Western Bulldogs provided retiring veterans Barry Hall and Ben Hudson with a winning send-off in Saturday's hard-fought final-round encounter with an injury-ravaged Fremantle at Etihad Stadium.
Hall played a key role in the 15.17 (107) to 8.13 (61) result with five goals including four in a dazzling final term to take his personal tally to 36 from seven matches since he announced that season 2011 would be his 16th and last at AFL level.
The 34-year-old bows out with an imposing set of numbers to his credit - 746 goals, which ranks him 14th all-time, in 289 games for three clubs including one premiership ... and one unforgettable king hit.
A late bloomer, Hudson will be remembered for his wholehearted commitment to the cause in 55 appearances for the Crows and 88 for the Bulldogs in a career spanning just eight seasons.
The cheers for Hall and Hudson contrasted with boos from sections of the 'home' crowd directed at teammate Callan Ward ahead of his much-anticipated move to Greater Western Sydney.
The win leaves interim coach Paul Williams with a 2-1 record from his three-match audition for the job full-time.
Bulldogs skipper Matthew Boyd, the competition's leading ball winner, was best-afield with a game-high 35 possessions, while the likes of Pat Veszpremi, Tom Liberatore and Mitch Wallis also finished the season strongly.
In his final game for the Dockers, Byron Schammer was among the Dockers' best with Michael Johnson and Greg Broughton.
With more than half the club's list unavailable through injury and suspension, the Dockers will be relieved that the curtain has finally been drawn on a season which started so promisingly.
Bad luck dogged them all the way to Saturday's warm-up when key defender Luke McPharlin strained a hamstring.
With nothing at stake for either side, the contest resembled circle work in February.
McPharlin's late replacement Casey Sibosado scored the opening goal with his first kick in league football following a strong contested mark.
But that was Freo's only major from seven first-quarter scoring shots.
Sibosado would later be subbed for Justin Bollenhagen who was playing his first and last match for the season.
A four-goal second term - including Hall's first for the afternoon from deep in the right pocket at the Coventry End -enabled the Bulldogs to extend a six-point quarter-time lead to nine at half-time.
It was two goals apiece in an unremarkable third term, and Freo was still within striking distance midway through the final term when two goals in two minutes from Hall made the result safe.
Moments earlier he'd been dragged for a jab to the chops of Nick Suban and headlock on Alex Silvagni that cost the Bulldogs a turnover, 50m penalty and, eventually, a goal to Tendai Mzungu.
He also suffered the indignity of providing Silvagni with a stepladder for one of the marks of the season.
Hall's response, however, was emphatic and his teammates ran from all parts of the ground to show their appreciation.
Two more goals to Big Bad Bustling Barry in time-on made it a finish with a flourish.
WESTERN BULLDOGS: 2.6, 6.8, 8.15, 15.17 (107)
FREMANTLE: 1.6, 4.11, 6.13, 8.13 (61)
GOALS: Western Bulldogs: Hall 5, Giansiracusa 2, Jones 2, Veszpremi 2, Griffen 2, Tutt, Dahlhaus
Fremantle: Bradley 2, Mzungu 2, Sibosado, Clarke, Hill, Barlow
BEST: Western Bulldogs: Boyd, Cross, Veszpremi, Griffen, Hall, Murphy, Ward
Fremantle: Johnson, Broughton, Hill, Duffield, Mzungu
INJURIES: Western Bulldogs: Nil
Fremantle: Sandilands
REPORTS: Nil
CHANGES: Luke McPharlin replaced in Fremantle's selected side by Casey Sibosado
UMPIRES: Hay, Ritchie, McBurney
CROWD: 18,128 at Etihad Stadium