Roar Guru
Essendon Bombers 7.5 (47)
Richmond Tigers 10.14 (74)
In Paul Chapman’s final AFL game, the heavens opened with wet weather conditions. Essendon took advantage of the weather early, with their first goal coming off Irish debutant Conor McKenna. Cale Hooker followed before Ivan Maric scored Richmond’s first goal to put the Tigers within two points of the lead at the end of the first quarter.
Richmond were dominant in the second term with Ty Vickery racing away for two consecutive goals. Shaun McKernan, Cale Hooker and Ben Howlett got Essendon back on the board with six-pointers before Brett Deledio kicked a goal to put the Tigers back in front by four points at half-time.
The second half began with Kamdyn McIntosh playing a soccer pass to Dustin Martin for a goal. Richmond dominated the first half of the term with Matt Thomas sneaking a goal in the back play after a Brett Deledio tackle. Courtney Dempsey soon hit back for the Bombers. Shaun Grigg emulated McIntosh’s earlier effort by kicking along the ground for a goal. Richmond held the 16 point lead at the end of the third quarter.
Brett Deledio hit the board early with Anthony Miles following to put the Tigers’ in front convincingly. Cale Hooker kept the Bombers alive by converting the set shot, Shane Edwards kicked a goal to secure Richmond a 27-point win.
>>MATCH REPORT: Tigers work hard to down brave Bombers
The Richmond Tigers can secure a finals berth with a win over the Essendon Bomber at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Join The Roar from 7:15pm (AEST) for all the action.
In his second game as interim coach, Matthew Egan will look to improve on last week’s two-point loss to the Suns and disrupt the Tigers’ finals plans.
Richmond are coming off a massive 91-point win over the Magpies and are a chance of causing a serious stir to ladder-leaders Fremantle and West Coast.
Trent Cotchin was quiet in last week’s win, with the skipper only managing 13 disposals, and will be keen to bounce back against the Bombers.
In their past five games since 2013 Essendon have won twice and the Tigers on three occasions.
Their most recent encounter came in Round 9 when the Tigers defeated the Bombers 10.12 (72) – 8.11 (59).
Prediction
The Tigers will bring out their claws.
Richmond by 38 points.
Join The Roar from 7:15pm (AEST) for score updates and debate in our live blog.