Dockers and Tigers secure wins in AFL Friday night fixtures

AFL Friday scoreboard

D By Dean Bilton

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Dockers vs Saints

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That'll do from the blog tonight

D By Dean Bilton

Wins for Richmond and Fremantle then, as the Dockers go to the very top of the ladder and the Bombers fall to the very bottom.

Going to be an interesting week for Brad Scott and the Dons, who are counting the cost of the injury toll from this game. Meanwhile it's all smiles for Freo, who continue to impress in 2026.

We'll be back tomorrow for four big games, including the big Scott Pendlebury affair at the MCG. You won't want to miss much of the Saturday footy, so I look foroward to your company then.

Match report: Dockers storm home to beat Saints

D By Dean Bilton

Fremantle has soared to a club record 10th consecutive win after coming from behind to post a 30-point victory over a plucky St Kilda in front of 53,707 fans at Perth Stadium.

The Saints, led by former Dockers coach Ross Lyon, threatened to be party poopers after hitting the lead early in the final quarter of Friday night's match when Darcy Wilson nailed a goal on the run.

But just like they have done so many times this season, Fremantle lifted when it mattered most, drawing on their 'Wharfie Time' spirit to pile on the next six goals and secure the 16.8 (104) to 11.8 (74) win, securing their place in club history.

Josh Treacy kick-started the late charge with a mark low to the ground and a clutch set shot.

Murphy Reid followed it up with a goal on the run from 50m, and Fremantle had a handy 19-point lead when Isaiah Dudley snapped truly.

Jye Amiss snapped his fourth goal a short time later, and Shai Bolton put the icing on the cake when he kicked one from the boundary line.

While Amiss led the way on the goal kicking front, fellow spearhead Treacy was an important link man with 11 marks and 2.2.

Fremantle forward Pat Voss (three goals) had an intriguing battle with Callum Wilkie (21 possessions, three marks), with the pair engaging in a series of wrestles as tempers threatened to boil over.

Reid continued his hot form on the way to 30 disposals and a goal, while Bolton racked up 25 disposals, four clearances, 633m gained and one goal.

St Kilda lost Dougal Howard to a calf injury in the third quarter, and ruckman Rowan Marshall limped off with what looked to be a knee injury in the dying minutes of the match.

Max Hall (25 disposals, two goals) and Jack Sinclair (29 disposals, 644m gained) led the way for St Kilda, who slipped to a 5-6 record.

AAP

Match report: Tigers pile pain on battered and bruised Bombers

D By Dean Bilton

Essendon captain Andrew McGrath has been taken to hospital with a broken jaw as Richmond poured more heat on their beleaguered opponents with an 18-point victory.

Acting skipper Tim Taranto and milestone man Jayden Short, in his 200th game, were influential in the Tigers' 10.14 (74) to 7.14 (56) victory at the MCG on Friday night.

They witnessed a disaster for the Bombers (1-10), who lost skipper McGrath, Sam Durham (concussion) and Matt Guelfi (hamstring) to injuries before halftime.

McGrath took an accidental elbow to the mouth in the second term and was taken in an ambulance to hospital for treatment.

A sixth-straight loss extended Essendon's worst start to a season in a decade and sent them to the bottom of the ladder.

The only downside for Richmond (2-9) — already nursing the league's longest injury list — was losing young tall Jonty Faull (concussion) after a heavy collision with Mason Redman.

Taranto shone with 29 disposals and eight clearances, Short gathered 30 touches and a goal, while Patrick Retschko (27 possessions), Tyler Sonsie (21) and Seth Campbell (21) were all busy.

Tom Lynch and Steely Green kicked two majors each.

Darcy Parish (40 disposals, nine clearances), Zach Merrett (36, four) and Archie Roberts (33 touches) fought hard for Essendon, while Archer May (three) and Nate Caddy (two) both kicked multiple goals.

AAP

Ten in a row for the Dockers

D By Dean Bilton

Officially the best winning streak in Freo history:

Melbourne by 48

Richmond by 60

Adelaide by 2

Collingwood by 6

Eagles by 56

Carlton by 14

Bulldogs by 12

Hawks by 15

Bombers by 43

Saints by 30

And they really should have beaten Geelong in round one too. They are rollin' and rockin' down by the wharf.

FT: Fremantle 16.8 (108) def St Kilda 11.8 (74)

D By Dean Bilton

For the first time in club history, Fremantle have won 10 consecutive games.

What is this side missing? Nothing. Elite ruck in Luke Jackson. Inside grunt with Andy Brayshaw and (normally, but not tonight) Caleb Serong. Classy link players like Shai Bolton and Murphy Reid. Tough key defenders Brennan Cox, Luke Ryan and (normally, but not tonight) Alex Pearce. The three-headed forward-line monster of Josh Treacy, Patrick Voss and Jye Amiss. And everyone in between playing their roles and doing their jobs.

No Fremantle team has ever been better prepared to win a premiership. There's a long way to go, but right now these Dockers are on top of the ladder.

