THE LAST-minute passage of play that led to an after-the-siren match-winning goal to Richmond was helped by "a bounce of God" according to relieved Tigers coach Damien Hardwick.
That flukey bounce put the ball into Jack Riewoldt's grateful hands in the middle of the ground as the final seconds ebbed away.
He got the ball to Ben Griffiths, who had a career-defining game, who then passed it to goalkicking specialist Sam Lloyd.
Lloyd went back and kicked the goal after the siren to give the Tigers a one-point win.
"[We were] probably really fortunate Jack (Riewoldt) got a bounce of God there at one stage. I think it bounced directly sideways and went straight in his hands," Hardwick said.
"You make your own luck sometimes."
While Lloyd lined up for goal, Hardwick folded his arms in the coaches box, confident the 26-year-old could deliver under the sort of pressure that cause some to dream and others to wake in fright.
"We do practise those a fair bit. He's a good shot for goal," Hardwick said.
Not only did the Tigers miss five gettable set shots in the third quarter, but they leapt two goals clear twice, only for the Swans to hit back hard and regain the lead.
In the end they relied on Ben Griffiths to keep them in the game.
Griffiths kicked five goals, including three in the desperate last quarter, to turn the game Richmond's way.
Hardwick said he hoped the performance would be a breakout game for the 24-year-old playing his 51st match.
"It's what he does with this game that is really important. He can either rest on his laurels and that can be the best game he can ever play, or he can continue to work hard and be the player we all think he can," Hardwick said.
Apart from the usual suspects in Brett Deledio, Jack Riewoldt and Alex Rance, Hardwick praised a bunch of young players such as Corey Ellis, Daniel Rioli, Connor Menadue and Jayden Short, who he said are promising players for the club.
Rioli's two goals in the last quarter were electrifying and Hardwick acknowledged the 18-year-old added another dimension to the line-up.
"His two goals were pretty special and that is why we brought him to the football club," Hardwick said.
Richmond heads to Perth to play the winless Fremantle with Hardwick not daring to predict whether finals are still possible.
"What the players do with the win is up to them, really," Hardwick said.
"They can either be happy with it [and] not perform next week, but the expectation for us is we have started to gain a little bit of momentum in today's performance and three quarters of last week [against Hawthorn] but we have got a long way to go still."
