Re-live all the action as richmondfc.com.au takes you back over the 2011 season, in a three-part series.  Today, it's Round 17-24.


ROUND 17
Richmond    6.8    6.9    8.16    9.16 (70)
Gold Coast   1.2    7.6    7.9    12.13 (85)

GOALS
Richmond: Cotchin 3, Nahas, Foley, Grigg, King, Newman, Riewoldt
Gold Coast: Stanley 3, Brennan 3, Swallow 2, Ablett, Iles, Rischitelli, Toy

BEST
Richmond: Houli, Nahas, Grigg, Newman, Deledio, Rance, Cotchin
Gold Coast: Bock, Stanley, Iles, Ablett, Swallow, Brown, Smith

Crowd: 10,382 at Cazaly's Stadium
Summary:  The Tigers led the Gold Coast by six goals at quarter-time of their clash in Cairns, after kicking with a strong wind in the opening term.  They wasted several chances, however, to be further ahead and, by half-time, the Suns were in front.  Richmond was restricted to just two goals in the third term and, in the final term, despite the valiant efforts of Bachar Houli, Robbie Nahas, Shaun Grigg, and Chris Newman to stem the tide, Gold Coast prevailed by 15 points.
Damien Hardwick:  "We've shown over the course of the first half of the year that we can play some exciting footy, but we've just lost the mojo at the moment and we need to rediscover that.  We're in a pretty big hole at the moment, but we know where we're going and, more importantly, we know where we're at.”



ROUND 18
Richmond                              1.2     1.4          5.5          7.9  (51)
Geelong                                  4.2     11.5       16.9      17.11 (113)

GOALS
Richmond: Riewoldt 3, Nahas 2, Vickery, Foley
Geelong: Varcoe 3, Hawkins 3, Stokes 2, Byrnes 2, West 2, Christensen 2, Bartel, Corey, Duncan

BEST
Richmond: Cotchin, Tuck, Rance, Foley
Geelong: Christensen, Corey, Kelly, Scarlett, Hawkins, West

Crowd: 33, 761 at Etihad Stadium
Summary:  At half-time, Richmond had managed just one goal to Geelong’s 11.  But the Tigers, to their credit, managed to match it with their highly-rated opponents in the second half.  Both sides scored six goals after the main break, with Jack Riewoldt kicking three for the Tigers.  Trent Cotchin, with a career-high 38 possessions, and Shane Tuck, with 32 touches, were Richmond’s most prominent performers.
Damien Hardwick:  It’s hard enough giving any side in the competition a fair start and hoping to haul them in, let alone such an experienced, powerful combination as Geelong. To be 10 goals down at half-time, that’s basically game over, but our players, to their credit, showed admirable resolve in the second half to match it with their highly-rated opponents.



ROUND 20
Richmond                         4.1          6.2          13.5       14.6        (90)
West Coast                       5.2          11.6        17.8        22.15     (147)

GOALS
Richmond: Riewoldt 4, Vickery 2, Miller 2, Morton, Nahas, King, Tuck, Deledio, Houli
West Coast: Nicoski 6, Darling 4, Ebert 4, Naitanui 2, Lynch, Cox, Kerr, LeCras, Hurn, Shuey
 
BEST
Richmond: Martin, Deledio, Tuck, Houli, Foley, Thursfield,
West Coast: Kerr, Naitanui, Nicoski, Shuey, Gaff, Ebert
 
Crowd: 38,106 at Patersons Stadium
Summary:  Jack Riewoldt sparked a spirited Richmond fightback in the clash with West Coast.  After being well held in the first half, Riewoldt cut loose in the third quarter, kicking three goals of his four goals for the day, and reviving the Tigers.  The Eagles, however, reasserted their authority in the last quarter.  Brett Deledio, with 31 possessions and a superb goal, Dustin Martin, with 23 touches, and Shane Tuck, with 29, were all heavily involved for the Tigers.
Damien Hardwick:  “Despite the final margin, I thought, overall, we showed some improvement on recent form. We were very competitive in the first quarter, dropped away in the second term, but showed admirable fighting qualities to kick seven goals in the third quarter and give ourselves a chance at the last change. Unfortunately, they finished the match much more strongly than us, which again underlined the importance of us sustaining our intensity of effort. “



ROUND 21
Richmond           1.4     5.8     8.12   14.15  (99)
Sydney Swans    2.6     3.9     5.11   7.14   (56)

GOALS
Richmond: Nahas 3, Martin 2, Riewoldt 2, Cotchin, Deledio, Houli, Miller, Morton, King, Vickery
Sydney Swans: Kennedy 2, O'Keefe 2, Bird, Goodes, Meredith

BEST
Richmond: Houli, Cotchin, Deledio, Rance, Martin, Nahas, Riewoldt
Sydney Swans: Kennedy, Hannebery, Mumford, O'Keefe, Goodes

Crowd:  34,337 at the MCG
Summary:  Richmond snapped a six-game losing streak with a stirring victory over top-eight team Sydney.  The Tigers kicked six goals to two in the final term, with a 60-metre long bomb from Dustin Martin sealing the win.  Trent Cotchin was brilliant in the midfield, gathering 29 possessions, while Bachar Houli, 32 touches, and Brett Deledio, 30 touches, were the other leading ball-winners for the Tigers, and Robbie Nahas was dangerous with three goals.  Alex Rance and Shane Tuck combined in defence and the midfield to quell the influence of Swans superstar Adam Goodes.
Damien Hardwick:  “We hunted the ball really well and applied plenty of defensive pressure to the opposition.  It’s no coincidence that we won the tackle count and won the game.  This year, when our tackle count has been up, it’s generally correlated with an overall better performance by the team.”


