Spearhead Jack Riewoldt kicked six goals as a resurgent Richmond crashed Sydney’s party and scored a stunning 18-point victory over the Swans at the SCG on Friday.
The Tigers kicked 11 goals to three in the second half to overturn a 33-point third quarter deficit and record a 14.11 (95) TO 11.11 (77) win.
It was Richmond’s fifth win from their last six games and another stirring road effort, adding to earlier away wins against Brisbane, Port Adelaide and Fremantle.
Having strike forwards Lance Franklin and Kurt Tippett put on report added further anxiety for the Swans.
Franklin had his number taken in the second quarter after he collected Shane Edwards with a bump to the head, though the Tiger played on after absorbing the initial contact.
Edwards didn’t start the second half, undergoing a concussion test, though he did return to the game.
Tippett was booked for a late high hit on Dylan Grimes in the third quarter.
Franklin was completely dominated by Alex Rance after being booked, failing to add to his two first half goals.
Prior to the game, Sydney had cause to celebrate with gun midfielder Dan Hannebery signing a five-year contract extension and the vast majority of the Swans 2005 premiership-winning team driven around the field.
Over 37,000 fans, Sydney’s biggest home crowd of the season, witnessed a stunning second half turnaround, with Riewoldt, Rance, Trent Cotchin and Ty Vickery prominent.
A tight opening quarter featured six lead changes, with neither side getting more than six points ahead.
The second quarter was virtually one-way traffic with Sydney kicking 5.3 to 1.1 to sell their six-point first quarter lead to 32 by halftime.
The pendulum started to swing back towards the Tigers in the third quarter as they slammed on four straight goals, with Cotchin triggering the revival with a remarkable goal, which he kicked of the ground from a horizontal position.
Tom Mitchell and Luke Parker appeared to have steadied the Sydney ship with two goals in a minute, but Richmond refused to crumble.
Riewoldt kicked the first goal of the final quarter to get them ahead by nine and the Swans had four shots without landing a goal before Kurt Tippett levelled the score.
It was the last hurrah of a beaten side as goals to Riewoldt, Ivan Maric and Anthony Miles secured a famous Richmond win.
Franklin was placed on report for rough conduct and Tippett for striking, but Tigers coach Damien Hardwick wasn’t convinced either Swan would be in trouble.
“I think they will both be okay, which is alright, we want to see the good players playing,” Hardwick said.
Neither he nor Swans counterpart John Longmire was convinced the reports adversely affected Franklin and Tippett, even though they had little influence after halftime.
Hardwick said his players showed great poise and character.
“We looked down and out at halftime and the second quarter was as poor as we have played for quite some period of time,” Hardwick said.
“I thought the Swans monstered us around scrimmage and got the ball going forward.
“To their credit Trent (Cotchin), Brett (Deledio), (ruckman) Ivan Maric, all the leaders stood up and delivered when it mattered most.”
Longmire said there was an extraordinary drop off between the first half and second-half performances.
“Our work rate dropped and they lifted,” Longmire said.,
“If you looked at all the stats, we had 22 fewer ground balls in the second half, we had 31 fewer contested possessions.”
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.
If the Dockers want to make a statement and confirm their September credentials, it starts with a big game against the Premiers on Friday night.
Charlie Cameron should take plenty away from kicking five goals in an obliteration of Richmond against the Hawks.
Apart from one five-goal game, GWS forward Toby Greene has only kicked six goals from the other eight games. He's traditionally had success against the Western Bulldogs.
Bayley Fritsch should become an even more important player from a structural perspective, given key forward Jacob van Rooyen will be unavailable due to concussion.
Tom Hawkins returns to familiar surroundings of Geelong - but is it the tonic he needs to regain some of his confidence back after a goalless four games.
Following in the lead of competitions like the NRL, NFL and NBA, the Australian Football League is considering introducing a radical plan to present…
