RICHMOND 3.1 6.6 7.11 12.16 (88)
MELBOURNE 3.4 7.6 11.7 11.9 (75)
Goals: Richmond: J Riewoldt 6 D Butler D Martin D Rioli J Caddy J Castagna S Grigg. Melbourne: J Hogan 3 J Garlett 2 C Petracca C Salem J Hunt J Watts M Hibberd T McDonald.
Best: Richmond: J Riewoldt, T Nankervis, D Martin, A Rance, J Caddy, B Ellis, D Rioli, S Grigg. Melbourne: C Oliver, J Hunt, M Hibberd, S Frost,.J Watts, J Viney, D Tyson, N Jones, C Salem,Â
Umpires: Chris Donlon, Matt Stevic, Leigh Fisher.
Official Crowd: 85,657 at MCG.
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Richmond overhauls Melbourne in ANZAC eve thriller
Richmond kicked five unanswered goals in the final term to beat Melbourne by 13 points. The Tigers are now 5-0 for the first time in 22 years.
Depleted before being defeated, Melbourne again gave up a match winning lead, but this time didn't give up. Richmond conceded a match-defining lead, but never conceded on their way to their fifth win of the season.
Jack Riewoldt kept Richmond in the game when the play was against them and won the game for them when the momentum – that he shifted – turned in their favour.
As ever, Riewoldt drew the game around him. And goals. He kicked six.
The game of attrition that is football told in the end.
Jake Spencer was the slightly heart in mouth backup for the imperious Max Gawn. They had beards and height in common. Now they have injury, too. In the first term Spencer got injured, tried to come back on for a while and realised it was useless. So he was benched.
Soon after, he was joined by second-gamer Tim Smith after Alex Rance's knee went through his ribs in a marking contest. Christian Petracca went hobbling off and later returned with his knee bandaged. He was able to play out the game but not in the midfield – he played forward most of the night
Jack Watts, as he did against Geelong when Gawn went down injured, found himself once more as more than a ruck cameo. He shouldered the burden. Occasionally Sam Frost helped him, but largely Watts did it on his own.
This had multiple consequences. The first, that Toby Nankervis became a dominant figure. The second, that Rance – who had begun on Watts and not on Jesse Hogan – was freed up, when he pleased, from playing on a tall, to play a freer intercept role.
It also meant that in the early wet and slightly slippery conditions Melbourne were playing with an extra midfielder – Watts around the contest – but fewer players to rotate. The other consequence was that the competitor in Clayton Oliver – as good an inside player as there is in the game this year – worked off the hand of Nankervis and was industrious in the middle.
Melbourne bombed the ball into the forward line early and had six inside 50s without a goal. Naturally Richmond goaled with their first inside 50. Naturally it was Riewoldt, off a step. A minute later and he had another. Off a step again, this time with the other foot.
Melbourne would have felt the single kick half-time margin unreflective of their play, Richmond satisfied that the thinner than likely margin was reflective of their determination to keep scrapping.
The counter-attack method, which was not necessarily by design so much as a consequence of Melbourne midfield pressure, was effective. Richmond looked more threatening up forward than Melbourne, even if they were taking it forward less than Melbourne. Admittedly, Riewoldt required fewer opportunities.
At the final break Richmond was down 20 points, Melbourne down two men. The question was which absence would prove greater. The difference proved to be who Richmond had out there as much as who Melbourne didn't.
When the game needed to be pulled Richmond's way it was Riewoldt who stood up. Daniel Rioli, a creative presence all night, was calm enough to slot his chance when earlier Richmond had been squandering them. Then Dustin Martin lifted the 85,678 in the MCG from their seats.
But of course it was Jack who kicked the goal to give the Tigers the lead. It was Jack's night.