The Pies stormed home in similar circumstances a week earlier against Gold Coast before falling short by six points. They are only two points clear of reigning premiers Brisbane Lions, who they host at the MCG in two weeks’ time.
Brownlow Medal favourite Daicos shrugged off soreness to amass a career-most 43 disposals and eight clearances in a return to defence that could deliver him maximum votes.
The 22-year-old superstar helped fill the void down back, along with his brother Josh, in the absence of Dan Houston, Jeremy Howe and Billy Frampton.
“I had a conversation with [Daicos] on Thursday or Friday about playing back, and he hadn’t played back since his first year,” McRae said.
“[We spoke] about how much of a different player he is now compared to when he was a first-year player – his capability, skill, and all the things to it. I was excited for it.
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“We went into the game with a [plan for a] bit of Josh and Nick split [between the midfield and defence], and we ended up probably having a bit more Nick back than Josh, but we put him around the ball late and what’s he had, career-best possessions? It was a nice thing to have, knowing we could throw those two magnets around a bit.”
However, Daicos will have stiff competition for best-on-ground honours from emerging Fremantle key forward Voss, who had never kicked more than three goals in a game, but had already beaten that by early in the second term.
All of those were on Darcy Moore before McRae switched Brayden Maynard onto him.
Dockers coach Justin Longmuir said Voss was “outstanding”, revealing he had set him for the Moore job after a similar role against Hawthorn captain James Sicily the previous week.
“I thought he was able to clearly have a big impact on the game,” Longmuir said.
“I can’t really talk about his time at Essendon. Sometimes, there’s a squeeze on for list spots, so I’m not sure what happened there … but as soon as he came to the club, he worked his backside off.
“A lot gets talked about with ‘Vossy’ [about] his energy and carry-on after goals, but there’s not a player on our list who’s worked harder on his game … this type of performance is reward for effort, on the effort he’s put into his game across, I’d imagine, many years.
Darcy Cameron was excellent in the ruck and aerially against Fremantle pair Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson, with help from Mason Cox, but Jackson’s strong mark and goal deep in the final term was a pivotal moment.
Caleb Serong was the Dockers’ leading ball-winner with 37, to go with match-highs of nine clearances and 16 contested possessions.
Tim Membrey, whose wife Emily gave birth to their third child this week, and Tom Mitchell (managed) are set to return for Collingwood’s clash next Sunday against Richmond.
But Fremantle midfielder Matt Johnson suffered a potentially serious left ankle injury in the final term.
“He felt a crack, so he’s on crutches, [which is] not a good sign, but we don’t want to go too early with it,” Longmuir said. “It’s not looking great for him.”
