Richmond has suffered its biggest defeat of the season, going down to Adelaide by 36 points on Friday night at Adelaide Oval.
The Tigers were dominated around the ball, beaten by 23 in clearances (41-16 after quarter time) and 33 in contested possessions, which led to a 74-38 inside 50 count in favour of the home side.
The Crows had 33 scoring shots to 12, with their inaccuracy keeping Richmond in the contest early.
Dustin Martin was the most effective Tiger on the ground, booting three goals from 21 disposals, to go with seven tackles and two assists.
Richmond’s forward line, starved of opportunities for most of the contest, was without Brett Deledio, who was a late withdrawal through illness.
Defender Bachar Houli and midfielder Shaun Grigg topped the possession stats for Richmond with 23 each, while Taylor Hunt accumulated 22 disposals from the back half.
The loss has left the Tigers in a vulnerable position inside the top eight, among a group of teams jostling for finals positions.
Richmond was unable to get its running game working early in the game, and was forced to go long with most of its possessions.
Its first two goals came from marks inside 50, from Ivan Maric and Grigg, before Brandon Ellis finished the Tigers’ most free flowing move in the first quarter with a snap after 25 minutes.
The Crows dominated territory early, going inside 50 on 21 occasions in the opening term, but missed several chances, including a set shot after the siren from Eddie Betts.
Taylor Walker and Charlie Cameron goals gave Adelaide a 12-point lead advantage in the second quarter, and despite defending grimly, Richmond stayed in the contest.
A hurried snap from Jack Riewoldt, followed by a running goal from Martin, levelled things up, but Walker put the Crows in front after the half time siren.
At the main break, Sam Jacobs was in charge in the ruck, and the Tigers were down in clearances, tackles, and contested possession.
Compounding Richmond’s situation was an injury to defender Dylan Grimes, who was subbed out of the game before the players returned for the second half.
The wave of Adelaide attacks kept coming, and a burst of goals late in the third quarter effectively ended the contest.
From 11 scoring shots, the Crows kicked 3.8, dominating the last 10 minutes of the term after the Tigers had snuck to within six points when Martin converted a set shot at the 20-minute mark.
Martin booted his third goal from a contested mark early in the last quarter, but Adelaide kicked three of the last four goals – including two to Betts – to run away with the four points.
FINAL SCORES
Richmond 3.1 5.2 6.2 8.4.52
Adelaide 2.6 5.8 8.16 11.22.88
GOALS
Richmond: Martin 3, Maric, Grigg, Ellis, Riewoldt, Vickery
Adelaide: Cameron 2, Walker 2, Jenkins 2, Betts 2, Lynch, Dangerfield, McKay
BEST
Richmond: Martin, Hunt, Houli, Grigg, Miles
Adelaide: Dangerfield, Thompson, Walker, Laird, Talia, Jacobs, Sloane
INJURIES
Adelaide: Nil
Richmond: Brett Deledio (illness) replaced in the selected side by Sam Lloyd, Dylan Grimes (knee)
SUBSTITUTES
Adelaide: David Mackay replaced Riley Knight at three-quarter time
Richmond: Sam Lloyd replaced Dylan Grimes at half-time
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Bannister, Dalgleish, Nicholls
Official crowd: 50,094 at Adelaide Oval
