Fremantle Dockers star forward Josh Treacy pencilled in for career best night by ex-AFL star against Richmond

Narelle may not be the only cyclone to have a big impact on Fremantle’s clash with Richmond on Saturday, with Daisy Thomas backing Josh Treacy for a monster haul. Richmond are coming off a 68-point loss to Gold Coast in which they lost their key forward in Tom Lynch, as well as No.1 ruck Toby Nankervis and key defender Nathan Broad, leaving them undersized against Fremantle. With all eyes on what the skies will bring at the weekend, with more than 30mm of rain predicted, the former Collingwood and Carlton star believed the Fremantle forward would have the biggest say over the clash. “He will kick eight or more, I think the ball coming in against a depleted Richmond side, it will be pinging out of their forward line when it goes up there,” he said on Triple M. “No Lynch, no service in the midfield, this could be straight out of the centre training drill.” Treacy has an exceptional record against Richmond with 15 goals from their last three meetings, including a career high six goals in their last encounter in round five last year. On that occasion, Tigers defender Ben Miller was powerless to stop the Dockers star, but he will likely have to contend with premiership defender Noah Balta on Saturday. The power forward has started the season in exceptional form, racking up a career high 12 contested possessions against Melbourne to go with his four goals. He is also ranked equal second alongside Max Gawn for contested marking wins this season, taking the mantle as the Dockers’ No.1 forward target while also being a vital route of defence with his aerial ability. The 23-year-old has credited the speed that has been injected into Fremantle’s ball movement for his hot start. “It’s been great. I’d love it a bit quicker too,” Treacy said on Triple M post their win over Melbourne. “Clearly, it’s the speed in that front half, and we’ve got good ball users up the ground. “I think we’d be silly not to go that way and continue to play like that.” Tigers coach Adam Yze admits they will need to try and apply the brakes on Fremantle’s ball speed if they are to be any chance of causing an upset. “They’re obviously trying to go a lot faster. We need to be strong at all three phases, and the stoppage battle is going to be really important,” Yze said. “But it’s another chance to test ourselves against a really strong team on the road.”