Fremantle have extended their AFLW western derby dominance over West Coast, notching up their seventh-consecutive victory over their crosstown rivals with a 23-point win at Sullivan Logistics Stadium.

A four-goal to zero opening half set the table for more derby delight for Fremantle and West Coast were left to rue inefficient goal-kicking as the Dockers triumphed 5.5 (35) to 1.6 (12) in front of 6047 fans.

Mim Strom equalled her own league-record for hit-outs with 48 en route to the derby medal for best-on-ground, while former West Coast midfielder Aisling McCarthy starred against her former teammates with 20 disposals, 11 tackles, five inside 50s and five clearances.

Gabby Newton did a little bit of everything in a superb performance, while Bella Lewis was outstanding in defeat for the Eagles, finishing with 26 disposals, seven clearances and a game-high 507m gained.

Fremantle coach Lisa Webb praised her side for their three-goal opening term which lay the foundations for the win — the first opening quarter they have won this season.

“I thought the girls had that stronger tempo from the start. We got it right early, it set us up,” she said.

“I know there’s been a lot of talk about out starts and I was proud we got to work, into a bit of a breeze as well. They came hard, we knew they would, and I’m just proud we pulled it out.

“We knew we’d created opportunities in the past, We really wanted to make sure that we made them count this week.”

On the other side of the ledger, Eagles coach Daisy Pearce was left to ponder what might have been after they matched Fremantle for most of the game, but were unable to dig themselves out of their early deficit.

“We were a little bit off early. Fremantle’s goals were sort of opportunistic, where they we gave them a little bit too much room at stoppage and didn’t play to the whistle,” Pearce said.

“Aside from that, I thought we really lifted in our first possession numbers, our contested possession numbers reflected a team that was competing really hard and was able to get big chunks of the game on our terms.”

While a win over their rivals will have been pleasing to Webb — particularly with co-captain Hayley Miller a late out due to a nagging calf injury — it also kept their top-four aspirations alive.

Melbourne’s win over fifth-placed Richmond earlier on Saturday opened the door for Fremantle to move level with the Tigers on points, and the Dockers took full advantage.

Conversely, the Demons’ victory coupled with the Eagles’ loss allowed Melbourne to leapfrog West Coast in the race for the finals, the latter still four points adrift of a maiden top-eight finish in 11th spot.

The Eagles toiled and the scoreboard was perhaps not the most accurate representation of what was ultimately a fairly-even game, but Fremantle’s clinicality in front of goal was streets ahead of where West Coast needed to be.

“It hurts your energy a little bit in terms of scoreboard pressure and that nourishment that what you’re doing is working,” Pearce said.

“But I thought they they turned up and competed hard right up until the last two minutes at the end they were in contest. We’ll keep working on our goal-kicking, it’s a really important part of the game and Fremantle took the opportunities when they got them.”

Outside of the goal-kicking, it was the Dockers’ ability to eat up territory, dominate the ruck and composure inside 50 which was the main difference between the two sides, particularly in the first half.

The Eagles actually had six more disposals at the main break, but Fremantle led inside 50s (19-9), hit-outs (36-13) and clearances (15-12).

Their first-half inside 50 advantage was writ clear on the scoreboard and it was fitting McCarthy, facing her former Eagles teammates for the first time, grabbed the game’s first goal with an opportunistic finish inside 50.

Fremantle’s slow first quarters have been a topic of discussion this year, but Newton’s poise and guile set up Gabby Biedenweg-Webster for her first goal of the afternoon.

When Dana East goaled amidst a sea of bodies from close range, déjà vu began to set in; Eagles fans had seen this story before.

Having spent most of the early exchanges under duress down back, West Coast managed to achieve parity in terms of territory, but wasted a few opportunities to reduce the deficit.

As Lewis began to dominate the ball, West Coast threw Ella Roberts forward, but the young gun missed a pair of set-shots that she would have usually nailed.

While the Eagles managed to get the game back on even terms, there was little they could do to quell the influence of Strom in the ruck, who tallied an eye-watering 20 hit-outs in the first term alone and continued to dominate at the stoppages.

West Coast’s inability to trouble the goal umpires was compounded when Ebony Antonio’s handball teed up Biedenweg-Webster for a second.

Down by almost four goals with two quarters to play, the Eagles continued to battle and get hands on the ball, but the Dockers’ sturdy defence — an ever-present fixture of their side this season — was on hand to keep them at bay.

It was not until midway through the third quarter the Eagles kicked their first goal, after Roxy Roux and Jaide Britton combined to tee up Amy Franklin and the ex-Fremantle forward nursed the ball through the middle of the sticks.

It was Fremantle’s turn to batten down the hatches as the Eagles sensed the 16-point margin was suddenly not such a daunting mountain to climb.

With the crowd stirring, the first goal of the final term was always going to be vital, but the Dockers defence continued to stand tall and deny the Eagles sights on goal.

As the sun set in Leederville, so too did West Coast’s hopes of arresting their winless derby record vanish, and Orlagh Lally’s late goal sealed yet another Dockers win.