When and where: Patersons Stadium – Friday 26 April, 2013 - 6.45pm WST
Last time they met - Round 21, 2012 – Patersons Stadium, Saturday 18 August
FREMANTLE 3.4 7.8 10.12 13.16 (94)
RICHMOND 2.3 5.4 8.4 11.6 (72)
GOALS FREMANTLE: Pavlich 3, Ballantyne 3, de Boer 2, Hill, Mayne, Mzungu, Walters, Bradley
GOALS RICHMOND: King 3, Riewoldt 2, Deledio 2, Nahas, White, Edwards, O’Hanlon
SUB: Nick Suban replaced Zac Dawson at three-quarter time
REPORTS: Nil?
UMPIRES: Margetts, Findlay, McInerney?
OFFICIAL CROWD: 32,721
BROWNLOW MEDAL VOTES
3 David Mundy; 2 Trent Cotchin; 1 Hayden Ballantyne
DOIG MEDAL VOTES
12 Luke McPharlin?, 12 Hayden Ballantyne, 12 Aaron Sandilands; 11 David Mundy?, 8 Ryan Crowley? 8, Matthew de Boer 8, Paul Duffield? 8, Adam McPhee? 8, Michael Walters? 7; Chris Mayne? 7, Michael Johnson 4, Matthew Pavlich? 4, Stephen Hill? 4, Clancee Pearce? 4, Tendai Mzungu ?4, Nathan Fyfe ?4, Zac Dawson? 4, Garrick Ibbotson? 4, Lee Spurr? 4, Kepler Bradley 3; Michael Barlow 1
The big story to emerge from Fremantle’s match against Richmond took place before the game-clock had started ticking. With bounce down just minutes away, ruckman Jon Griffin hurt his groin in the warm-up. Aaron Sandilands, out since round 11 and on the comeback trail from injury, had been warming up inside the rooms. The SOS call was made and the three-time All Australian was thrust unexpectedly into the coalface. On the ground, Sandilands exceeded expectations with 18 disposals and 33 hitouts, while David Mundy kept ominously building form with 32 touches. Conspiracy theorists were out in force after the game, including Richmond coach Damian Hardwick. When asked questions in the post-match media conference pertaining to the late change,? Ross Lyon’s darting eyes looked ready to shoot lasers at anyone that questioned the validity of the move. Nonetheless, Freo’s gift? to itself in the club’s 400th AFL game was four precious points ahead of a season-defining clash with fellow finals aspirant North Melbourne in the next round.
Ross Lyon: “I’m as shocked as anyone, it certainly isn’t a ruse. They were doing their final warm-up, Griffin came off the ground and the doctor grabbed me and said he’d tweaked his groin.”
Social Media
Twitter - Make sure you follow our match day account @FreoFC_MatchDay for comprehensive pre-game info, match scores, highlights, stats and analysis, and post-game recaps.
Don't forget to follow the club's official account @Fremantle_FC for updates throughout the week.
Facebook - Get score updates and chat with other Freo fans during the game with our official Facebook account (www.facebook.com/fremantlefootballclub)
Instagram – For a behind-the-scenes look at game day follow FremantleDockers on Instagram.
The selection table
Fremantle – Zac Clarke would be a handy addition but he looks like missing again, but Freo will be bolstered by the return of All Australian defender Luke McPharlin. Tanner Smith is the most obvious omission, unless Lyon decides to play McPharlin in attack, given Matthew Pavlich is out. Nick Suban is under pressure to hold his spot following a below-average effort against Hawthorn, although Lyon has indicated he may give Suban another chance. There are a number of players pushing hard for selection at WAFL level, including Viv Michie, who was excellent for Peel Thunder on the weekend. Lachie Neale was the sub in Launceston and performed well after coming on in the second quarter.
Richmond – Tough defender Steven Morris will miss this Friday night's match after accepting a one-match suspension from the AFL’s Match Review Panel. His place could go to Richmond’s top draft pick Nick Vlastuin, who Tigers’ coach Damien Hardwick indicated was a strong chance to make an AFL debut. Key defender Troy Chaplin is in doubt after suffering a second concussion in three weeks. Brad Helbig, Robin Nahas and Aaron Edwards were all in very good touch for Richmond’s VFL affiliate, Coburg.
Possible line-ups – Freo mentioned first in bold
Possible line-ups - Freo mentioned first in bold
| F | Walters | Mayne | Ballantyne |
| B | King | Rance | Newman |
| HF | D Pearce | Bradley | de Boer |
| HB | Grigg | Grimes | Houli |
| C | Hill | Barlow | Fyfe |
| C | Jackson | Tuck | Martin |
| HB | M Johnson | Dawson | C Pearce |
| HF | S Edwards | Vickery | Conca |
| B | Spurr | McPharlin | Duffield |
| F | McGuane | Riewoldt | Knights |
| Ruck | Griffin | Mundy | Crowley |
| Ruck | Maric | Cotchin | Delidio |
| INT from | Mzungu, Suban, Neale | Sutcliffe, Crozier, Smith | |
| INT from | Petterd, Batchelor, Griffiths | Ellis, Nahas, Helbig, A Edwards |
X Factors
Fremantle – Luke McPharlin: Anytime you can add an All Australian key defender that can also play forward, the term x-factor could be applied. McPharlin’s absence was missed over the past two weeks, and whether he’s called upon to play on Jack Riewoldt in defence, or plug the hole left by Matthew Pavlich’s injury, Luke Mac will be a very welcomed addition on Friday.
Richmond – Shane Edwards: Edwards can really fly under the radar in this Richmond side, but he’s been very important in their 3-1 start to the season. Playing half-forward with stints in the midfield, he averages 7.8 ground-ball-gets per game, the second-most among forwards in the AFL.
Key Match-ups
Ryan Crowley v Brett Deledio: Trent Cotchin is reputed as the best player in Richmond’s midfield, but it’s the silky skills and speed of Brett Deledio that Ross Lyon targeted in both games against the Tigers in 2012. Crowley has the runs on the board, with two very good stopping efforts against Deledio in Freo victories.
Luke McPharlin v Jack Riewoldt: Most roads into Richmond’s forward line lead through Jack Riewoldt. He’s been in excellent form this season, including a seven-goal haul against St Kilda. McPharlin usually stands the best forward, so this match-up is a big possibility.
Jon Griffin v Ivan Maric: Griffin played one of the best games of his career in Freo’s big win over Richmond at the MCG last year. Maric is one of the best big men in the competition, so Griffin will be called upon to battle manfully in the ruck yet again.
David Mundy v Trent Cotchin: Two of the cleanest ball-users in the competition, both Mundy and Cotchin are the maestro’s of their respective midfields. This is yet another tantalising midfield match-up possibility on Friday night.
Nat Fyfe v Dustin Martin: Two of the best young players in the competition could go head-to-head on Friday night. Martin has begun to deliver on his promise this season, while Fyfe has been among Freo’s best on a weekly basis. This would be one of those ‘worth-the-price-of-admission’ battles, should Fyfe and Martin cross paths.
Dream Team
Fremantle: David Mundy has averaged 113 points per game over his past three against Richmond. He took home the three Brownlow Medal votes the last time the teams played and he’s in very good form, scoring a ton last week.
Richmond: Trent Cotchin has averaged 107 over his past three against Freo and he’s proven as one of the best midfielders in the competition. If Crowley gets Deledio again, he should win sufficient ball to post another good score.
Freo will be happy if: The defensive press forces the attacking Tigers into turnovers.
Richmond will be happy if: They lift their total number of tackles, which are the second-worst in the AFL this season. Freo will make it a contested game so they may have no choice.
