IT WAS almost a case of the ‘accidental hero’ at the MCG on Sunday as Richmond livewire Daniel Connors booted three first-half goals to help his side establish a telling 31-point lead over Hawthorn at the main break.

The Tigers went on to win the round 20 clash by 29 points, keeping their slim finals hopes alive in the process.

While Connors impressed with 16 possessions, it was his three vital majors in the first half that helped Richmond get on top and forge its way towards its upset victory over the AFL’s second-placed side.

“It was good to get a bit of scoreboard pressure and help the team out as much as I could,” a modest Connors said after the match.

The match was just Connors’ second for the season and his first since the round 15 win over West Coast.

He wasn’t a part of the Tigers’ narrow round six loss to the Hawks earlier this season but admitted that Richmond’s ability to push Alastair Clarkson’s side had given it confidence heading into Sunday’s clash.

“We knew we could take it to them, we showed last time when we played them,” Connors said.

“And we thought that, apart from last week, we’d been playing some pretty decent footy over the last seven or eight weeks.

“We had a fair bit of belief amongst ourselves that we’d be able to get the job done so it was just great that we got over the line and everybody played well.”

The key to the 16.9 (105) to 10.16 (76) win was a fast start.

The Tigers got that with five goals to two in the opening quarter and when Connors helped himself to two more in the second term – one of them a neat, running left foot goal from 35m – Terry Wallace's side was well on its way to its best win of the year.

“We knew we had to jump them and come out and give them everything and that’s what we did and it worked off well,” Connors said.

“They were playing catch-up footy for the rest of the game and we knew we just had to apply the pressure and stuff like that, so it worked out well for us.”

Connors said his team wouldn’t get carried away with its win, knowing there was still plenty of work to be done.

However, the victory put Richmond right back in the finals picture, although the Tigers must win their remaining two games and have other results fall their way to stay in the September race.

“We’re still hanging in there, aren’t we?” Connors said.

“All we can do is just keep winning games.”