Fremantle lost Matthew Pavlich before the opening bounce with an inflamed foot joint, but the skipper would have been proud of what he saw from the grand stand with his side leading at every change before slipping to the 15.15 (105) to 15.8 (98) defeat.
The visitors held a five-point lead going into the last quarter, but the Tigers slammed through the first four goals to go a long way to securing the premiership points and keeping their finals hopes alive.
But even after falling 20 points behind with 17 minutes gone in the closing stanza, Fremantle kept coming with goals to Mark Johnson and Kepler Bradley giving its supporters hope, but time again proved the enemy as the West Australian team fell to yet another single-digit defeat.
Roger Hayden was superb as a loose man in defence for his side with 25 possessions and 12 marks. Paul Duffield led all Freo players with 28 touches and Byron Schammer was influential with 19 disposals.
Mark Johnson was Fremantle's most effective forward with three goals, while Bradley and Ryan Murphy each chimed in with two.
The absence of Pavlich mattered little as the match got underway with Freo getting an excellent start and establishing an early three-goal lead. Des Headland, Adam Campbell Marcus Drum and Murphy – who came in for Pavlich - combined well in the re-jigged forward line and each contributed goals as the Tiger backs struggled to adapt.
Mitch Morton scored the first of his three goals against the run of play which signaled a change in momentum with Richmond's running game kicking into gear, but the Tigers weren't as efficient as the visitors going inside 50 and spurned several gilt-edged chances to take the lead.
A Rhys Palmer major helped his side to a seven-point lead at the first break and despite a strong start to the second term by the Tigers that saw them take the lead for the first time, Fremantle continued to show plenty of spirit.
Mark Johnson was proving a handful for Will Thursfield and opened his account with two goals. Bradley marked strongly and converted a close-range shot to help re-establish a seven-point lead at half-time.
The game was delicately poised when a resurgent Richmond scored the opening three goals of the second half to lead it by 13 points, but once again Fremantle dug deep. A three-goal salvo of their own saw the visitors back in front by five points going into a tense final term.
Matthew Richardson had been well-held by Luke McPharlin for much of the match, but he had an influence late with his only two goals of the day coming early in the last quarter.
A brilliant chase and tackle by Duffield on Shane Edwards running into an open goal typified the way Fremantle went about its footy, but despite managing the final two majors of the match time ran out for the visitors.
Richmond 3.6 8.8 11.12 15.15 (105)
Fremantle 5.1 10.3 13.5 15.8 (98)
GOALS
Richmond: Morton 3, Richardson 2, Tuck 2, Deledio 2, Jackson, Simmonds, Connors, Foley, Schultz, Newman
Fremantle: M Johnson 3, Murphy 2, Bradley 2, Campbell, Mundy, Palmer, Drum, Headland, Thornton, Carr, Peake
BEST
Richmond: Tuck, Deledio, Jackson, Edwards, Simmonds, Foley, Connors
Fremantle: Hayden, Palmer, McPharlin, Duffield, Campbell
INJURIES
Richmond: Nil
Fremantle: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Schmitt, Ellis, Mollinson
Official crowd: 24,881 at the MCG
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the club.
