Star midfielder Jack Macrae has praised the team’s maturity for securing another important win on the road.

The Western Bulldogs overcame a valiant Fremantle outfit to claim a 28-point win at Optus Stadium on Sunday night.

It was the Bulldogs’ first win at the venue – and their first against the Dockers on their home turf since 2009.

Macrae acknowledged the Bulldogs had got the job done after a different week – training in Sydney, before flying into Perth for the game.

“They’re always really tough at home and we really grinded out the performance,” Macrae said.

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Jack Macrae | 'It was a bit of an arm-wrestle'

Hear from Jack Macrae following the win against Fremantle in round 12.

“Full credit to the boys for enduring a tough week and had to travel quite a bit. It shows the maturity we’re building. It was a bit of an arm wrestle at times, but I felt like most of the game we were on top.”

“We’ve had a few hiccups against the better teams in the comp, but we’ve also beaten Port Adelaide away and obviously tonight (against Fremantle), a really good win.

“I think we’ve still got areas to improve to get to our best footy.”

The Bulldogs enter their bye with a 10-2 record, sitting in second spot on the AFL ladder.

Macrae has been a critical part of that success in the first half of the year.

The two-time All Australian has – as ever – been ultra-consistent, playing all 12 matches and collecting 30-or-more disposals in each of those matches.

Macrae added another 35 disposals against the Dockers, in an influential midfield display alongside the likes of skipper Marcus Bontempelli, Tom Liberatore and Caleb Daniel – in a new role, helping to cover for injured duo Josh Dunkley and Adam Treloar.

“With ‘Ads’ and ‘Dunks’ out, a few boys have had to step up,” Macrae said of the midfield mix.

“Everyone’s been really flexible throughout the whole season. ‘CD’ is a class player wherever he plays and he brought some of that out.

“It’s been good (for me) to be consistent and just be a good teammate.

“It makes life a bit easier playing with ‘Libba’ and ‘Bont’, who are absolute superstars. I’ll just keep fronting up for my teammates. It’s really clicking this year.