Head to head: Fremantle nine wins, Richmond 13 wins
Last time: Richmond 17.13 (115) d Fremantle 17.10 (112), round 10, 2009 at Subiaco Oval
MISSING IN ACTION
Fremantle
Antoni Grover (knee) - 2-3 weeks
Garrick Ibbotson (shoulder) - 4-6 weeks
Tim Ruffles (knee) - 2-3 weeks
Nick Suban (ankle) - 1 week
Scott Thornton (groin) - 3-4 weeks
Richmond
Chris Newman (hamstring) - test
Will Thursfield (leg) - test
FORM
Fremantle: WWWL
Richmond: LLLL
SUMMARY
Here's a great example of how statistics can lie - Fremantle has won just two of its last six quarters, while Richmond, which couldn't win a term for the first 11 of the season, has won two of its last five. In the schoolyard, this would be used as proof that Richmond is clearly the better side. However, last weekend Fremantle took the fight to the Saints - both teams unbeaten after three rounds - and almost snatched the win, while the winless Tigers took on the Demons and suffered another belting. Do not be misled by the quarters won or the fact Richmond has won three of its last four home-and-away games at Subiaco. Forget it. The Tigers are starting a rebuilding phase, while Fremantle is well into that process and is looking like a decent top-eight team.
PLAYER TO WATCH
David Mundy is due to play his 113th consecutive match since his debut in round six, 2005, which is equal to the fourth-best streak from debut by any player in the game’s history. Mundy is Fremantle's fourth-highest possession gatherer this year and sixth on the list of scoring contributions.
Richard Tambling plays his 100th game for the Tigers this weekend and will be desperately hoping for a return to the form he showed through parts of last year, when he was looking like justifying his No.4 draft selection.
QUESTION MARKS
Can Richmond stop Matthew Pavlich? Pav has been traditionally poor against the Tigers, but don't expect that trend to continue this week.
Can the Tigers break their drought at a ground where they have had great success in the past?
WHO WILL WIN AND WHY
Fremantle is off to the best start in its history and Richmond hasn't won a game. Richmond's losing streak looks set to continue though as Fremantle are in white-hot form and as long as the players aren't too worn out after playing both last year's grand finalists in consecutive weeks, they should easily account for the Tigers.
PREDICTION
Fremantle by 96 points
Follow Chris Pike's inside view of Fremantle v Richmond at #aflfreotigers on Twitter.com from 6:45pm (AWST) Sunday or @AFL_ChrisPike#aflfreotigers
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
