FREMANTLEÂ
4.1 Â Â Â 7.2 Â Â Â 9.3 Â Â Â 10.9Â Â Â (69)
WESTERN BULLDOGS
2.4Â Â Â Â 4.9Â Â Â Â 6.12 Â Â Â Â 6.13Â Â Â (49)
GOALS - Fremantle:  Walters 2, Mundy, Pearce, Neale, Apeness, De Boer, Pavlich, Hill, Yarran. Western Bulldogs:  Dickson 3, Smith 2, Dahlhaus.
BEST - Fremantle: Neale, Ibbotson, Hill,  Mundy, Pearce, Weller. Western Bulldogs: Boyd, Dalhaus, Dunkley, Picken, Jong, Bontempelli
UMPIRES: Dalgleish, Â Findlay, Â O'Gorman.
CROWD: 34,765 at Domain Stadium.
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Fremantle saved their best for last, ending its horror season with a 20-point win over the finals-bound Western Bulldogs at Domain Stadium on Sunday.
Win, lose or draw, the Bulldogs were always going to be heading back to Perth for an elimination final against West Coast.
However, they didn't know that until half-time of their unimpressive 10.9 (69) to 6.13 (49) loss to the Dockers at the same venue.
At that stage, Hawthorn was still fighting for its one-point win over Collingwood at the other side of the country that cemented its spot in the top four; and finally settled the final eight. If the Pies had won, the Bulldogs could have avoided an interstate trip with a victory of their own.
But at that stage, the 16th-placed Fremantle led the Dogs by 11 points and for much of the half looked the better side. The game regressed to a scrap in the second half, which allowed the Dockers to stumble to a rare win.
You could argue that the Dogs were probably consigned to their final spot on the ladder – seventh – expecting a Hawks win. But it would be a thin argument.
Despite having more of the ball and winning the all-important contested possession count, their ball use was not at its best.
The scoreline will contest to that, having gone into their attack only 42 times for the game, to the Dockers 51, although the visitors had more of the ball.
Lachie Neale was again the Dockers key playmaker in just their fourth win, as he has been for the entire year. He had 19 possessions in the first half and just two minutes into the third quarter his 20th disposal equalled the record for the most in an AFL season.
A minute later he went past the Western Bulldogs Matthew Boyd mark of 721, set in 2012. Neale finished with 36 to set a new record of 737, that he achieved at a remarkable average of 33.5 per game.
The good news for the Dogs is they appeared to have avoided any serious injuries. Matthew Boyd suffered an ankle injury and a bleeding Marcus Bontempelli was forced from the ground after a head clash with Matthew de Boer. But both returned to finish out the game. With a 7-22 record at the venue though, the Dogs would have hoped for a more convincing performance.
But just how beneficial the  trip to Perth will be for the Bulldogs when they return to Perth in a fortnight's time will be the key.
The Dogs attack had a tough day. With two goals in the opening 10 minutes, Clem Smith looked like he was going to have a day out, but he didn't add another. And two of Tory Dickson's three goals in the third term kept the Dogs in the game.
But Alex Silvagni continued his late season form by doing a terrific job on Tom Boyd and Tom Sheridan made life tough for Bontempelli.
Matthew Boyd, with 35 touches of his own Luke Dalhaus (31) and Liam Picken (28) did provide plenty of run and Josh Dunkley's 13 tackles, provided the pressure. But it seems emotion can only carry a side pretty far, and the imminent retirement of Matthew Pavlich clearly fuelled the Dockers performance.
In that first term, Pavlich created his own piece of history.
The retiring former captain needed just one goal to reach 700 for his career – the 22nd player in VFL/AFL history to pass the figure. The one he got to reach the milestone was probably the easiest of his career too – a handball in the goal square from Shane Yarran.
That goal, also his 400th at Domain Stadium, put Pavlich in rare company too, joining champions Bernie Quinlan and Kevin Bartlett as the only players to reach 700 goals and play more than 350 games (353).