FREMANTLE coach Ross Lyon has fired a shot at Etihad Stadium management after the stadium's roof was left open despite rain in Melbourne on Saturday night.

The Dockers got the job done against a gallant Western Bulldogs outfit on Sunday, with the greasy conditions accentuating Fremantle's slicker ball use in its 13.11 (89) to 6.15 (51) win.

But Lyon remained critical that the roof had not been shut.

Five talking points: Western Bulldogs v Fremantle

"I was asked pre-game about it and I was going to say I was surprised, but not really because it's just so inconsistent," he said post-match.

"I knew it was raining overnight because I couldn't sleep that well because it was dripping on my balcony.

"Then I was told it was shut at 10.30(am). Look, it's a wet-weather game we play, but I suppose it’s hard to walk in surprised.

"It just made it a difficult day because it's such a hard surface, it gets really greasy,” Lyon said.

"But at the end of the day we still used the ball pretty well. It just made it a bit more 'scrimmagy' than it needed to be.

"I would have thought it was shut overnight, but you know what, we'll play in anything."

Fremantle kept the Bulldogs at arm's length on Sunday despite being dominated 67-41 on the inside-50 count.

However, Lyon wasn't overly concerned as the Dockers restricted the Dogs to 6.15 (51) - their lowest-ever score in clashes between the clubs.

"It was very good. Look, I think there's entries and there's entries. There's wide entries, there's slow entries and then there's ones that just cross the line," he said.

"We defended really well and we bounced out really well. It was a unique game of footy but we'll certainly take it.

"I thought when the game was up for grabs in the last quarter we did what we needed to do.

"I thought we were quite dominant and took control of the game."

Stephen Hill was Fremantle's best player and booted four goals in the AFL's Indigenous Round.

Lyon said the occasion meant a lot to the Dockers' indigenous players.

"We speak about purpose. We did mention it. I spoke to those guys individually - ‘honour the day with great effort’. It's a special round," he said.

"They had an opportunity to express themselves and it was no coincidence that at three-quarter time it was Stephen Hill, Michael Johnson and Danyle Pearce that really got us going, and we acknowledged that after the game.

"Sometimes there's a greater purpose than the team, or the club or your own family.

"They represented their people today and I thought it was absolutely super.

"You can tap into some reserves sometimes you don't tap into and I thought our guys did that."

Ruckman Zac Clarke and tagger Ryan Crowley also received special praise from Lyon for their roles in the win, which improved Freo's record to 6-4 ahead of a home clash against Adelaide on Sunday.

Twitter: @TravKing_AFL