AFL round eight Richmond vs Fremantle, Western Bulldogs vs ...

A massive chance for Hawthorn here, this is the sort of win a young group could grow substantially from.

Almost more important for the Bulldogs though. Drop this, and the pressure will be enormous.

We're all set up for a thriller here.

The Hawks are not taking a backward step out there and kicked themselves out to a handy lead early in the third. But the cream of the Bulldogs crop is rising, with Bontempelli, Naughton and English all having an influence in the final stages of the term.

It's a tough, contested game of footy that is going to be decided by good decision making and the taking of chances. Hold on to your hats.

It's been a habit in the game, with the Western Bulldogs pulling back a late goal in each of the three quarters so far.

Oskar Baker was composed on the boundary line and popped the ball up to a dangerous area where English used his frame to climb highest and mark. The Bulldogs needed that, and the lead is back to eight points.

The skipper can't catch a break. Already playing with a busted shoulder, which he dislocated early in the first quarter, now he's on the bench getting attention on his ankle after rolling it in a marking contest.

If a dislocated shoulder won't keep him out, I doubt a rolled ankle would either.

Big news from the MRO, with Giants forward Callum Brown facing three weeks on the sideline for this incident that left Sydney's Tom McCartin concussed.

It remains to be seen if the Giants will take this to the tribunal, but I'd be surprised if they didn't.

It feels like Marcus Bontempelli vs Hawthorn right now, and the Bont is keeping them in it.

He floated forward and outjumped everyone in the pack, taking a big contested grab and nailing his set shot. It's back to 15 points.

This is commanding stuff from Hawthorn! The Bulldogs just can not find a way out of defence, with a hacked exit this time scrambling to Weddle outside 50.

Weddle is always looking to make something happen, and having burst inside 50 he made the decision to have a flying snap. And what a good decision it was.

Based on previous incidents this year (Charlie Cameron notwithstanding), it's hard to see how Libba gets away from this one with at least a one-week ban.

Will Day was off field talking to medicos for a while but seems to be okay to continue.

Absolute class from young Macdonald, but again it comes from fantastic Hawthorn forward pressure.

Worpel ran down Treloar and forced the turnover, giving Macdonald half a chance to kick a goal. It was half a chance he fully took.

Looks to me like the Bulldogs are looking to keep a bit more control on things in this quarter, moving the ball methodically and by foot. Turnovers were a killer in the first half and they invited Hawthorn pressure at times.

Early misses to Darcy and Clarke hurt.

Fremantle have shaken off a decimated Richmond to cruise to a 54-point victory at the MCG and remain firmly in the thick of the jostling AFL finals pack.

Richmond's Mykelti Lefau kicked the first goal of Sunday's game but the Dockers snared the next seven to set up the 15.13 (103) to 6.13 (49) win, their second on the bounce.

Fremantle sit sixth after eight rounds, ahead of hosting ladder-leaders Sydney on Friday, while Richmond are 16th before facing the Western Bulldogs on Saturday.

But there will be some concerns over ruckman Sean Darcy, who was substituted out in the third term, for surprise substitute Nat Fyfe, with a tight calf.

At half-time, it was shaping as a particularly dire day for the injury-hit Tigers, who snagged just one major across the first two quarters and were their own worst enemy through poor turnovers and awful goal kicking.

Fremantle also battered the Tigers around the ball, especially early, and while Richmond recovered, the poor first half proved too much to overcome.

Dockers forward Josh Treacy kicked a career-high four goals and took a wonderful hanger.

Caleb Serong (38 disposals) and Hayden Young (30 touches and two goals) were typically prolific, while Luke Ryan (39 disposals, 15 marks) was busy off half-back.

Gun defender Nick Vlastuin (22 disposals, eight marks) tried hard all day for the Tigers and Jayden Short (28 disposals) was busy on return from a calf injury while Dustin Martin had a red-hot start but faded.

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I'm not sure I've seen a better half from the Hawks this year. Though the clearance numbers aren't great they are still well on top in contested possessions, and it's been the precision of their ball use that has cut the Bulldogs apart.

Late in that quarter though you could see Marcus Bontempelli lifting, and it was his good work that set up that crucial late goal for Aaron Naughton. The margin is tight and the game is fierce, but Sam Mitchell's Hawks are showing very encouraging signs out there.

Still a long way to go, but there could be an upset on the cards.

And again it's Marcus Bontempelli's incredible left boot that sets him up. The weight on that kick inside 50 was inch perfect, allowing Naughton to get in between defenders to mark.

He kicks a belated goal for the Bulldogs in this quarter and gets the margin back to nine.

Really tough stuff from the skipper. His shoulder is at least to some degree busted, but he's still putting his head over the footy and floating into dangerous places to take intercept marks.

His team have lifted with him and are playing some of their best footy of the year.

What a dramatic turnaround this has been, with Newcombe and the Hawks really running on top of the Dogs at the moment.

They are forcing turnovers with pressure and their skills going forward have been fantastic. Newcombe busted the play open, Moore executed his kick to Gunston who marked and goaled from the square. A 15-point lead.

Really lovely footy from Hawthorn, picking their way through the Bulldogs by foot from half-back.

Macdonald was the last link and the chain and marked 45 out. Just moments ago, he had a shocking miss from a much easier set shot. This time he made amends in style.

Great pressure from Hawthorn at half-forward leads to a half chance for Newcombe, who bombs one from 50 off a step.

Josh Ward took a risk in leaving the ball to go through, but Bailey Dale couldn't quite get there and it just about missed the post.

Pretty incredible from the Hawthorn captain. His shoulder has been put back in place and strapped up, and he's going to go and give it another go.

Sicily is leading from the front, but let's hope it's a risk worth taking.

The Hawks were seconds away from taking a lead into the break, only for another lengthy Bontempelli kick to find Naughton's chest after the big forward had outbodied Sam Frost.

A very interesting first quarter indeed though. The Bulldogs getting the jump before the Hawks had even turned up, but Hawthorn quickly started to level things up around the ground and managed to find some paths to goal themselves.

We're still on a watching brief for James Sicily. The word is they've popped his shoulder back in and he even might be half a chance of coming back on, which would be completely remarkable.