Richmond’s VFL squad has failed to secure a win in their final home game of the season, falling to Coburg by 43 points at the ME Centre on Sunday.
In a congested contest throughout, Richmond struggled to gain forward ascendancy, which made goals difficult to come by.
Coburg controlled the play early, due to its dominance in the middle, but their inaccuracy up forward proved costly, with the margin just five points at quarter time.
The second quarter was a much more even contest, with Richmond making several forays forward, however it also struggled with inefficiency.
The game rose to spectacular heights when David Astbury flew above a pack to take a fantastic mark midway through the second quarter, with the resulting goal bringing the Tigers to within four points.
But Coburg lifted, and at half-time the margin was 23 points.
There were promising signs early in the second half, with the Tigers managing to produce much more fluid forward transition, but the visitors finished the stronger.
The game marked the successful return to the VFL team of Chris Knights and Shaun Hampson.
Knights gathered 28 disposals and provided great pressure around the ball with a team-high seven tackles.
Hampson won a game-high 48 hitouts, but despite his dominance, Richmond struggled to clear the ball at the stoppages.
Jason Castagna was another highlight for the Tigers, providing great run off half-back, and some much needed finesse at times. He finished with 33 touches and seven clearances.
Matt Dea also put in another AFL-standard performance, collecting 27 touches and intercepting many of Coburg’s forward movement.
And in a game where goals were hard to come by, Matt McDonough’s forward efforts were commendable. He finished with three goals for the day.
The Tigers will face Collingwood next Saturday, at Victoria Park.
FINAL SCORES
Richmond 1.0 2.1 3.3 5.4.34
Coburg 1.5 5.5 6.9 11.11.77
GOALS: McDonough 3, Astbury 1, Butler 1
BEST: Castagna, Knights, Dea, Hampson, Astbury, Gordon, McDonough
