Underrated Docker destroys Tigers, traded star the ‘missing piece’ amid ump concerns: 3-2-1
Josh Treacy booted career-high six goals and Fremantle downed Richmond by 61 points at Barossa for the Dockers’ third-straight victory.
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.
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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.
The 3-2-1 ...
3. TREACY EXPLODES IN CAREER-BEST OUTING
The ‘Big Cohuna’ was on!
Josh Treacy continued his strong season to date with an outright career-high six goals – all in the first three quarters including four in the first half alone.
The Tigers simply had no answers for Treacy for most of the way, with the 22-year old a constant threat inside 50.
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.
It took Treacy into equal first on the Coleman Medal leaderboard with 17 goals from five games.
Hawks legend praised Treacy for his dynamic running patterns and being able to present in attack in multiple ways.
“A lot of key forwards are very good coming up facing the ball carrier – they come out and lead and mark the ball,” Brereton said.
“Very few of those really good key forwards who do that get the ball heading back towards goal as well.
“If he’s not used, he’s able to turn around run with the flight in the direction of goal and get used as well, which is more the domain of a small forward.
“He just happens to be 105 kgs and 196cm.”
Treacy was well supported up forward by Michael Frederick (three goals), Shai Bolton and the returning Hayden Young (both two goals), who played predominately forward and had his game time managed in his first game back from injury.
2. BOLTON SHOWS WHY HES ‘MISSING FREO PIECE’ IN FIRST TIGERS CLASH
All eyes were on Shai Bolton in his first game against Richmond since last year’s trade.
We got a bit of everything from Bolton, who was one of his side’s best at the Barossa on Sunday. And after winning two flags in yellow in black, he showed why he could be the “missing piece” of Fremantle’s premiership puzzle.
The midfielder-forward kicked 2.3 from 19 disposals including a game-high 10 score involvements. Having that sort of impact on the scoreboard is exactly why the Dockers acquired him.
“We love seeing the best players play well, this guy is an absolute star,” Dockers great Matthew Pavlich said of Bolton at half-time.
“He’s that missing piece of the puzzle for the Fremantle forward line.”
Among Bolton’s highlights were a huge hanger attempt on Nick Vlastuin’s shoulders in the first quarter the Docker couldn’t pull down, before receiving a free kick anyway.
Bolton also missed his first couple of shots at goal — much to the delight of Bronx cheers from Tigers fans — in a fun sideshow within the game.
“The anticipation of him doing something special is as good as when he actually does it,” Saints legend Nick Dal Santo said of Bolton.
There was concerns for Bolton when he exited the field late in the third quarter grabbing his calf, but thankfully it appeared to only be cramp amid the heated conditions in South Australia.
1. UMPIRE STRUCK DOWN 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.
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