NORTH Melbourne went down to Fremantle by 61 points at Subiaco Oval on Sunday afternoon.

Lindsay Thomas was a rare winner for the Roos kicking 5.5 in the loss, but in the end Fremantle was too strong.

Fremantle produced a devastating 10-goal third term, the equal best quarter of its history, and finished with 11 separate goalkickers to win 21.13 (139) to 11.12 (78).

There were few winners for North, with Lindsay Thomas booting five goals and Nathan Grima having the better of Pavlich early. 

Captain Brent Harvey had a horror day opposed to disciplined Freo midfielder Jay van Berlo, finishing with just 10 possessions and injuring his elbow in the third quarter.

The game was still in the balance at the start of the third term, with North 23 points adrift, before Fremantle went on an irresistible run to post its best score and biggest win of the season.

Nat Fyfe, who backed up his NAB Rising Star nomination with 27 possessions and three goals, was a star in the second half, while David Mundy (31 possessions and six clearances) took charge in the centre square all day and was best afield.   

With Matthew Pavlich down on his usual best, rapidly improving utility Kepler Bradley stood up in the forward line, kicking four goals from his 21 possessions.

Hayden Ballantyne, who was relentless with his forward pressure and unselfish when he had the ball, finished with 19 possessions and six score assists.

Clancee Pearce was a valuable contributor after replacing Michael Barlow, who has a minor hamstring injury, in the selected side.

Fremantle    6.5    8.8    18.12    21.13 (139)
North Melbourne    2.1    4.3    7.8    11.12 (78)

GOALS
Fremantle: Pavlich 4, Bradley 4, Fyfe 3, Mayne 2, Ballantyne 2, Hasleby, Hill, Ibbotson, Suban, van Berlo, Sandilands
North Melbourne: Thomas 5, Harding, Hansen, Firrito, O'Keefe, Harvey, Wright

BEST
Fremantle: Mundy, Bradley, Fyfe, Ballantyne, van Berlo, Suban, Crowley, Grover
North Melbourne: Thomas, Swallow, Bastinac, Grima, Ziebell

INJURIES
Fremantle: Michael Barlow (hamstring) replaced in selected side by Clancee Pearce
North Melbourne: Brent Harvey (elbow)

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Hay, Meredith, Ryan

Official crowd: 36,175 at Subiaco Oval

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.