“Get out there and play with a smile on your face.”

That was Steve Morris’ plea to his side before the Tigers’ season-defining clash with Frankston at the Swinburne Centre.

A man with a glowing smile that you could see from Mars, Judson Clarke was the match-winner, with a left-foot checkside goal in the dying minutes, ensuring Richmond kept its finals hope alive.

The Tigers scraped over the line by three points as Frankston pushed them to the brink in a frantic final term, the scoreboard reading, 9.18 (72) to 10.9 (69).

Richmond set-up the victory with a three-goal third term whilst holding Frankston goalless, but the Tigers found themselves on the ropes as a Dolphins four-goal blitz swung the lead their way.

Frankston threw caution to the wind, slinging forward at all costs, catching the Tigers off guard, which led to a five-goal final term for the Dolphins.

Ivan Soldo looked to be the saviour, standing tall at the top of the square late in the last quarter, handing Richmond back the lead.

However, the Dolphins willed the ball forward from the restart, got in behind the Tigers’ defence and recaptured the lead in the blink of an eye.

Richmond had seen this movie before in 2022 and put into practice the lessons learnt.

The Tigers showed composure amongst the chaos.

Clarke skated onto a Sam Banks' kick inside 50, steadied and slid through the match-winner in the Punt Road Oval shadows.

Richmond’s finals’ hopes were dangling precariously, with victory over the Dolphins imperative for the Tigers to advance, which also hinged on either Gold Coast or Carlton losing also, or catching Box Hill on percentage.

A little under an hour before the first bounce at the Swinburne Centre, the Suns snuck over the line by five points over North Melbourne across town at Arden St.

The veil of uncertainty is still hovering over Richmond after Saturday’s result, and it will so until the final siren of Carlton v Collingwood at roughly two-thirty on Sunday.

In a game where the outcome had serious ramifications, the budding Tigers could have been forgiven for playing tight due to finals being on the cards.

That wasn’t the case, however.

After losing the opening centre clearance, Richmond displayed the traits that have been the hallmark of their success over the years.

The Tigers moved the ball with fluidity, which came unstuck at times and led to Frankston goals, but that didn’t deter Richmond unleashing the ball with freedom.

Clarke played the role of fire-starter, teaming seamlessly with Ivan Soldo to snap the opening goal of the game.

Clarke swung onto his left later in the quarter, snapping his second goal, this time from a forward-50 stoppage.

The Dolphins tightened the contest, turning into a dogfight.

Richmond was able to play the game in its half for the majority of the opening term, however the fluky breeze made it tricky to find connection inside 50.

The Tigers held a two-point lead at the first break, however, Frankston took that lead with two swift goals midway through the second term.

The Dolphins turned the table at the coalface, as the Tigers struggled with their ball security.

Hugo Ralphsmith’s mane glistened in the winter sun, as the dashing defender injected speed and creativity into Richmond’s ball movement, igniting his teammates to follow suit.

Jacob Bauer wrapped his mitts around the Sherrin deep inside 50, snapping the Tigers’ opening goal on the second quarter, cutting the deficit to a miserly point.

Frankston hit back with venom from the restart, but this sprung the Tigers into action once again.

Skipper Lachlan Street has kicked goals in big moments during his reign, and his goal late in the second term and subsequent point to level-up the scores by half-time may prove to be his defining act of the home-and-away season.

The wave of momentum grew for Richmond in the third term, with Samson Ryan slotting an early goal on the back of grunt and poise from Ralphsmith, Tom Brown and Angus Hicks.

The goal handed the Tigers back the lead, which they steadily built on throughout the quarter.

Bauer had a day where the ball wasn’t exactly obeying his every command, but the key forward just kept presenting and Dow hit him up lace-out just inside the paint of 50.

Bauer is generally unerring in front of goal, and this was no exception, he pumped his right fist in a fashion which has become his trademark.

After shanking a shot at goal in the final quarter, the 20-year-old kept his head in the game, dropping back behind the ball and clinging onto a match-saving mark in the dying moments.

Richmond had pushed the Tiger Army’s collective heart to the limit, but the team's finals hopes are flickering for at least one more day.

RICH   2.4       4.9       7.14     9.18 (72)

FRAN  2.2       5.3       5.8       10.9 (69)

Goal Kickers:

Richmond: Clarke (3), Bauer (2), Ralphsmith, Ryan, Soldo, Street