The Saints played well, brought plenty of pressure and had moments of class of their own. They were simply beaten by a better team. A team chasing a flag beat a team chasing finals.

Patrick Voss puts the finishing touches on a big night!

D By Dean Bilton

He's done a fantastic job tonight Voss, sacrificing much of his own game to negate Cal Wilkie while still finding a way to score as well.

Voss has worked so hard. A selfless and influential performance.

Shai Bolton is putting a show! An incredible goal!

D By Dean Bilton

With the game pretty much settled, it's all about Showtime Shai. A hanger at one end, an incredible goal from tight up against the boundary line at the other.

The Dockers have blown this game wide open and are ready to kick off their celebrations.

Shai Bolton with the hanger on the last line of defence!

D By Dean Bilton

Why not?! Bolton is at full back for some reason, but that wasn't a full back's mark. He got up over the two rucks and pulled down the grab of the evening.

You'll want to see the replay of this one when we get it.

Jye Amiss seals the deal for Freo!

D By Dean Bilton

Not a clue how Shai Bolton wasn't called for the most blatant holding the ball of the evening there, but not to worry. One quick kick later and Amiss was snapping through the sealer.

He's got four and has been fantastic tonight. They all have, Amiss, Voss and Treacy. The latter has been best on ground by some way in my books.

Isaiah Dudley! The Dockers are storming home!

D By Dean Bilton

The dam wall may just have broken! The Dockers take it to the far side, send it deep inside 50, bring it to ground and let the smalls go to work. Dudley crumbed and snapped brilliantly.

The crowd is absolutely pumping now, and a 10th straight win is well and truly on the horizon now.

Murphy Reid extends the Fremantle lead!

D By Dean Bilton

At some point, someone is going to have to defend Murphy Reid. He's been doing this for nearly 40 games now, floating around the field with absolutely no attention paid to him at all while he absolutely cuts the opposition up with skills.

He marked that on the 50, thought about his options then drilled a wonderful goal. He's an incredibly classy player who has just made it a 13-point game.

Josh Treacy answers back for the Dockers!

D By Dean Bilton

As we were saying. He's the man who threatens to be the difference.

A great kick from Switkowski to a great lead from Treacy, and this time the big fella finishes his work. Dockers in front by six points, 15 minutes on the clock.

Darcy Wilson puts the Saints in front!

D By Dean Bilton

The Saints force it forward by any means necessary, a kick off the ground and then a clever handball forward from Sinclair to Wilson on the run.

Still heaps for the young man to do there, but he did in style. A classy snap from a very classy young player.

Last quarter underway in Perth

D By Dean Bilton

Will we hear those Wharfie Time bells at some point in this last quarter? It has that feeling about it, a crucial game for both sides and a close one at that.

There's a kick in it as we begin the final term.

3QT: Fremantle 10.5 (65) lead St Kilda 9.5 (59)

D By Dean Bilton

Feels like the Dockers are grinding the Saints down, but without a whole lot of scoreboard reward. They lead the inside 50s by six but scores by only one, and that's while still boasting the three most dominant key forwards on the ground.

The Saints, to their credit, are throwing everything at it. It would be some win if they can pull it off, but Josh Treacy looms large in that forward 50. He's only a couple of marks and kicks away from settling this.

Liam Henry has his second as the Saints respond

D By Dean Bilton

The Dockers had been strangling this game and looked a goal away from breaking it open, but the goal never came. So the Saints have put an end-to-end chain together to find Henry in the goalsquare for a big goal to stay in touch.

Another telling involvement from Hall, whose mark and quick handball set the goal up. Late in the third, it's a five-point game.

Richmond 10.14 (74) defeats Essendon 7.14 (56)

H By Henry Hanson

The Tigers get home.

It was, in truth, a game befitting of the competition's two lowest ranked sides - slow and scrappy, punctuated by injuries and errors.

However, for the Tigers, it is a second win of the season and job done.

Tom Lynch and Steely Green kicked two goals each, while Tim Taranto and 200-game man Jayden Short impressed further back.

The Bombers, meanwhile, will be far from disheartened by tonight's display.

They lost three of their most experienced players in a horror first half, with Sam Durham being concussed, Andy McGrath breaking his cheekbone and Matt Guelfi hobbling off with a hamstring injury.

The Bombers pushed hard, even if they never really threatened an unlikely fightback.

Richmond by 18 points at the MCG.

Isaiah Dudley... kicks a goal! The umpire has allowed it!

D By Dean Bilton

Right, so there was a free kick for Amiss in a marking contest there. But Dudley had played on quickly with a rushed snap, and the umpire held his hand up to stop the play and call it back. Dudley also held his arms up to say he hadn't heard the whistle.

But the ball bounced at right angles, past the blokes in the goalsquare who had also stopped playing, and went through. At which point the umpire decided to allow the advantage and pay the goal. A really rough call on the Saints, but a goal all the same.