Fremantle and Richmond secure wins, Essendon and St Kilda suffer losses

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.

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.

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Essendon's slide to rock bottom after a disastrous loss to Richmond has been compounded by injury carnage as they wait for further assessment of captain Andrew McGrath's badly broken jaw.

McGrath was one of three players taken to hospital from the MCG on Friday night, along with teammate Archie May (ribs) and Tigers forward Tom Lynch (throat).

The Bombers also lost Sam Durham (concussion) and Matt Guelfi (hamstring) in their 10.14 (74) to 7.14 (56) defeat, which sent them crashing to last place on the ladder.

Jye Caldwell played out the match with a syndesmosis injury.

Essendon coach Brad Scott said post-match McGrath was "terrible" after he took an accidental elbow to the mouth in the second term and lost a tooth.

"He's got a pretty noticeable crack that you can see and feel in his jaw," Scott said.

"It's not a good one. I'm not diagnosing it, it's just like that one's pretty obvious.

"Sometimes you can put a plate in it and they can come back pretty quickly, but I'm not sure on that one."

Essendon lost Durham and Guelfi in the opening 15 minutes and McGrath before halftime, but fought bravely in the second half.

They controlled play in the third quarter without capitalising, kicking 1.6 for the term, and managed to cut a 22-point margin back to just seven points when Caldwell kicked the first goal of the last quarter.

But the Tigers steadied with the last two goals of the match to leapfrog their opponents into 17th position on the ladder.

"It would've felt like a steal and that's the pleasing thing, that there's fight there," Scott said.

"But there's also a scoreboard and at the end of the day that's really all that anyone cares about."

Bombers midfielder Darcy Parish won the Yiooken Award as best afield in the annual 'Dreamtime At The 'G' centrepiece of Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round.

He had 40 disposals and nine clearances in a strong display, and was then jeered by Richmond supporters in the 78,815-strong crowd when accepting his prize.

Former Brisbane Lions hard-man Scott laughed off the incident, likening it to Collingwood's Nathan Buckley claiming the 2002 Norm Smith Medal.

"Richmond fans, when you win, you expect your player to win the medal don't you?" Scott said.

"I've got visions of Nathan Buckley in a game I played in taking a medal off his neck after a grand final.

"No, I thought Parish played well. I'm not a big one for individual medals anyway."

Essendon (1-10) have lost six consecutive games in their worst start to a season in a decade and will face further scrutiny ahead of a clash with West Coast in Perth next week.

AAP