First quarter: Melbourne 6.5 (41) to Fremantle 2.0 (12)
Fremantle got off to a fine start when Matt Taberner dribbled through a goal from the pocket in the opening minute. And when he marked moments later, he looked set to land two in a row, but his shot for goal went on the full.
Aside from a Nick Suban goal at the 10-minute mark, Fremantle struggled for the rest of the term, as Melbourne took control.
Jack Watts starred with three goals for the quarter, which included back-to-back majors late in the term, while Dean Kent, who landed Melbourne’s first for the night, booted two goals. Jesse Hogan also opened his account.
At quarter-time, Melbourne led by 29 points, but the margin could’ve been even greater had it not missed several opportunities in front of goal.
In fact, Melbourne had the last nine scoring shots for the quarter, highlighting its dominance.
Second quarter: Melbourne 9.8 (62) to Fremantle 3.1 (19)
Melbourne made it six in a row, when it booted the first two majors of the second term.
Aaron vandenBerg snapped a beauty under pressure to secure Melbourne’s first and when Kent went bang at the 16-minute mark, he had his third for the night.
Fremantle finally broke the streak at the 22-minute mark, when Matthew Pavlich kicked truly.
But when skipper Nathan Jones kicked a fantastic goal on the run, which was assisted from some impressive work by Mitch White, Melbourne took a 43-point lead into half-time.
At the long change, the red and blue had 17 scoring shots to four.
Third quarter: Melbourne 11.11 (77) to Fremantle 7.4 (46)
As it did in the opening term, Fremantle registered the first goal for the quarter, when Pavlich booted his second.
Soon Melbourne was back in the action, opening its second half account via Hogan, who landed successive majors to have three to his name.
At the 12-minute mark, Melbourne led by 50 points.
But for the first time in the match, Fremantle strung together consecutive majors, with Chris Mayne booting two in a row and Pavlich recording his third.
Despite finding some form late in the quarter, Fremantle still trailed by 31 points at the final break.
Final quarter: Melbourne 12.14 (86) defeated Fremantle 8.6 (54)
Hogan opened the final term with his fourth at the five-minute mark, ending any thought of a Fremantle comeback.
Although Hayden Ballantyne answered a minute later for Fremantle, when a further six behinds were added.
In the wash-up, the red and blue won by 32 points.
The win proved to be Melbourne’s first in Darwin since round 11, 2011, which also ended a seven-match losing streak in the Northern Territory.
Melbourne also won its first match over Fremantle since round 13, 2011 at the MCG. It also ended a seven-game losing streak against Freo.
