Umpires allocated for the match; 21 - Simon Meredith, 30 - Shane McInerney, 31 - Andrew Mitchell.
Meredith doesn't worry me greatly although he was part of the trio in our 2014 QF vs Syd at Stad.Aust, Free Kick tally 20 to Syd. 12 to Freo.
McInerney worries me. He was part of the trio in our lost to St Kilda 2014 R18. Free kicks were 14 SK 11 FR, but I was horrified by the umpiring in that game. St Kilda were allowed to do virtually anything in front of the umps and get away with it.
Mitchell also worries me. He was part of the trio in our win vs the Bulldogs 2014 R11. Free kicks 19 WB 4 FR.
But what worries me most, is the recent form of umpires looking after Hawthorn and Richmond in general. It comes at a time when the AFL is concerned of crowd numbers. Having 2 non-vic teams finishing 1 & 2 is not a preferred option for the AFL. The success of Collingwood, Hawthorn and Richmond (the AFL teams with the most members) is essential to the attendances for 2015. To further quantify this belief of mine, at the end of Round 7, Hawthorn was 6th on the ladder, Collingwood 7th & Richmond 10th. In the rounds since then, Hawthorn have had 152 Frees for to 124 Against. Collingwood 119 to 97, Richmond 178 to 149 (& Fremantle 124 to 155).
Having said all that, I still think Freo are good enough to beat Richmond ... I'm just not expecting it to be easy.