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 9-16.



ROUND 9
Richmond     2.3   6.5   13.8  16.9    (105)
Essendon      2.2   6.6   9.10  13.11   (89)

GOALS
Richmond: Riewoldt 4, King 3, Vickery 3, Nahas 2, Cotchin, Foley, Helbig, Newman
Essendon: Jetta 3, Monfries 3, Zaharakis 3, Crameri, Davey, Hille, Howlett

BEST
Richmond: Cotchin, Deledio, Martin, Newman, Rance, Grimes, Riewoldt
Essendon: Heppell, McVeigh, Jetta, Monfries, Zaharakis, Lonergan, Lovett-Murray

Crowd: 83, 563 at the MCG
Summary:  After an even first half, Richmond set up the victory with an impressive seven goal to three third quarter.  In a desperate final quarter, Ty Vickery sealed a memorable Yellow and Black victory with his third goal of the night.  Jack Riewoldt worked hard to boot four goals, and Jake King again was inspirational with three goals.  Brett Deledio was excellent with 34 possessions, while Trent Cotchin, with 29 touches, including eight clearances, and eight inside-50 entries, was a worthy winner of the Yiooken award for best-on-ground in the Dreamtime clash.
Damien Hardwick: "The Bombers kept coming and we kept responding. The game opened up there in the last quarter and a half. When Dylan Grimes went down I thought we might be in a little bit of trouble, but the guys, to their credit, fought hard on a number of occasions."



ROUND 10
Richmond         1.2   4.9   7.10  10.14  (74)
Port Adelaide   1.4   3.6   9.9    13.11  (89)

GOALS
Richmond: Riewoldt 3, King 2, Nahas, Grigg, Jackson, Martin, Vickery
Port Adelaide: Gray 4, Schulz 3, Boak, Broadbent, Jacobs, O'Shea, Phillips, Westhoff

BEST
Richmond: Houli, Foley, Jackson, Nahas, Grigg, Martin 
Port Adelaide: Brogan, Gray, Westhoff, Boak, Broadbent, K Cornes, Pearce

Crowd: 11,506 at TIO Stadium
Summary:  Richmond suffered a major letdown after the high of its Dreamtime win, losing to Port Adelaide in Darwin.  The Tigers had worked their way to a nine-point lead at half-time and looked like going on with the job.  But the Power had other ideas, surging ahead in the third term and holding on in the last quarter to win by 15 points.  Bachar Houli, in his rebounding role off half-back, played his best game since joining the Club, gathering 31 possessions.
Damien Hardwick:  I just didn’t think we were anywhere near hard enough in our endeavours to hunt the football throughout the game.  We fumbled all night, over-handled the ball, and didn’t use it well at all.  It was uncharacteristic of our guys and a real letdown after the way we had been playing . . .”



ROUND 12
Richmond           2.3          4.7          6.7          9.11 (65)
Sydney Swans    3.8          5.14        5.19        9.21 (75)

GOALS
Richmond: Riewoldt 2, Martin 2, Nahas, Deledio, Vickery, Browne, Vickery
Sydney Swans: Reid 2, Jetta 2, Dennis-Lane, Malceski, Roberts-Thomson, O’Keefe, Kennedy

BEST
Richmond: Martin, Cotchin, Rance, Grigg, Houli
Sydney Swans: Seaby, O’Keefe, Johnson, Kennedy, Reid

Crowd: 23,782 at the SCG
Summary:  A resilient Richmond was edged out by Sydney in a tight contest.  Despite some early setbacks, the Tigers kept persisting and, early in the final term after a banana goal from Dustin Martin was followed by a behind from him, they hit the front for the first time.  Sydney, however, steadied and went on to record a 10-point win. 
Damien Hardwick:  “It was another opportunity we let slip. We certainly had our chances to win, but, come the crunch, the Swans’ cream rose to the top, with their key players in Adam Goodes and Ryan O’Keefe responding, and they were able to rally against the flow to secure the victory.  Look, we played well in patches, but there were other stages of the game where the Swans dominated in certain areas and threatened to run away with it.”



ROUND 13
Richmond                2.5      7.9      12.13   18.17  (125)
Brisbane Lions        4.2      7.6       10.9     14.10  (94)

GOALS
Richmond: Martin 5, Vickery 4, Miller 2, Reiwoldt 2, Grigg, Cotchin, Foley, Deledio, Nahas
Brisbane Lions: Redden 2, Karnezis 2, Brown 2, Clark 2, Banfield 2, Harwood, Bewick, Polkinghorne, Hanley

BEST
Richmond: Cotchin, Martin, Vickery, Houli, Rance, Foley
Brisbane Lions: Leuenberger, Redden, Rockliff, Hanley, Banfield, Maguire

