Fremantle defeated Gold Coast by 23 points on Saturday night at Domain Stadium.

Here are some of the key stats and stories from the game. 

Lach in three votes?
At half time, Lachie Neale seemed a lock to get the three votes with 19 disposals, seven clearances, six tackles and four marks by the main break.
By full time, Neale had plenty of competition for the best on ground, including Cam McCarthy (four goals), Bradley Hill (33 disposals, seven marks, 762 metres gained), Stephen Hill (seven clearances, 11 contested possessions) and Luke Ryan (25 disposals, 16 marks).

Forward progress
Fremantle’s delivery inside 50 has improved over the past month. Against West Coast and Hawthorn in rounds 17 and 18, Freo had the worst forward half kicking efficiency in the competition at 48 per cent, with 15.7 per cent of kicks inside 50 resulting in a mark.
In rounds 19 and 20, the forward half kicking efficiency improved to 64.5 per cent, the second best in the AFL in his period, resulting in 21.4 per cent of kicks inside 50 being marked.
It explains why, after kicking four goals, McCarthy was quick to credit his teammates post-game.
“It’s just four goals," McCarthy said.
"I think our midfielders and backline, they did all the work.”

Quality over quantity
Fremantle’s efficiency paid dividends in the second term as Freo booted four goals to one despite Gold Coast having the upper hand in the contest.
The Suns dominated the clearances 12-6 for the term, leading the stat 21-16 at half time.
What mattered was the quality of these clearances, with 100 per cent of Fremantle clearances going to the advantage of teammates, leading the effective clearances stat 16-15 at half time. 

Stoppage scores
For five consecutive weeks from rounds 15 to 19, Fremantle have been outscored at the stoppages by an average of 12.6 points.
On Saturday, Fremantle reversed this trend, outscoring Gold Coast at the stoppage with a +30 point differential.

Ryan makes his mark
Luke Ryan was just one off equalling an AFL record with nine intercept marks in round 20, and his 16 marks in total was the equal most in an AFL game this season.
With 30 marks in the past fortnight, Ryan has taken six more marks than any other player in the AFL.
Since making his debut in round 11, Ryan has averaged 7.4 marks per game, the 11th most in the AFL.

Pressure pays off
Talking post-game, Lachie Neale said Fremantle’s pressure around the contest was crucial in helping the defence win the ball off Gold Coast as they went forward.
Gold Coast led the inside 50s 49-48, but Freo’s pressure allowed the likes of Ryan to win the ball off his opponents.
“They had pretty similar entries...our tackle pressure and will to compete forced the high ball and gave our defenders a chance,” Neale said.
“They were really good at sticking to their tasks and bringing the ball to ground and we were able to take it away from there.

Ballas stems the tide
With Freo leading by 25 points late in second quarter, Gold Coast kicked four of the next five goals until some Hayden Ballantyne magic arrested the Suns momentum.
With a Cam McCarthy inside 50 going over his head, the 174cm small forward used his body to create some space, dodging and weaving to snap a trademark Ballantine goal.
From there, Freo kicked five of the next eight goals to secure the win.