Fremantle Senior Coach Justin Longmuir believes the battle in the contest and for field position was where the game was won and lost.

Speaking at his post-match media conference, Longmuir said the contest swung throughout the day, but his team’s commitment never wavered.

“They (Gold Coast) are a hard team to beat here,” Longmuir said.

“We felt like we had a good plan, and we knew it was going to take a really tough team performance.

"I thought we ground out the game really well.”

Fremantle most impressively were able to take the fight to Gold Coast - beating the Suns in several key metrics that gave the team an edge in a heavily congested, rain-affected game.

Gold Coast are the No.1 team in the competition for scoring from forward-half intercepts, but on Saturday, it was Fremantle who generated more forward-half intercepts (28–19), converting them into a 39–3 scoring advantage.

“That first quarter - 29 tackles - and we were able to dispossess,” Longmuir said.

“In the first half, they didn’t get a rebound 50 to inside 50 once, I don’t think.

"That allowed us to play the game in our front half and put them under pressure.

"The game swung on the contest, like we knew it would.”

Fremantle finished the day with 20 tackles inside forward 50 (9.3 above their season average) and 86 tackles in total (27.2 above their season average).

Fremantle will now enjoy the Round 13 bye before returning with three games in a row at Optus Stadium, including the away game against North Melbourne in Round 14.

“We know we can pack it out with Freo fans, and if you’re watching this, get down there for the Club’s away game against North Melbourne in Round 14,” Luke Jackson concluded in his post-match interview.