After The Game With Snaps Truly - Rd 3 2026 v Richmond

Cyclonic Freo send Richmond into a rain bearing depression

I’ll admit, there were a few moments during the week when I thought, nah, if the Great Deluge is indeed upon us, maybe its best I stay at home, build an Ark and watch the game on Kayo.

I then realised that could involve listening to David King find endless miserable fault in all aspects of simply being alive and Dwayne Russell overcompensating with his chirpy ‘surely they can’t win it from here!’ incredulity.

And I don’t know how to build an Ark.

So, of course we were going to Optus. And 35 thousand others were there too. But such was the concern that the sky might indeed fall in, there were no banners to run through, no daytime fireworks – always a tremendous spectacle – and no kiddies running around the oval at half time.

There was just Freo, hopefully toying with the Tiges.

And the Dockers did own the footy in the first quarter, however hard it was to keep that slippery pill in hand. Unfortunately, all those endless forays forward could only produce a solitary goal. That it came courtesy of a strong mark and an assured kick from Jye Amiss was at least encouraging. There is no player at Freo I want to see succeed more.

1.5 to 0.3 at the first change.

Tim Taranto opened the scoring for Richmond in the second quarter and then some kid called Steely Green gave the visitors the lead. Just like that. I don’t mention him so much because I want you to know about the game status as much as his name status.

Steely Green?

Anyway I was to be punished for my sneering judgement, because he would kick another two before half time. Steely temperament.

Freo were kept in it through a couple of creatures great and small. Josh Treacy and Isaiah Dudley. ‘Cyclone’ – as the name would subtly hint – was going to tear down the sky today with an incredible 12-mark performance. He goaled after some good defensive work from Duds and moments later the little bloke laid a ferocious tackle and kicked one of his own.

Even so, Richmond looked to have edged clear with a more efficient five-goal quarter, before Serong snapped with some ‘here’s how it’s done’ dry weather confidence and Treacy marked and goaled on the siren, Freo six points in front at half time.

There were lots of second half murmurs about the goals Freo didn’t kick today and it’s true the players sprinkled the scoreboard with a light drizzle of missed opportunities – but let’s be fair, the second half response to the dreariness of the first was terrific.

Dogga opened the third with a free kick goal. Then Shai – absolutely playing his best footy for the club – brilliantly yo-yoed the ball clear of the Richmond defenders to find Amiss who kicked his second.

A nice snap from Johnno – a few more flying wide of the mark – and then a Pat Voss goal stretched the Dockers lead to 35 points. It was at this point that it became rather clear how awful Richmond were today.

An AFL.com match report – which frankly is about as reliable as a Karoline Leavitt statement from the Trump White House – later wanted you to believe ‘wayward Dockers survive scare’ and that ‘Fremantle has overcome a plucky Richmond side …’

Plucky? They were lucky – not to lose by 100 points.

Freo dominated the hit outs, the clearances, the stoppages – and yes, they did blaze away and fiddle about a bit and kick 8.17 after half time to 1.4 but to be there and watch the thunder shaking fury of Josh Treacy present himself as the most dangerous forward in the AFL – stand aside Sam Darcy, you twiglet – was absolutely thrilling.

Freo winners by ten goals and now in third place on the ladder. The Tiges clearly fading into a slow-moving rain bearing depression.

Oh, by the way –

Sean Darcy took a strong contested mark. (Headline worthy.)

Sean Darcy kicked a goal. (Public holiday declared.)

And congratulations to the boundary umpire running the lines near us. Excellent mullet.

Off to Adelaide next week for Gather Round – as Freo take on the Crows and then the Pies.

Looking forward to it. I rather fancy a pie floater, a choc milk and a trip to Foodland.

Yours truly,

Snaps Truly

* By our multi-talented and amazingly insightful footy scribe, SNAPS TRULY. Snaps has seen and done it all. He may or may not have been a fringe player at Fremantle. Don’t miss Snaps’ report after each Freo Dockers match here on the Shipping News throughout the 2026 season.

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