AFL round 5 Richmond v Fremantle: All the news, fallout and analysis from Freo’s 61-point win

Fremantle have continued their rich vein of form, proving too strong for Richmond in the Barossa Valley, as Shai Bolton showed Tigers fans what they are missing.

Fremantle made it three wins on the trot after steamrolling Richmond in the second-half at Barossa Park on Sunday.

The Dockers would cruise to a 61-point point victory in the stifling heat, but it was far from smooth sailing in the first half after the Tigers showed plenty of fight and began both the first and second terms in a flurry.

Fremantle surprisingly only boasted 12 more games of experience than Richmond and passed their first test without Luke Jackson as Sean Darcy made a solid return.

Richmond’s youthful side faded out of the match in the second half as Fremantle’s engine room, led by a tackle-hungry Andrew Brayshaw, got to work.

By the latter stages of the third quarter, it was party time for Fremantle.

Alex Pearce, who led all comers with 10 intercept possessions, floated forward with opponent Tom Lynch resting on the interchange and roosted a marvellous set shot through from the 50m arc. It was just the skipper’s sixth goal in his 127th game.

That effort was followed by a Patrick Voss screamer, with the big man bouncing off Tigers defenders before snapping the Sherrin over his shoulder and taking off at breakneck speed in celebration.

Hayden Young showed plenty of promise in his first match of the season and delivered some beautiful kicks inside 50, while Shai Bolton was lively in his first game against his former club – very nearly clunking a mark of the year contender while kicking 2.3 and racking up 19 touches and 10 score involvements.

UMPIRE DOWN

Field umpire Paul Rebeschini had to leave the field in the opening term after he was floored by a nasty collision with Jayden Short.

It meant the quarter’s remainder was played with only three field umpires on the ground, but fortunately for Rebeschini he was cleared to return in the second term after passing a Head Injury Assessment.

Rebeschini was running backwards when the incident occurred and sidestepped into an unsuspecting Short who was steaming past. The pair appeared to clash heads as they collided, and Rebeschini’s neck whipped harshly.

It was reported on Fox Footy that after the match Rebeschini would be sent for scans on his shoulder.

It was another success in the Barossa. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

TERRIFIC TREACY

Dockers key forward Josh Treacy enjoyed a career-best outing and finished with six majors.

He began the match in emphatic fashion after booting Fremantle’s first three goals inside 12 minutes, becoming the first Docker to kick three goals in a quarter in 13 years in the process.

Treacy was the benefactor of sublime ball movement through the middle of the ground from his teammates early, and also positioned himself exceptionally all day, either finding space out the back or leading with pace.

The 22-year-old also kicked beautifully with just one behind – for what would have been his fourth first quarter goal – which only narrowly missed.

Josh Treacy dominated the day. Picture: James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images

VOSS TROUBLE?

Fremantle’s Patrick Voss could find himself facing scrutiny from the match review officer and a swinging arm caught Nick Vlaustin late in the match and left him bloodied.

“That was very little duty of care … I don’t think it had malice in it but the result was a nasty one,” Dermott Brereten said of the incident.

Voss and Vlaustin could be seen chatting after the match and exchanged a fist bump.

Voss in huge trouble after this incident#AFL#AFLTigersFreopic.twitter.com/lcLijkTBvN

— Patrick Ryen (@PatrickRyen) April 13, 2025

SCOREBOARD

RICHMOND 4.2 6.3 7.3 7.5 (47)

FREMANTLE 4.4 7.7 13.8 16.12 (108)

BEST

Tigers: McIntosh, Taranto, Hopper, Short, Nankervis

Dockers: Bolton, Treacy, Brayshaw, Pearce, Clark

GOALS

Tigers: Rioli 2, McIntosh, Sonsie, Lynch, Green, Blight

Dockers: Treacy 6, Frederick 3, Young 2, Bolton 2, Reid, Pearce, Voss

INJURIES Tigers: nil. Dockers: nil.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

MITCH BOURKE’S VOTES

3 Andrew Brayshaw (FRE)

2 Josh Treacy (FRE)

1 Shai Bolton (FRE)

Originally published as AFL round 5 Richmond v Fremantle: All the news, fallout and analysis from Freo’s 61-point win