Richmond surged into the finals after securing a thrilling, spirited victory over ladder leader Sydney at ANZ Stadium in the final home-and-away round of the season.
The Tigers made it nine wins in-a-row when they bravely hung on to down the Swans by three points, after racing to a 33-point lead at one stage during the opening quarter, with a sizzling 5.3 to nil burst, which was ignited by star spearhead Jack Riewoldt, who had three goals on the board in the first 16 minutes.
Not surprisingly, Sydney gradually fought its way back into the contest and by three-quarter time, Richmond’s lead had been cut to just five points.
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The last quarter was an epic, with the home side managing to hit the front, before the Tigers again showed great resolve to find a way to win, seemingly against the odds.
Key defender Alex Rance was magnificent in that frantic final term, constantly repelling dangerous attacking thrusts by the Swans.
Rance finished with 16 disposals, including 12 intercepts, seven marks and six rebound-50s.
Brett Deledio continued his excellent form during the second half of the season, picking up 29 disposals, including 11 contested possessions, five inside-50s and three goals.
Trent Cotchin also had 29 disposals, including 21 contested possessions and 11 clearances.
Anthony Miles and Shane Edwards had 25 disposals apiece, generating plenty of drive for the team.
And, of course, the match-sealing goal came courtesy of another piece of Dustin Martin one-on-one brilliance.
WHAT THE COACH SAID:
"It is unbelievable, but the credit has to go to our playing group. They've been incredibly brave, they've stuck fat the whole time and they've never wavered in their belief they could get where we wanted to go. It's a real credit to them and we're so happy for our supporters who get to buy that finals ticket again."
ROAR VISION HIGHLIGHTS:
The final two minutes
Team song
Last quarter key moments
Match highlights
Damien Hardwick press conference
Jack Riewoldt in the rooms
MATCH DETAILS:
SYDNEY SWANS 2.1 4.3 7.6 9.11 (65)
RICHMOND 5.3 6.4 8.5 10.8 (68)
GOALS
Sydney Swans: Reid 2, Goodes, McVeigh, Towers, Rohan, Parker, Tippett, Hannebery
Richmond: Riewoldt 4, Deledio 3, Miles, Gordon, Martin
BEST
Sydney Swans: Hannebery, Jack, Parker, Rampe, Mitchell, Malceski
Richmond: Deledio, Maric, Martin, Cotchin, Edwards, Rance, Ellis
INJURIES
Sydney Swans: Franklin (knee) replaced in selected side by Jones.
Richmond: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Sydney Swans: Zak Jones replaced Sam Naismith in the third quarter
Richmond: Reece Conca replaced Ricky Petterd in the third quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Rosebury, Stevic, Pannell
Official crowd: 31,227 at ANZ Stadium
