Fremantle have gone down to Carlton in a nail-biter at Cockburn ARC Oval, falling to the Blues by a single goal as a furious fightback fell just short.

Both teams pitched quarter-long shutouts throughout the game — Fremantle went scoreless in the first and third terms, Carlton the second — but it was Carlton who held their nerve late with the game on the line.

The Dockers huffed and puffed and even when hope looked lost late they hung around enough to land a few more blows.

When Gabby O’Sullivan grabbed her second goal of the match to make it a single-digit game, the women’s game got its first-ever taste of ‘Wharfie Time’ and as ‘Hell’s Bells’ blared around the ground, it felt like Fremantle might rise to the occassion.

But with the result in contest until the final siren, it was Carlton who did just enough to hold out the Dockers and claim a 7.6 (48) to 6.6 (42) victory.

The evergreen Kiara Bowers was once again excellent with 27 disposals, 11 tackles and six inside 50s while Mim Strom added 27 hit-outs to her eight clearances.

Fremantle, known as Walyalup during AFLW Indigenous Round, remain winless at home through their first two games in WA, but they will be encouraged by their method and effort in spite of the loss.

They started well as they ramped up the tackle pressure early with Bowers typically leading the way and O’Sullivan and Jess Low lending some solid support.

The biggest issue the Dockers confronted in the opening quarter was getting the ball into hands inside 50. They managed just four red zone entries in the first term.

Calrton on the other hand, had 10 and turned three of them into goals as Poppy Scholz converted from the goal square before Claudia Whitfort snuck one through from a pocket clearance.

By the time Erone Fitzpatrick snapped Carlton’s third, the Dockers’ promising start felt a long time ago – even though in reality it had only been 10 minutes.

And Fremantle’s hopes of wrestling back control and chipping away at the margin looked to take a blow when McCarthy was brought down in a tackle from Whitfort and did not get up.

The game was brought to a halt as the Irishwoman limped off, escorted by trainers and unable to put any pressure on her right leg.

She later returned in the third quarter with her knee strapped, but Fremantle went to work without their midfield ace temporarily off the field and found the best offence was a good defence.

They began to win territory and clamped down on Carlton’s defensive exits by bringing the pressure inside 50.

The Dockers won three free-kicks deep in their opponents territory in quick succession, but only Megan Kauffman was able to turn hers into six points.

It proved a turning point as Gabby Newton began to make her impact felt, storming through traffic and stabbing through a goal.

Then Fremantle’s refreshed ball movement bore fruit as a short kick into Hayley Miller at half-back drew Blues defenders, but the veteran was able to find Kauffman as a release valve in the middle of the ground.

It opened up space on the outer wing, which Fremantle surged into eagerly and O’Sullivan took full advantage, nailing a set-shot to put her side in front.

And the Dockers were not done yet as Mim Strom roared into space, latched onto Newton’s looped handball and gave Fremantle a seven-point lead at half-time.

Shut out in the second term, the pendulum almost immediately swung back Carlton’s way after the restart when Sophie McKay kicked a quick goal and the scores were level when Matilda Banfield was caught holding the ball and Whitworth’s set-shot drifted wide.

When Amelia Velardo registered a behind, the Blues were back in front and Fremantle faced a two-score deficit when Dayna Finn grabbed a goal.

With a seven-point difference heading into the final term, Fremantle began one final push. Hayley Miller held her nerve from a set-shot, but Scholz kicked a behind up the other end straight away and Mimi Hill then restored the seven-point lead.

When Fitzpatrick grabbed her second of the match, it looked like game-set-match — only for O’Sullivan to respond with another goal for the Dockers, triggering the AFLW’s first-ever ‘Wharfie Time’ activation to set up a grandstand finish.

A Bowers behind made it a six-point game, but with the ball — and most of the 32 players on the ground — locked in their own defensive 50, Carlton held firm.