Richmond’s bold late run towards the finals continued in Round 21, with a seventh successive win, beating Adelaide by 10 points in a tight, pressure-packed contest at Adelaide Oval.
The Tigers controlled proceedings until a last-quarter burst by the Crows catapulted them into the lead – three points up with about four minutes to go.
But Richmond’s mature-age recruit Nathan ‘Red Dog’ Gordon snapped his second goal and Dustin Martin followed soon after with his second of the match – a trademark, inspirational, one-on-one effort, which saw him streaming into the open goal.
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Captain Trent Cotchin, with 28 disposals, including 19 contested possessions, five clearances and five inside-50s, and vice-captain Brett Deledio, with 29 disposals, including 14 contested possessions, five inside-50s, four clearances and two goals, paved the way for the Tigers with their outstanding performances.
They received strong support from Brandon Ellis, 31 disposals, Anthony Miles, 26 disposals, and Shaun Grigg, who played a key shutdown role on Adelaide’s midfield star Rory Sloane.
WHAT THE COACH SAID:
"We were headed in the last quarter and for our guys to dig deep was nothing short of outstanding. It'd be right up there (as one of the best wins). It was one of those games that was sort of seesawing the whole way…(I'm) really pleased not only for our players but for our supporters back home."
ROAR VISION HIGHLIGHTS:
The final two minutes
Match highlights
Team song
Damien Hardwick press conference
MATCH DETAILS:
ADELAIDE 2.3 4.10 5.13 9.15 (69)
RICHMOND 5.1 7.5 8.14 10.9 (79)
GOALS
Adelaide: Walker 2, Podsiadly 2, Betts 2, Jenkins, Mackay, Cameron
Richmond: Deledio 2, Gordon 2, Martin 2, Griffiths, Foley, Cotchin, Edwards
BEST
Adelaide: Jacobs, Dangerfield, Talia, Crouch, Wright, Douglas
Richmond: Cotchin, Delidio, Ellis, Grigg, Gordon, Rance
INJURIES
Adelaide: Mackay (head)
Richmond: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Adelaide: David Mackay replaced by Mitch Grigg in the third quarter
Richmond: Jake Batchelor replaced by Ben Lennon in the fourth quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Dalgleish, Stevic, Mitchell
Official crowd: 50,459 at Adelaide Oval
