Richmond have registered their first win of 2016, defeating an admittedly undermanned Hawthorn side by 71 points at Holm Park, Beaconsfield on Saturday afternoon.
In front of a near capacity crowd of 6,384 attendees, the decision to field a more experienced side than the previous week in Mandurah paid immediate dividends for the Tigers with Dustin Martin and Jack Riewoldt setting the tone for the victory early.
By the time Riewoldt kicked his first goal during the midway stages of the opening term, he had already taken six marks (four of them contested and inside 50) and laid off a goal assist for Connor Menadue’s game-opener.
The champion goalkicker then gave a demonstration of his range in the second quarter when he got the Club’s first supergoal of the season from just inside the centre square.
Meanwhile Martin went about amassing possessions with ease and showing positive signs that he’s set for another big season. The powerful midfield dynamo gathered 15 touches in the first half and finished the game with 25.
In an at times scrappy affair, brief cameos rather than prolonged four-quarter performances were the order of the day.
Shane Edwards bobbed up with two set shot goals in the second term, while Ben Lennon repeated that effort in the space of two minutes in the third term. Lennon’s first was an opportunistic toe-poke on the goal line. He then marked a Martin snap to the top of the goalsquare and converted. Both added their third goals late in the match, before Edwards lifted the crowd with an outstanding snap from tight on the boundary line to become the leading goalkicker on the day with four.
Captain Trent Cotchin got in on the act kicking two final quarter goals as the game was taken away from the Hawks, capping a solid 21-disposal game.
In a moment that would have brought a smile to the most hardened of Tiger supporters’ faces, the Rioli name was added to the Richmond goals column for the first time since 1987, when Daniel snapped his first goal in the yellow and black in the dying stages of the game.
In a defensive effort that restricted the Hawks to just four goals, Bachar Houli had more of the ball than any other player on the ground with 34 touches, with Alex Rance chiming in with 26 of his own, picking up where he left off from last year’s Jack Dyer Medal-winning season.
Richmond will enjoy next weekend off from the field before facing Port Adelaide at Etihad Stadium on March 10 in their final NAB Challenge match.
Richmond 0.2.1 1.5.3 1.8.4 1.15.5 104
Hawthorn 0.1.2 0.2.3 0.2.6 0.4.9 33
Supergoals:
Richmond - Riewoldt
Hawthorn – Nil
Goals:
Richmond – Edwards 4, Lennon 3, Menadue 2, Cotchin 2, Riewoldt, Moore, Lambert, Rioli
Hawthorn - O’Rourke, Sicily, O’Brien, Hardwick
