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Richmond 16.12 (108) def. North Melbourne 10.7 (67)
Richmond have guaranteed themselves a home final next week, overcoming a sluggish start to down an undermanned North Melbourne side by 41 points.
With North Melbourne electing to rest nine players in the home and away season’s final round, many expected Richmond to make light work of their opponents. But whatever script had been written, nobody was reading it in the first quarter.
Kayne Turner and Majak Daw put goals on the board early for the Kangaroos, and it took until time on for the Tigers to get their first goal through Brandon Ellis.
Ivan Maric gave Richmond the narrowest of leads with an early goal in the second quarter, but from then on it was all North, with Daw and Ryan Bastinac goaling to give the Kangaroos a shock 10-point lead at half time.
When Kayne Turner goaled 20 seconds into the second half, North were up by 16 and looked to be on track for a massive upset win, but the Tigers flicked the switch at that point, turning the game on its head.
Chris Newman, Bachar Houli, Shane Edwards, Brett Deledio and Kane Lambert all put through goals for the yellow and black, turning their 16-point deficit into a 16-point lead.
Turner’s third goal late pegged the margin back to 11 points at three quarter time, but the final quarter belonged to Richmond.
It was nine goals to four in the ‘home’ side’s favour, as they cruised to an eventual 41-point win.
The usual suspects did most of the damage for Richmond, with Trent Cotchin (30 disposals), Brett Deledio (26 disposals, 10 marks, one goal), Brandon Ellis (26 disposals, one goal) and Dustin Martin (21 disposals, six tackles, three goals) all on song.
Tyrone Vickery and Jack Riewoldt bobbed up in the last quarter to finish with five goals between them, Ivan Maric won the ruck battle with 32 hit-outs, while Alex Rance limited Drew Petrie to just eight touches and one goal.
Jamie Macmillan (27 disposals), Sam Gibson (21) and Shaun Atley (20) were the only three North Melbourne players to record 20 touches or more, although Lachie Hansen was superb in defence with 19 disposals and 11 marks.
Of North’s mass inclusions, Majak Daw was just about their best player with 25 hit-outs, eight tackles and two goals, while Kayne Turner was strong with 12 disposals, five tackles and three goals, but was stretchered off late after suffering a nasty concussion.
Richmond – 1.4 | 2.7 | 7.11 | 16.12 (108)
North Melbourne – 2.3 | 4.5 | 6.6 | 10.7 (67)
GOALS
Tigers: Martin 3, Vickery 3, Lambert 2, Riewoldt 2, Ellis, Edwards, Newman, Houli, Maric, Deledio
Kangaroos: Turner 3, Daw 2, Brown 2, Bastic, McKenzie, Petrie
Attendance: 40,461
All-important finals positioning is on the line when the Richmond Tigers and North Melbourne Kangaroos clash under the roof at Etihad Stadium. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7:50pm (AEST).
Richmond have officially put the doubts to bed, securing their third finals appearance in a row. But a home final is no guarantee, while a spot in the top four is still a possibility – giving the Tigers plenty of reason to get up for this one.
They’ll need Sydney to suffer a shock loss to Gold Coast if they’re to improve from fifth, but a loss here could see the Tigers slip into seventh, setting up a potentially daunting trip to Adelaide to face the white-hot Crows.
Richmond have been in superb form of late, winning eight of their last 10 games and the last three in a row. With finals starting in a matter of days, the team will be looking to hit September in a rich vein of form.
North Melbourne may not have met the lofty expectations some had of them this season, but they’ve got a finals spot locked in. After last year’s finals campaign, they know better than anyone that anything can happen once you’re there.
Last week however the Roos looked off the pace, allowing the Western Bulldogs to run rings around them in a disappointing 23-point loss.
Heading into the finals in the midst of a losing streak is not ideal, and given there’s every chance they’ll be playing Richmond in an elimination final they’ll need to hit this match with everything they’ve got.
North Melbourne have enjoyed a recent dominant streak over the Tigers, winning the last five contests in a row and picking up 12 wins and one draw over the last 16 encounters.
Richmond are set to receive a massive boost, with captain Trent Cotchin a near-certain inclusion after overcoming a back injury. The Tigers got through last week’s win over Essendon unscathed and would be unlikely to play with the team too much given a home final is on the line.
Should they turn to the VFL, Matt McDonough, David Astbury and Matthew Dea were all listed among Richmond’s best, while Reece Conca is an outside chance to return from a hamstring complaint.
North Melbourne look set to welcome back Lindsay Thomas (foot) and Luke McDonald (general soreness) after both missed last week’s loss.
In the reserves, Joel Tippett and Trent Dumont starred for North Ballarat, while Majak Daw, Scott McMahon and Daniel Currie were the standouts for Werribee.
Prediction
A thumping 35-point loss to the Kangaroos in Hobart proved to be the turning point in Richmond’s season, with the club winning 12 of 15 matches since.
Recent history may be betting against them, but strong recent form and the motivation of a potential top-four finish should see the Tigers come out on top.
Tigers by 16 points.