Fyfe strife as Tigers beat Dockers in AFL

Fyfe collected Lynch in the head with his forearm just after the Tigers' forward had tapped on the ball.

Although Lynch was able to play on and the contact wasn't severe, the high nature of it might land Fyfe in strife.

Luckily for him, the point of his elbow missed Lynch's face.

Fyfe's saving grace might be the fact that Geelong star Gary Ablett successfully appealed his suspension for a similar incident last round.

Richmond overcame the early loss of Toby Nankervis (groin) and Jack Ross (ankle) to post the fighting 17.9 (111) to 12.14 (86) win on Sunday at Optus Stadium.

Nankervis and Ross were both put on ice before halftime, leaving the Tigers with just two fit men on the bench.

Fremantle coach Ross Lyon said he didn't see the Fyfe-Lynch incident, but praised Fyfe for his 33-disposal, three-goal game.

"I thought he was quite inspirational," Lyon said.

"The attack on the ball - typical Fyfe game, I thought. We love him to hit the scoreboard. He's a very good player; we love him; he's our captain."

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick also missed the incident.

"He's got a big head Tom - he'll be okay," Hardwick said.

"Things in games happen for mine - accidents happen, so move on."

With Nankervis forced off, 192cm defender Nathan Broad and 194cm Noah Balta were forced to share the ruck duties against the 206cm Rory Lobb.

Lobb (45 hit-outs, six clearances) ended up monstering Broad and Balta in the ruck.

But instead of meekly putting up the white flag, Richmond produced a series of stunning goals in the second half to secure their fifth win of the year.

Shai Bolton booted four goals in a breakout game, while Lynch and Jason Castagna kicked two each.

Lynch finished with six contested marks in a strong display, but missed two simple shots he should have nailed.

Castagna produced a goal-of-the-year contender when he burned off Adam Cerra in the pocket and took a bounce before snapping truly.

Lyon warned his players to prepare for a Richmond ambush, but the message didn't seem to get through.

The Tigers booted four goals in the opening 10 minutes - including two to Bolton - to open up a 25-0 lead.

But the rest of the term belonged to Fremantle as a rampant Fyfe helped to drag his team back into the contest.

Nankervis injured his groin in innocuous fashion in the first quarter, and hobbled on in the second before being ruled out.

And when Ross was forced off with a left ankle injury after Fyfe trod on him accidentally, the Tigers looked to be in trouble.

Richmond led by just 13 points at halftime, but their frenetic run-and-stun style proved too much in the second half.

Australian Associated Press