Richmond and North Melbourne are set to meet in an elimination final next weekend after the Tigers won a cagey final-round dress rehearsal by 41 points at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.
The Kangaroos will be sweating on a late head knock to vice-captain Jack Ziebell, however, with the key midfielder leaving the ground late in the fourth quarter after a clash with Anthony Miles.
Ziebell was able to walk off the ground, but teammate Kayne Turner had to be taken from the Etihad Stadium turf on a stretcher minutes later after being knocked out in a marking contest with four minutes remaining.
The late setbacks came with Richmond six goals clear and the sting clearly out of the match, which ended 16.12 (108) to 10.7 (67) after the Tigers booted nine goals to four in the final quarter.
That last term – the Tigers' best against North Melbourne since 1995 and their best for the season – provided some momentum for Damien Hardwick's team going into the finals after three stuttering quarters that would have had the Richmond faithful worried.
Trailing by four points early in the third quarter against a severely understrength North Melbourne, the Tigers needed a spark, and Brett Deledio came to the rescue.
The dashing Tiger was best-on-ground with 26 possessions, nine inside 50s and a game-high four score involvements, with captain Trent Cotchin (30 possessions and six inside 50s) also strong.
Defender Alex Rance was superb on North Melbourne forward Drew Petrie, while midfielder Shane Edwards continued to build form before finals after suffering a fractured leg.
The Tigers didn't win by a big enough margin to overtake the Sydney Swans in fourth spot, and they can only slide down to sixth if the Western Bulldogs beat the Brisbane Lions by a three-figure margin.
They finish the home and away season with a 15-7 record, equalling their 2013 tally, but now face a September acid test after two straight finals losses in 2013 and 2014.
There will also be pressure on Brad Scott and the Kangaroos to capitalise on the decision to rest nine stars and turn around Friday night's result next weekend.
The Kangaroos tore up the script in the first quarter, with ruckman Majak Daw stamping himself on the contest early, alongside fellow 'ring-ins' Trent Dumont, Brad McKenzie and Turner.
Daw, who has played one games this season, enlivened a dull start when he won possession backwards of centre and took off, taking one bounce and then guiding the ball through from inside the centre square.
The 24-year-old was at the forefront of the Kangaroos' physical approach, laying four tackles in the first quarter as his team went on a tackling rampage (28-11).
By half time the Kangaroos led the tackle count 42-23 as the Tigers struggled to generate any run, playing a conservative style and kicking just one goal for the quarter as a result.
Trailing by 10 points at the main break and with a score of just 2.7, Richmond needed a shot of life, or it risked going into its third straight finals series in a funk.
The response came from Deledio and Edwards, who injected pace into the Tigers' game and sparked a five-goal unanswered run that gave them control of the match.
A message on the Tigers' bench read 'keep the ball going forward', and that is what they did for the bulk of the second half, without giving away everything against next week's opponent.
RICHMOND 1.4 2.7 7.11 16.12 (108)
NORTH MELBOURNE 2.3 4.5 6.6 10.7 (67)
GOALS
Richmond: Vickery 3, Martin 3, Lambert 2, Riewoldt 2, Ellis, Maric, Newman, Houli, Edwards, Deledio
North Melbourne: Turner 3, Daw 2, Brown 2, Bastinac, McKenzie, Petrie
BEST
Richmond: Deledio, Rance, Edwards, Lambert, Martin, Cotchin, Grigg
North Melbourne: Macmillan, Hansen, Tarrant, Turner, Atley
INJURIES
Richmond: TBC
North Melbourne: Turner (head knock)
SUBSTITUTES
Richmond: Sam Lloyd replaced Ben Lennon in the final quarter
North Melbourne: Brent Harvey replaced Mason Wood in the third quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Margetts, Stevic, Meredith
Official crowd: 40,461 at Etihad Stadium
