A career-high six goal haul from key forward Josh Treacy has lifted Fremantle to a dominant 61-point victory over Richmond in the Barossa Valley as the club celebrated the return of star pair Sean Darcy and Hayden Young in style.

The Dockers won 16.12 (108) to 7.5 (47) but this was a day for Treacy to remember. The country lad from Cohuna relished the chance to play at Barossa Park and stood tall after the Tigers challenged Fremantle early.

Fremantle overcame a sluggish start where they trailed by 11 points in the second quarter to then kick 12 of the next 13 goals to run away with the win as the ball lived in their forward half. They had 29 more inside 50s than the Tigers for the day.

Fremantle had their first choice midfield back together with Darcy leading the ruck for the first time since late last season, Young playing his first game of the year and both Caleb Serong and Andrew Brayshaw filling their customary roles.

But Richmond jumped the Dockers with brilliant stoppage work early in the contest.

The Tigers kicked the first goal of the game after 14 seconds when a centre clearance led to Maurice Rioli junior snapping a goal from a crumb.

Rioli kicked his second goal from another centre clearance about seven minutes later and when the Tigers took the ball forward from the next bounce and Seth Campbell had a shot, there were alarm bells. Campbell missed that shot.

But the Tigers had red alerts going off too because Treacy was on fire. He kicked three goals in the first quarter after taking six marks for the term. Ben Miller had no answers and he could have kicked four if not for another miss.

Shai Bolton was busy with eight touches for the quarter and he almost took a specky over premiership teammate Nick Vlastuin.

But importantly, the Dockers led the clearances at quarter time and had 16 inside 50s to nine to take a two-point lead into the first break.

Richmond’s ability to win the ball first was still an issue in the second term and that allowed them to kick the first two goals, including a stunning snap from Steely Green..

Fremantle picked a tall backline with Alex Pearce, Luke Ryan, Brennan Cox, Josh Draper and Heath Chapman all playing together and the Tigers were dangerous whenever the ball hit the ground.

But Fremantle also have fleet footed forwards and Bolton was a constant threat whenever he got the ball.

Bolton set up Michael Frederick for one goal and then was involved in the passage of play which led to Young kicking a goal.

When Treacy kicked his fourth, Fremantle had an eight point lead and it could have been much bigger if Bolton had converted two chances nearing half-time.

Caleb Serong had 11 disposals for the quarter as he started to exert his influence on the game.

It was a hot day in the Barossa Valley and the big question was whether Richmond could stay in the contest with the weight of inside 50s against them. The half-time tally was 32-19 in favour of Fremantle despite Richmond having 49 more disposals.

It took the Dockers just six minutes to put a significant gap on Richmond in the third term. They kicked the first three goals to give them six unanswered for the game and suddenly the margin was 29 points.

All eyes were on Treacy to see how many he could kick. He booted his fifth from a free kick and when he marked in the forward pocket midway through the quarter, he had the chance to boot six goals for the first time. He didn’t waste that opportunity.

Suddenly the Dockers were imposing themselves. Pearce tackled brutally at one end and then charged forward where he kicked the sixth goal of his career. Richmond simply couldn’t get the ball forward as Fremantle controlled the contest.

Pat Voss’ produced a memorable Gather Round moment as he showcased his power by shrugging off Nick Vlastuin, snapping the goal and celebrating wildly. That goal gave the Dockers a 41-point advantage with one quarter remaining.

The final quarter presented Fremantle with the chance to re-build their percentage following the huge loss to Geelong in round one. They kicked another three goals to make it a 10-goal victory.

Darcy got through his return with nine disposals and 22 hit outs from 78 minutes on the field. Young finished with 18 possessions and two goals while Frederick booted three goals in front of 10,028 fans.

Fremantle will now travel straight to Victoria and spend the week interstate before playing Melbourne at the MCG on Saturday where they’ll be aiming to make it four wins in a row.