: Salopek (Achilles), Tredrea (shoulder), Chaplin (ankle).

REPORTS — Port Adelaide: Lower (Port) for allegedly making head contact with Peake (Fremantle) during the third term.

UMPIRES: Stewart, Chamberlain, Jeffery.

CROWD: 19,072, AAMI Stadium.

THE UPSHOT: With shock wins by West Coast and Fremantle, the rumbling in Perth's jungle for this week's derby has started.

TALKING POINT: The theory that "no Pavlich, no Freo" has been proven wrong.

HOT AND COLD: Tredrea was cold last week, but yesterday was terrific. Tarrant went from cold to freezing.