Richmond Tigers v Brisbane Lions: Dustin Martin stars as Tigers put the bite on limping Lions

RICHMOND 5.4  9.8  14.11  17.15 (117)
BRISBANE LIONS 2.0  4.0  6.3  11.9 (75)
Goals: Richmond: J Riewoldt 4 C Menadue 2 N Vlastuin 2 S Edwards 2 S Lloyd 2 A Miles B Deledio B Ellis T Cotchin T Vickery. Brisbane Lions: E Hipwood 3 L Taylor 2 J Green J Jansen J Schache J Walker P Hanley S Martin.
Best: Richmond: Martin, Cotchin, Ellis, Miles, Rance, Hampson, Conca, Riewoldt. Brisbane: Schache, Martin, Rockliff
Umpires: Jeff Dalgleish, Ray Chamberlain, Dean Margetts, Leigh Fisher.
Official Crowd: 28,883 at MCG.

Richmond may have banned a Melbourne radio network from pre and post-match interviews on Saturday as a result of the derogatory comments made about The Age's chief football reporter, Caroline Wilson. It was a stand the players wanted to make, and that was followed through.

But, once their 42-point crunching of the Brisbane Lions was completed on a chilly afternoon at the MCG, there surely wouldn't have been much for the players to say.

The Lions, as has been the case for most of the season, were terrible, bar a belated - and almost meaningless - fightback in the final term. The bottom line being, the less said about this clash, the better, for there was little learnt about each team.

It began in a scrap, with both sides turning the ball over too often in the opening 10 minutes. Then came two goals to the Lions, the first a sign of what they hope is to come over the years when rookie Josh Schache, a potential franchise player, marked and snapped truly.

From there, the Tigers took hold, and ensured their finals hopes continued to flicker, posting their fifth win in their past six matches.

Anthony Miles stopped the Lions' momentum when awarded a dubious free kick for a high tackle by Tom Rockliff. Miles appeared to lean into the tackle, ensuring Rockliff's hands went high, when the right call should have been holding the ball. It was yet another instance of a player taking advantage of this contentious interpretation - and something the coaches are likely to discuss at Tuesday's off-the-record chat with league chief, Gillon McLachlan.

The Lions are a club struggling on and off the field but they didn't do themselves any favours when the contest was alive. By quarter-time, the Tigers had gathered 18 intercepts through the midfield, and punished the visitors on the scoreboard. The Lions' woes by foot, a major issue in the past month, continued through the game.

As expected, tagger Mitch Robinson, with several high-profile scalps, went to Dustin Martin, but it was the Tiger who showed why he has emerged as a Brownlow Medal fancy. He had eight touches, including two centre clearances and two inside 50s, in the opening stanza, ensuring the Tigers had control. Martin would finish the day with 35 disposals, 729 metres gained and, quite possibly, the three votes.

The Lions weren't helped when Robinson, accidentally hit high by Jacob Townsend (a late inclusion for Ben Griffiths) when both sought a loose ball, left with concussion in the second term, and did not return. But their leaders failed to deliver.

Rockliff finds plenty of the ball but does nothing with it, too often going short or sideways. Along with Pearce Hanley and Daniel Rich, the trio had only four effective kicks by half-time. That's not good enough in a young team desperate for direction.

Reece Conca, having had another year interrupted by injury, silenced Hanley. The dashing Irishman's frustration was palpable in the third term when he argued a call by umpire Ray Chamberlain and conceded a 50-metre penalty - leading to a goal by Nick Vlastuin, who was superb by foot all day.

The misery continued for the Lions after the main break, although under-weight forward Eric Hipwood, in his second game, impressed with his attack on the ball. Schache also showed he was able to create when he drifted further up the field.

For the Tigers, it was a case of filling their boots - and frustrating coach Damien Hardwick with their lairising. So angry was Hardwick that he left the coach's  box with seven minutes remaining in the match and relayed this to his players on the bench.

As former Tigers coach Danny Frawley said, they are an "average team at best", and this sort of play - highlighted by Sam Lloyd's botched handball to Riewoldt in the third term when he was about 20 metres from goals - was not a good look. 

This sort of play is unlikely to go unpunished  by the Power when they clash in Adelaide on Friday night. The Tigers will hope ruckman Shaun Hampson, who hobbled off late with a sore knee, will be fit. 

For the Lions, the performance did nothing to buoy spirits ahead of Saturday night's Hall-of-Fame dinner.

Coach Justin Leppitsch heads into the bye week with his future a point of conjecture. The Lions are rebuilding, and the process was always going to be challenging, but the win-loss record always tells the tale. He could be coaching for his job immediately after the break, for the Lions face fellow strugglers Gold Coast and the Bombers within a three-week period. Should they lose both, there may be no coming back. 

Votes

8: Dustin Martin (Richmond)

7: Brandon Ellis (Richmond)

7 : Trent Cotchin (Richmond)

7: Anthony Miles (Richmond)

7: Nick Vlastuin (Richmond)