Star Fremantle ruckman Sean Darcy has been caught in the cross hairs of a Richmond plot to sway the umpires ahead of Friday night’s showdown with Richmond.

Angry Tigers coach Damien Hardwick said he expects “a better result this week”, after approaching the AFL umpiring department in the wake of triple premiership ruckman Toby Nankervis giving away six free kicks and receiving none against North Melbourne last weekend.

“The fact of the matter is, Toby gives away a free and sometimes the opposition don’t,” Hardwick said.

“We look at players walking across the line every time during the round and there’s 50 of those a game and Toby got pinged for three of them. He gets treated harshly.

“So we spoke to the umpiring department about that, hopefully for a better result this week.”

Hardwick, who led the Tigers to flags in 2017, 2019 and 2020, also talked up the Dockers on the back of their surge into the top four after six seasons without finals.

“Their profile is what a premiership team looks like,” he said.

“I really like the way they play and how they play. They defend very well. They’ll give you opportunities inside 50, but they defend those opportunities really well.

“They’ve got one of the more dynamic midfields that you’ll see.”

Fremantle talls Rory Lobb (shoulder) and Alex Pearce (calf) are both expected to be on the flight to Melbourne early on Thursday morning, meaning Griffin Logue could again be forced to move forward despite holding Sydney’s Lance Franklin to one goal.

Logue, who was the only Docker to receive coaches votes against the Swans, said he had grown to accept his new swingman role.

“Initially I wasn’t sure how to take it and wasn’t sure how to respond with it,” Logue told TAB radio.

“But I’m enjoying it. It’s a good little change up and it’s almost a breath of fresh air to be honest.”

Fremantle midfielder David Mundy, the oldest player in the competition, celebrated his 37th birthday on Wednesday. Mundy, who has played 200 of his 369 AFL games in WA, is the first player to play 200 VFL/AFL games in a State outside of Victoria.

Hardwick urged Richmond fans to turn up to Marvel Stadium for the game, despite infamously saying last year he hates playing there and urging the league to fixture home games at the MCG.

The Tigers have lost their past four games at the indoor venue.

“It doesn’t hold any fears for us,” he said.

“Goal kicking-wise it might’ve been a little bit better on the weekend but we go there and any club will say the same, it’s anytime, anywhere.

“We’ve just got to make sure we play our very best footy against a very good side.”