The Tigers are roaring. You have to go back 22 years to find the last time they opened a season with four straight wins, and they had to fly to Brisbane to face an improving Lions to do it at the Gabba. And they did it running away, jumping the Lions at the start before burying them in the final quarter.
Before anyone gets carried away, some perspective: so far, Richmond have rolled Carlton, a middling Collingwood and a very flat West Coast at home before Sunday's win against a popular wooden spoon tip. And there are 18 more rounds to prove they belong in the top half of the competition, let alone the top echelon.
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Richmond demolish Lions
The Tigers were dominant at the Gabba in a 52 point victory.
Still, as the saying goes, you can only play the opposition in front of you, and the Tigers were out of the blocks quickly, storming to a seven-goal lead at half-time. They were a much slicker unit than last week against the Eagles, and they remained hard at the ball, beating the Lions handsomely for contested possessions.
They also established their advantage without a major contribution from Dustin Martin, who was beaten by the doughty Mitch Robinson. But Richmond look a more even unit than last year, with a deeper midfield and more spark up forward, with Jason Castagna and Daniel Rioli again dangerous.
We're going to run out of superlatives very quickly to describe Rioli. It's lazy, but to save a lot of time, refer to his cousin Cyril and uncle Maurice: think speed, elite agility, game-breaking timing, and a beautiful reading of the play, especially when the ball's within a sniff of goal. He's played just 22games.
It was Rioli's gather and last-second give to Dan Butler that snuffed out any chance of a Lions revival, after the home team pegged back the Tigers with three quick goals midway through the third quarter. Again, he only needs a handful of touches to have an impact on the game. Less heralded, but also impressive, was rookie Castagna, who finished alongside Jack Riewoldt with four goals.
In the middle, Trent Cotchin was influential, but Shaun Grigg, Dion Prestia and Brandon Ellis contributed too, and Reece Conca continued his fine start to the season in defence. Up forward, Riewoldt continued to work tirelessly and was eventually rewarded with four goals.
The statistics didn't tell the full story of the game. The Lions broke even in many key categories, handsomely winning the clearances. But they were beaten when the ball was in dispute, and while they had several good passages of ball movement through the middle of the ground, it was often the last kick inside 50 that let them down.
Bright spots were Daniel Rich, who is stringing some good form together and whose kicking was a delight, and though beaten, Harris Andrews did well on Riewoldt, only being overrun in the last quarter as the dam wall burst. The Lions' ball use is also mostly a step up from the embarrassing skill level on display last year. But they're still a long way away, and their bright start to the season against Gold Coast is receding quickly from view. The Tigers had more options, are playing with confidence, and in the end, they ate the Lions alive Next week they face Melbourne: no gimme, but five straight for openers is a real possibility.