Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir highlighted the effort of star ruck Luke Jackson's game-turning third quarter.
The Dockers defeated Collingwood by six points in a low scoring scrap, with three of the club's six goals coming in a short flurry straight after half-time, with Jackson leading the way.
Sean Darcy suffered a concussion which put more responsibility on Jackson, who finished with 38 hitouts, 17 disposals and nine tackles.
“He was super and got us going early in the third. We struggled with field position. I thought our pressure was horrible in the first half, he helped us get on top in those areas in the third quarter,” Longmuir said.
“To come out after halftime, get the ball going our way, game played in our half and kick three quick ones was a great response.
“His aerial in particular was really strong. He marked it like it was a dry weather game so he was instrumental in helping us win the game.”
Longmuir conceded the Dockers' were below their best for much of the night, particularly in the first half, but praised the herculean effort of the backline, led by Alex Pearce and Heath Chapman.
It's Fremantle's second consecutive win by within a kick against Collingwood, which has set the benchmark for closing out tight games under coach Craig McRae.
It follows a two-point victory over Adelaide in Round 4 as the club continues to gain confidence from both road wins and tight finishes.
“It's never something you get ahead of yourself with but I feel like over the last 18 months we've slowly become better at being composed in important moments in the last quarter and I thought we saw important moments of that,” Longmuir said.
“We didn't rush ourselves in the last quarter when we were chasing the game, chasing the lead. We waited for our moments to happen and were good enough to take them.
“I thought once we hit the lead, we executed really well. Last week we didn't show that composure like we could've and I think we stayed steadier tonight and I think we've been building over the last 18 months.”
A big Josh Treacy intercept mark in the dying stages was symbolic of Fremantle executing under pressure.
The key forward's leadership has been lauded this season but on a quiet night where he was unable to add to his 12 goals in the first month as Billy Frampton got on top of him, he seized his moment.
“Josh has done that so many times for us. It's like he's wearing two gloves or grippo on his hands, he goes back and marks it like it's a dry weather game,” Longmuir said.
“When I talk about detail late in games, that's what I'm talking about. Not only does he end up executing that mark, he's in the right spot to impact the game so he's been tremendous for us.”
