SYDNEY SWANS Â Â Â 3.7 Â Â Â 7.7 Â Â Â Â 15.9 Â Â Â 21.11 Â Â Â (137)
FREMANTLE Â Â Â 1.0 Â Â Â Â Â 3.2 Â Â Â Â Â 4.3 Â Â Â Â Â 7.5Â Â Â (47)
GOALS:
Sydney: Heeney 4, Â Kennedy 3, Â Mitchell 3, Â Towers 2, Â Rohan 2, Â Franklin 2, X Richards 2, Â Hannebery, Parker, Â Naismith.Â
Fremantle: Pavlich 2, Â Mundy, Â Crozier, Weller, Â Taberner, Yarran.
BEST
Sydney: J Kennedy, D Hannebery, L Parker, T Mitchell, I Heeney, S Naismith.
Fremantle: L Neale, D Mundy, E Langdon, H Crozier, S Hill, M Pavlich.
Umpires: Ryan, Dalgleish, Wallace.
Official Crowd: 32,401 at Domain Stadium.
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AFL: Swans crash Fremantle's party
The Sydney Swans gave Fremantle and its fans only 40 seconds to enjoy the ceremony before Gary Rohan kicked the Swans first goal.
The Sydney Swans gave Fremantle and its fans only 40 seconds to enjoy the ceremony around Matthew Pavlich's 350-game milestone at Domain Stadium on Sunday.
That's how long after the opening bounce it took before Gary Rohan kicked the Swans first goal, courtesy of a mark and 50m penalty.
While the margin wasn't enough for the Swans to leapfrog GWS into second spot on the ladder, after the Giants massive win over Richmond on Saturday, it did allow them to make up more than six per cent and remain in third place. Percentage looks almost certain to determine the final make up of positions 2-5 at the end of the home and away season.
The Swans were in control for most of the game, but it was only after half-time that they were able to put their advantage on the scoreboard. They kicked eight goals to one in the third term to open up a 72-point lead at the final break; and added 14 goals to four after leading by 29 points at half-time.
Tom Mitchell (three goals) and Isaac Heeney (four) also provided plenty of run.
It defies belief to think that these two sides played at the same venue in September last season, the Dockers winning the 2015 Qualifying Final by nine points. And while the home side was missing eight players from that victorious side, 11 of the losing Swans team were also absent.
Fremantle had eight players on the ground yesterday who had played fewer than 50 games, who averaged 23 games between them. The Swans had nine players at the same stage of their careers, averaging only 13 games between them.
One of the inexperienced Dockers was Alex Silvagni, who had done a job on Lance Franklin during the 2014 season. But in almost two seasons since, Silvagni had played only two games and not one since round 19 of 2015.
He wasn't the Dockers worst though, keeping Franklin to just two goals in a one-sided game.
In last year's qualifying final, the Swans blew their chance of hosting a preliminary final with poor kicking. They had 2.11 on the board at half-time and with 7.18 at game's end fell just nine points short.
On Sunday, after earning the first 12 inside 50 entries of the game, they had just 2.6 on the board, albeit in windy conditions.
At quarter-time, after kicking with a strong breeze, Sydney led by only 19 points, despite spending most of the term in their own forward line.
Last year, the Dockers had earned the home final by finishing on top of the ladder; this year they are 14th on the ladder and the end of the season can't come quick enough for them.
Based on the Swans loss to Hawthorn two weeks ago and a near upset to Carlton last week, Fremantle had set itself to produce a physical encounter on Sunday. But it didn't eventuate.
The Swans were the ones that dominated the contested possession from the outset, winning that statistic 187 to 155.
The Dockers new captain David Mundy got plenty of the ball, with 44 possessions, but he was running with Kennedy for periods of the game.
Lachie Neale was again in the middle of things, with 42 touches.
​Pavlich had a tough time against the Swans for three quarters, opposed for most of that time against Dane Rampe. He finished with two goals and still needs five in the remaining four games to end a terrific career with 700 goals.
If he does, he will join on Kevin Bartlett and Bernie Quinlan to reach 700 goals from 350 games or more.
No other player based entirely in WA has played as many games as Pavlich, with West Coast's Dean Cox's 290 the next best. The 'travel factor' is being blamed for fans not seeing more of the champs from the west coast of the country.
With six club fairest and best awards and six All-Australian honours, Pavlich will retire at the end of this season as one of the game's greats.
The Dockers' milestone man kicked the last goal of the game on Sunday, his second of the final term, to the cheers of 32,401 fans.
Unfortunately, it was only to reduce the margin to 90 points.