The winless Fremantle was desperate to get on the board this season and had quickly opened a 26-point advantage by the first break.
Despite their best efforts, the Swans couldn’t ever bridge the gap in the 200th club game for Brett Kirk and 150th for Craig Bolton, eventually going down 16.4 (100) to 18.13 (121).
Kirk was his usual hard working self and finished with 27 possessions, 12 of which were contested, and had seven clearances in doing all he could to lift his side.
Fellow premiership midfielder Jude Bolton also racked up 28 possessions in a terrific performance, with Adam Goodes (21, three goals) and Amon Buchanan (21) were the other stand-outs.
Paul Bevan, Nick Malceski, Martin Mattner and Rhyce Shaw also worked hard, but only having 36 inside-50 entries for the game meant it was tough to get the job done.
The club will be hoping for the hasty return of Michael O'Loughlin and Barry Hall to provide strong targets when the ball does get up forward.
The players came to Perth full of confidence after a win over Carlton but, on Saturday night, Michael Johnson, Byron Schammer and Matthew Pavlich all kicked truly before the Swans knew what had hit them.
It took a goal from Adam Goodes before the Swans settled into the contest.
Brett Peake and Luke McPharlin stretched Freo’s lead, Darren Jolly replied for the visitors, but Pav’s second gave the home team a 26-point advantage at quarter time.
David Mundy stretched the home team’s advantage with a goal inside the first minute when play resumed and it took the Swans 10 minutes to hit back through Martin Mattner.
Goals from Ryan Murphy and Scott Thornton were cancelled out with majors to Kieran Jack and Jarrad McVeigh, but Freo finished the half strongly through a classy Ryan Crowley snap and Mundy's second.
The Swans came out in the third term displaying stronger resolve and Paul Roos’ tactic of throwing Rhyce Shaw up forward paid immediate dividends when the former Magpie slotted his first goal in red and white.
Nick Malceski followed up with his first of the night, but Shaw turned villain when he gave away a 50m penalty which brought Aaron Sandilands within range.
The Swans kept narrowing the gap, but Freo would immediately restore it. Kristin Thornton’s strong mark and goal was answered by McPharlin, and Peake cancelled out Amon Buchanan’s difficult set shot.
The tit-for-tat continued, this time between McVeigh and Mundy, and Freo seemed determined not to give up its big lead.
A third to Pavlich made it five goals apiece for the term, but the Freo skipper gifted Goodes a second with a 50m penalty at a stoppage, making the deficit 37 points at the final change
Thornton (ribs) and Malceski (cork) joined Craig Bird as walking wounded on the bench at the start of the final term, and the Swans were running out of fit players to reel in the home side.
It was Goodes who finally started the scoring, booting his third from a set shot, and Heath Grundy followed up with a difficult right-foot snap.
Freo needed a settler, and they got it through McPharlin, but Ed Barlow booted his first to make the margin just over four straight kicks.
As the clock ran down, Roger Hayden iced the game for Freo with a well deserved goal, before late majors to Brett Meredith and Ryan O’Keefe narrowed the final margin.
The Swans now have a 2-3 win-loss record and host Richmond at the SCG next Sunday.
FREMANTLE 6.4 11.9 16.10 18.13 (121)
SYDNEY SWANS 2.2 5.3 11.3 16.4 (100)
Goals
Fremantle: David Mundy 3, Matthew Pavlich 3, Luke McPharlin 3, Brett Peake 2, Byron Schammer, Ryan Murphy, Michael Johnson, Scott Thornton, Ryan Crowley, Aaron Sandilands, Roger Hayden
Sydney Swans: Adam Goodes 3, Jarrad McVeigh 2, Darren Jolly, Martin Mattner, Kieran Jack, Rhyce Shaw, Nick Malceski, Kristin Thornton, Amon Buchanan, Heath Grundy, Ed Barlow, Brett Meredith, Ryan O’Keefe
Best
Fremantle: David Mundy, Matthew Pavlich, Roger Hayden, Luke McPharlin, Aaron Sandilands, Dean Solomon, Steven Dodd
Sydney Swans: Brett Kirk, Jude Bolton, Adam Goodes, Amon Buchanan, Jarrad McVeigh
Injuries
Fremantle: Palmer (knee)
Sydney Swans: Bird (shoulder)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Margetts, Dalgleish, Chamberlain
Official crowd: 32,884 at Subiaco Oval
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
