Would you rather play ugly and give yourself a chance to win, or play pretty and go down by eight goals?

That was the question posed by former Fremantle tagger Ryan Crowley on Twitter in the aftermath of his old side’s 17-point loss in a low-scoring, scrappy affair in Adelaide.

Crowley was endorsing Ross Lyon’s game plan and approach to the Adelaide Oval fixture, with the mindset of denying the Crows an opportunity to engage in a shootout.

“You don’t win shootouts as an away team against the Crows at Adelaide Oval,” Crowley wrote.

“Brilliantly coached and almost executed by Freo. Loving the way they are going about it.”

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When quizzed by some fans about the effectiveness of turning the game into a low-scoring grind, Crowley responded: “I want my team to employ the tactics that best gives them a chance of winning.

“A dour tight game is what was required. Proud of the way they played.”

Fremantle’s ability to restrict a forward line that contains the likes of Eddie Betts and Taylor Walker to just seven goals continues the theme running through their season.

The Dockers rightly earned plenty of attention and praise for piling on a whopping 21 goals in their season opener against North Melbourne, and 16 goals in the impressive road win against GWS. But it’s their backline that has been their backbone and the key to their success.

And as the stats through the first seven games of their season show, it bodes historically well for success later in the year, too.

Fremantle’s tally of 457 points conceded, at a fraction more than 65 per game, is the fourth-lowest total through seven games of a season by any side this decade.

Yes, scoring is down this year and has been edging its way down for a while. But think about the calibre of some of the greatest outfits we’ve seen from 2010 onwards.

The Hawthorn three-peat side. The stingy Swans. A Jeremy McGovern-led Eagles defence.

None of them have made the kind of defensive start, numbers-wise, that Fremantle has managed this year.

The only three sides this decade to concede fewer points through seven games than the Dockers currently have? Geelong’s 2011 premiership team (443 points), the Western Bulldogs’ 2016 premiership team (452 points), and the impressive Cats outfit of this year who are now flag favourites.

Even the Dockers’ own 2015 outfit, which was a juggernaut as it raced to a 9-0 start before tailing off late, was two points shy of the current version in terms of points allowed at the same stage.

Camera Icon Alex Pearce has been in superb form. Credit: Getty Images

At the forefront of the miserly defence is Alex Pearce, who is rightly being recognised as an All-Australian contender.

It’s easy to forget Pearce hasn’t yet played 50 games, a feat he will achieve this weekend against Richmond. The Tasmanian has shrugged off his injury worries and is steadily ticking off a list of quality opponents that he’s got the better of in 2019, with Taylor Walker his latest victim.

Joel Hamling has been a rock, Luke Ryan and Nathan Wilson are providing plenty of drive, and some of the lesser-lights are playing their roles to aplomb (Ryan Nyhuis’ past two games, anyone?).

That Fremantle was able to fend off 50 inside-50 entries against the Crows speaks to the effectiveness and cohesiveness of their backline unit, which is yet to cough up more than 11 goals in any game this season. Memories of last year’s trip to Geelong where the Cats booted 23 consecutive majors in just three quarters are fading fast.

The old US sports saying is that defence wins championships. It’d take a brave person to suggest the Dockers are in line for a flag, and their $51 premiership odds back that up.

But if you can consistently keep potent opponents to somewhere in the realm of 65 points per game, you’re a lock to still be playing in the first week of September. And likely beyond.

FEWEST POINTS ALLOWED THROUGH FIRST 7 GAMES OF A SEASON, THIS DECADE

Geelong 2011: 443

Bulldogs 2016: 452

Geelong 2019: 455

Fremantle 2019: 457

Geelong 2016: 459

Fremantle 2015: 459