ROUND 22
Richmond         6.2   10.9  11.12  17.15 (117)   
Melbourne        4.0   7.1    14.2    17.8 (110)   

GOALS
Richmond: Miller 3, Martin 3, Riewoldt 2, Foley 2, King, Graham, Jackson, Nahas, Webberley, Cotchin, Edwards
Melbourne: Sylvia 5, Jones 3, Jurrah 3, Trengove 2, Watts, Bennell, Green, Petterd

BEST
Richmond: Foley, Miller, Houli, Grigg, Tuck, Martin
Melbourne: Sylvia, Jones, McKenzie, Bartram, Frawley

Crowd: 36,321 at the MCG
Summary:  The Tigers made it back-to-back wins, rebounding from an eight-point deficit at three-quarter time to defeat Melbourne.  The Demons got on a roll in the third term to hit the front, after Richmond had led by 26 points at half-time.  But the Tigers showed impressive composure and maturity to regain the advantage in a hectic final quarter, and win by seven points.  Brad Miller was good up forward against his old side, finishing with three goals, while Nathan Foley, with 24 possessions, and two goals, and Shane Tuck, 28 touches, provided strong midfield drive.  And, acting captain, Trent Cotchin, led from the front in the last quarter with his strong attack on the ball.
Damien Hardwick: "It was a good win. For us to be headed at three-quarter time  . . . Melbourne came out and played an outstanding third quarter that we just couldn't quite get on the front foot again. I think it's a great testament to our playing group.  Their ability to fight through a number of those issues was outstanding."



ROUND 23
Richmond       5.2   6.8   12.13   17.19  (121)
Adelaide          7.3   9.6   12.9    15.9     (99)

GOALS
Richmond: Vickery 4, Nahas 3, Miller 2, Martin 2, Morton, Jackson, Graham, Riewoldt, King, Cotchin
Adelaide: Gunston 5, Vince 2, van Berlo 2, Tippett 2, Thompson, Douglas, Wright, Walker

BEST
Richmond: Vickery, Martin, Cotchin, Rance, Houli, Nahas, Jackson, Deledio
Adelaide: van Berlo, Vince, Dangerfield, Thompson, Gunston, Rutten

Crowd: 38,023 at AAMI Stadium
Summary:  Richmond continued its late-season surge, steamrolling Adelaide in a high-scoring game.  It was the Tigers’ third win in-a-row - and their first success against the Crows in Adelaide for 12 years.  Trent Cotchin, Dustin Martin and Ty Vickery led the Richmond comeback, after the team had fallen four goals behind during the third term.  By the last change, the Tigers were four points in front, and they went on with the job in the last quarter, scoring five goals to three.  Cotchin finished with 27 possessions, Martin 19 touches and two clutch goals, while Vickery booted an equal-career high four goals.
Damien Hardwick: "I thought our first quarter especially was pretty poor. I thought we were fumbly [and] we couldn't keep our feet, but credit where credit is due. We put it on our leadership group at half-time and they delivered."



ROUND 24
Richmond               3.2   9.7  10.10  13.13   (91)
North Melbourne    5.3   7.7  12.11  15.14  (104)

GOALS
Richmond:  Nahas 5, Riewoldt 3, Martin 2, Vickery, White, Miller
North Melbourne: Petrie 4, Thomas 2, Harvey 2, Edwards 2, Macmillan, Black, McIntosh, Harper, Swallow

BEST
Richmond: Nahas, Martin, Cotchin, Deledio, Foley, Houli
North Melbourne: Harvey, Cunnington, Bastinac, Petrie, Adams, Thompson

Crowd: 32, 890 at Etihad Stadium
Summary:  The Tigers trailed by two goals at quarter-time, were two goals up at half-time, and then found themselves two goals behind again at the last change.  But they exploded into action at the start of the final term, ignited by their two best players on the day - Robbie Nahas and Dustin Martin.  Nahas booted his fourth and five goals for the match, then Martin goaled to regain the lead for Richmond.  The Roos, however, clawed their way back in front and managed to hang on.
Damien Hardwick:  "Our inefficiency of ball-use going inside-50 (was the problem).  They counter-attacked and kept getting us over the back, so there’s probably a few things we've got to work on.  Unfortunately, we couldn't quite get the chocolates when we had a lot more of the ball in our forward half.”