Crowd: 21,510 at the Gabba
Summary:  Dustin Martin produced a powerful performance to inspire the Tigers to victory over Brisbane.  Martin kicked five goals - four in the second half -- two of them mighty running goals from outside 50 metres in the last quarter.  It was all the Lions at the start of the match and they shot out to a four-goal lead, but Martin’s brilliance, supported by Ty Vickery, up forward, with four goals, Trent Cotchin’s polished midfield display, and Bachar Houli’s run out of the back half, enabled Richmond to finish full of running to score a comfortable victory.
Damien Hardwick:  “It was a match that had ebbs and flows, with first one side gaining the ascendancy, then the other.  We looked to be travelling okay late in the third term when we led by nearly four goals, but early in the last quarter, the Lions had cut the deficit to just four points.  Look, from that point on, I was really pleased with our players’ response.”



ROUND 14
Richmond         3.5   7.5    10.9     13.13  (91)
Melbourne       7.1   12.4   14.14   17.16 (118)

GOALS
Richmond: Vickery 3, Farmer 2, Newman 2, Deledio, Edwards, Foley, Grigg, Riewoldt, Martin
Melbourne: Watts 3, Green 3, Trengove 3, Jones 2, Martin 2, Jurrah 2, Howe, Sylvia

BEST
Richmond: Foley, Deledio, Nahas, Newman, Edwards, Houli, Vickery 
Melbourne: Moloney, Watts, Jones, Frawley, Scully, Green, Petterd, Jamar

Crowd: 61,900 at the MCG
Summary:  Richmond’s early inaccuracy was a major factor in its Round 14 downfall against Melbourne.  The Tigers kicked three of the first four goals of the match, but the Demons promptly replied with six unanswered goals to take a 20-point lead into the first break.  In the third term, the margin blew out to 38 points, before the Tigers twice fought back to get within three goals in the final quarter, eventually going down by 27 points.  Nathan Foley, with 27 disposals, Brett Deledio, with 26, and Robbie Nahas, with 23, were the team’s best.
Damien Hardwick:  "Footy, as we know, is a game of chance. If you don't take yours at the right time, the momentum goes the other way.  We thought we were pretty dominant in that first 10 minutes, but we couldn't just quite get that scoreboard ascendancy we were after.  I just thought Melbourne's pressure around the ball was very, very good.  I think we had 32 clangers, which is world-record pace for us.”



ROUND 15
Richmond         1.4     4.6     6.8      12.9    (81)
Carlton             5.2     11.7   20.13   28.16 (184)

GOALS
Richmond: Riewoldt 4, Cotchin 2, Farmer 2, King, Vickery, Nahas, Houli
Carlton: Betts 5, Walker 4, Waite 3, Garlett 3, Robinson 2, Judd 2, Murphy 2, Simpson 2, Carrazzo, Gibbs, Ellard, Thornton, Russell

BEST
Richmond: Foley, Deledio, Houli, Nahas, Jackson
Carlton: Judd, Warnock, Betts, Robinson, Carrazzo, Murphy, Yarran, Garlett

Crowd: 59, 650 at the MCG
Summary:  Damien Hardwick apologised to Richmond fans after the team’s thrashing at the hands of Carlton.  The Tigers were outclassed by their arch rivals from the opening bounce.  Jack Riewoldt managed to cobble together four goals from very limited opportunities, while Nathan Foley, Brett Deledio, Bachar Houli and Robbie Nahas tried hard to lift the side against overwhelming odds.
Damien Hardwick:  "It was probably the first time this year we haven't had a crack, our guys, and I'm very disappointed, not only for the players, but also for the people who put in the hard-earned dollars to try and get us back to where we need to belong.  To dish up that performance is very disappointing.”



ROUND 16
Richmond      5.1  7.6  9.9  9.12 (66)
Essendon       3.5  5.9  8.12  15.15 (105)

GOALS
Richmond: Foley 2, Martin 2, Cotchin, Deledio, Griffiths, Riewoldt, Vickery
Essendon: Crameri 3, Monfries 3, Davey, Heppell, Hille, Hocking, Jetta, McVeigh, Ryder, Stanton, Zaharakis

BEST
Richmond: Cotchin, Edwards, Batchelor, Foley, Vickery, Rance
Essendon: Stanton, Zaharakis, Crameri, Prismall, Heppell, Monfries, Hurley

Crowd:  55,442 at the MCG
Summary:  Richmond grabbed the early initiative from Essendon and built a four-goal lead midway through the third quarter, with Trent Cotchin having a huge impact in the midfield.  But a couple of costly errors let the Bombers back into the contest and they proceeded to kick 10 unanswered goals to sink the Tigers by 39 points. 
Damien Hardwick: "I think we could have been maybe 20 points up at three-quarter time . . . but two mistakes from two of our better players - they're the mistakes we need to iron out of our game to get where we need to go."