Dustin Martin is back in business, Tom Lynch is back to his dominant best and Richmond is back in the eight after a blue-collar performance against Collingwood at the MCG.

The Tigers lost two of their most important players – Dion Prestia and Nick Vlastuin – to illness on Friday afternoon, but were rarely challenged in the traditional Saturday afternoon timeslot between two traditional rivals. 

Damien Hardwick's side has now levelled the ledger at 4-4 after brushing aside a disappointing black and white outfit to record a 17.11 (113) to 12.14 (86) win. 

The Magpies only remained within striking distance in the first half due to Richmond's wastefulness in front of goal, before kicking four goals in a row late in the game after Richmond led by 47 points early in the fourth quarter.

It was all about Martin in the build-up with the superstar midfielder returning for the first time since taking personal leave in round one – and just the second time since suffering a lacerated kidney on the Gold Coast in round 18 last season – but Lynch continued his resurgence to leapfrog Tom Hawkins to lead the Coleman Medal race.

After two injury-interrupted seasons, the Richmond star has re-emerged as one of the premier key forwards in the game across the past fortnight. Lynch booted 7.5 against West Coast in Perth last Friday night – the most scoring shots in a game this season – and then followed it up with another high output performance that could have proven even more damaging, given he missed a few chances. 

The 29-year-old booted 63 goals in his first season at Punt Road in 2019, but only managed 67 across two pandemic-affected seasons in 2020 and 2021. Right now, no one has kicked more goals than Lynch, who moved to 27 after booting 6.1 from 25 disposals and 11 marks on Saturday.

Martin gathered his first disposal five minutes in and every time he touched the ball it was met with a loud roar from the Richmond faithful. It took some time for him to get going, but before the end of the first quarter, Martin dished off a signature fend-off and the umpire chose not to spoil the occasion, given it was high.

From there the 2017 Brownlow Medal winner blew out the cobwebs, producing a handful of dazzling displays that reminded the competition of his brilliance. A trademark snap around the body from the pocket in the last quarter put the finishing touches on a strong return, gathering 23 touches and two goals.

Collingwood kicked four goals late to improve the bottom line, but at the end of the day, it was too little, too late for the Magpies.

RICHMOND 3.3 9.7 13.10 17.11 (113)
COLLINGWOOD 2.3 5.7 8.11 12.14 (86)

GOALS
Richmond: Lynch 6, Martin 2, Riewoldt 2, Bolton 2, Castagna, Cotchin, Lambert, Pickett
Collingwood: Ginnivan 3, Mihocek 2, Hoskin-Elliott 2, Henry 2, Crisp, Adams, McCreery

BEST
Richmond: Lynch, Short, Graham, Cotchin, Bolton, Martin, Balta
Collingwood: Crisp, Adams, Lipinski, N. Daicos, Cameron, Pendlebury

INJURIES
Richmond: Nil
Collingwood: Quaynor (finger)

SUBSTITUTES
Richmond: Sydney Stack
Collingwood: Jack Madgen

Crowd: 64,481 at the MCG