FREMANTLE has pulled off a nail-biting one-point victory over Richmond at Patersons Stadium, winning 12.9 (81) to 12.8 (80) on Friday night.

When Chris Mayne kicked his third goal at the six-minute mark of the last quarter to give Fremantle a 14-point lead, its biggest of the night, the Dockers looked like they might finally break away from the Tigers. But the visitors refused to go away in a pulsating last 10 minutes.

Dustin Martin converted a remarkable set shot from deep in the left forward pocket to cut the margin to just eight points before Tyrone Vickery took a contested mark and kicked his third to bring Richmond within two points with six minutes to play.

Matt White then nearly kicked a miracle goal from the boundary, but the ball controversially hit the goal umpire straddling the line to stay in play. Fremantle’s Stephen Hill then rushed it over to cut the margin to one point.

White then gave the Tigers the lead inside the final two minutes when he goaled after running onto the football with electric pace, with Fremantle in danger of relinquishing a lead late for the second straight match at Patersons Stadium.

But Fremantle gleaned the next clearance, and Ballantyne bobbed up with his fourth goal to reclaim the lead.

The siren beat the Tigers as the football was 15 metres from their attacking goal.

Both coaches felt post-match that White's first shot at goal, which hit the goal umpire and stayed in play, should have been a goal.

"I know it went through for a goal. It crossed the line. Have you seen the replay?" Richmond coach Damien Hardwick fumed post-match.

"Maybe we should have called a review, you would have thought.

"Seriously, in a tight game - joke.

"There is a system in place. Use it, or don't bother."

Fremantle coach Ross Lyon did not disagree.

"I thought it looked like a goal," Lyon said.

"I thought there was a review process in place. At the end of the day, we’re all humans, we all make mistakes.

"Damien is entitled to voice an opinion, but I’ll leave it to the papers and the AFL to sort it out."

Earlier, Richmond silenced the vocal Fremantle crowd with a blistering start, kicking the first three goals before Fremantle scored.
 
The Dockers fought back in the second term, kicking five goals to two to lead by two points at the major change.

It was an arm-wrestle in the third, with Fremantle unable to take its chances to extend their lead, whilst Richmond kicked 2.2 from just four inside 50 entries for the term to stay in touch.  

Luke McPharlin proved a pivotal inclusion for Fremantle. The All-Australian defender held reigning Coleman Medalist Jack Riewoldt to just two marks and one goal, which came from a free kick.

Chris Knights was outstanding for Richmond, kicking three goals to keep the Tigers in touch throughout the night.

"Tonight he took his chances, which was great. He still has some areas of his game we would like to get a little bit better – his contested ball at stages – but it was good to see him take a step forward and play well," Hardwick said.

The victory will be bittersweet for Fremantle, with Kepler Bradley suffering a suspected ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. He hyper-extended his right knee in the second quarter and was immediately subbed out.

"He'll have a scan tomorrow, which is really sad for any player. When it's one of your own it makes it worse," Lyon said.

FREMANTLE      2.0   7.5   10.8   12.9   (81)                  
RICHMOND        5.2   7.3   9.5   12.8   (80)          

GOALS
Fremantle: Ballantyne 4, Mayne 3, Walters 2, Crowley, Hill, Suban
Richmond: Knights 3, Vickery 3, McGuane 2, Riewoldt, Grigg, Martin, White

BEST
Fremantle: Barlow, Griffin, McPharlin, Pearce, Fyfe, Hill, Walters
Richmond: Knights, Edwards, Martin, Ellis, Cotchin, Vickery, White

INJURIES
Fremantle: Bradley (right knee)
Richmond: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Fremantle: Nick Suban replaced Kepler Bradley during the second quarter
Richmond: Robin Nahas replaced Brad Helbig during the third quarter

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Donlon, Dalgleish, Chamberlain

Official crowd: 36,365 at Patersons Stadium