Fremantle head to Darwin for the first time this week after the Western Bulldogs figured it would be a good idea to give up the perfect conditions of their home dome for something with an environment. Heat, wind, maybe rain and grass that wasn't transplanted - all those sorts of things. It hasn't worked well for them, only beating Carlton in the 3 games they've played there.

Last year the Bulldogs gave up their home game for the luxury of having 14,000 people see them lose by 14 points to Port Adelaide. The year before that they were smart enough to force a Victorian team into travelling and beat Carlton by 46 points. And the year before that they made the Port Adelaide mistake for the first time, losing by 86 points.  

Fremantle haven't had much luck at the ground either though. They've headed north for a couple of pre-season game, strategically losing to the Eagles in the Ansett Cup and falling a few points short of Essendon in the 2004 Wizard Cup.

Last year when Fremantle played the Bulldogs the travel had more of a south east direction to it. The Bulldogs fancied their form at the Tesltra Dome, winning most of their games there and kicking big scores in the process. Coming off a win over Richmond, the Dockers fancied themselves too but fell short in the last quarter when their goal kicking skills abandoned them. Matthew Pavlich had no problems with his 3 goals but Paul Medhurst's 1.5 won't go down as his finest game. Brad Johsnon kicked 3 of the Bulldogs 15 goals. The top ball getter on the day was Scott West who got rid of the footy 29 times, Josh Carr did it 26 times for Fremantle. The umpires liked the work of Scott West, Adam Cooney and Josh Carr while the Clinton Wolf Medal voting committee went for Mundy, Grover and Medhurst on sympathy.

That was the Bulldogs first win over the Dockers in 5 attempts but a run of Optus Oval slogs during the nineties still sees the Bulldogs with 8 wins to Fremantle's 7.

In 2005, Fremantle beat the Bulldogs by 53 points at Subiaco Oval, powering over the top of them with 8 last quarter goals. Luke McPharlin kicked 5 goals and Matthew Pavlich a lazy 4. Daniel Bandy kicked 3 for the Bulldogs. As expected, Scott West had a lot of the ball with 38 touches with Heath Black topping the stats for Fremantle on 30. Troy Cook, Des Headland and Scott West picked up the Brownlow votes.

In Round 14, 2004, the Dockers knocked the Bulldogs off by 42 points. 6 goals to 0 in the third quarter sealed the Dogs fate. Fremantle players were queuing up to kick goals. Paul Medhurst and Troy Simmonds kicked 4 each, Peter Bell kicked 3 and his young apprentice Byron Schammer kicked 2. Matthew Carr had 24 touches and Peter Bell 23 but it was Scott West who snared the 3 votes with his 33 possessions and 3 goals that allowed the Bulldogs to continue operating legally under the name Football Club.

There was also a run in at the Dome in Round 20 2003. It was an historic day with the Dockers winning by 56 points and locking away a spot in the finals for the first time in the club's history. It wasn't the most accurate day for the Dockers, kicking 18.25 (133). Justin Longmuir broke some records of his own with an oxymoronic 7 straight behinds. Paul Medhurst kicked 4.3 and Jeff Farmer 3.3. The Brownlow votes went the way of Des Headland, despite his scoring efforts of 1.3. Matthew Pavlich picked up the 2 votes and Shaun McManus caught the umpires eye once again with 1 vote. Nathan Brown top scored for the Bulldogs with 4 goals and Scott West had his standard 29 possessions.

So far this year, the Bulldogs have won 6 games and are sitting in 9th spot on the ladder. They won away from home for the first time on the weekend, beating Brisbane by 23 points at the Gabba. Lindsay Gilbee had 32 touches and Brad Johnson kicked 4 goals.

Fremantle are coming off a win over the Tigers where Des Headland kicked 5 goals, Matthew Pavlich 4 and Peter Bell had 38 disposals. That was their 5th win of the season after losing the first 3, putting them just 3 games out of the top 4.