Never-say-die Tigers pip Lions
Lyall Johnson | The Age| July 27, 2008
RICHMOND last night staged a never-say-die last quarter to post a thrilling victory over the Brisbane Lions and keep its finals hopes alive.
The Tigers came from 25 points down at three-quarter-time — after doing their best to throw away the match in a turnover-riddled third term — to pull off a spectacular three-point win at Telstra Dome.
The much-maligned Joel Bowden, who had been consigned to the reserves earlier in the season, was the hero in the end with three final-quarter goals.
The last, his fourth for the match, was a set shot from 40 metres on a tricky angle that was the matchwinner, putting the Tigers ahead by four points with 22 seconds to play.
Valuable seconds were run off the clock at the resultant centre bounce, but a mark to Brett Deledio at centre half-back as the Lions made one more desperate thrust saved the day. It capped yet another fine game for the youngster.
A win for the Lions would have cemented their place in the eight, but the loss, made only slightly more palatable by losses to St Kilda and Collingwood, means they still have a fight on their hands.
The Lions should have won the night, their consistency and better use of the ball throughout the match by far the better of the two teams.
Indeed, with the amount of turnovers and elementary errors by Richmond, which threatened to drag the game down to a forgettable level, the Lions can only blame themselves for not capitalising with a higher score. Their seven extra scoring shots was possibly the most damning statistic of the night.
But when it counted at the business end, Richmond, through the agency its midfield, particularly Shane Tuck, Nathan Foley and Troy Simmonds, found the urgency and skill level that had been lacking.
Surging out of the middle, the Tigers kicked six unanswered goals in the first 15 minutes of the last term to stage a 38-point turnaround, Nathan Brown and Matthew Richardson kicking crucial majors, before goals to Jamie Charman, Daniel Bradshaw and Justin Sherman put the Lions eight points in front at the 27-minute mark.
That should have been enough, but the Tigers surged again, the ball finishing in the hands of Richardson. He hadn't had the greatest night but stood up when it counted.
And as much as the game was eventually won in attack, it was also saved in defence. The Tigers can thank a match-saving mark on the last line by Kelvin Moore with only a minute to play for not only stopping a goal, but setting the passage of play in motion that eventually enabled Richard Tambling to hit Bowden lace out with a lovely pass.
Tambling, notwithstanding his fair share of clangers, played possibly the best game of his career, collecting 27 touches and providing drive off half-back.
The Lions started the match well and should have been in greater control at quarter-time, at least three gettable shots going astray.
With the midfield drive of Simon Black and Luke Power thrusting the Lions forward, Bradshaw ran Will Thursfield a merry dance until Luke McGuane was moved onto him.
The Tigers' skill levels have improved markedly this season, but the ability of a select few in their line-up to turn the ball over on a weekly basis meant the Lions had ample opportunity to capitalise.
Yet they didn't and went to the first change only 10 points clear. But they burst clear by 22 points in the second with goals to Sherman and a brilliant running effort from Josh Drummond.
But as they were to do in the last quarter, the Tigers were jolted to life and started winning the centre breaks. Foley, after being well beaten by Sherman in the first, started to find the ball.
After a Bradshaw miss, the Tigers flew forward. Trent Cotchin, brilliantly elusive, found Deledio with a great kick, Bowden eventually sealing the passage with a set shot.
But in a match characterised by surges, the Lions launched themselves into the third term and should have raced away with the match then. Instead, within the first two minutes, they squandered three shots at goal.
Richmond's clanger count continued to rise, Bradshaw made no mistake courtesy of a Chris Newman blunder to put the Lions eight points ahead. Black followed to extend the lead to 14. By three-quarter-time, the Lions had extended that to 25 points, but in the end, that simply wasn't enough.
BESTRichmond: Bowden, Richardson, Deledio, Tuck, Simmonds, N. Brown.
THE UPSHOT They may have dozed all the way through the third quarter, but the Tigers turned it on in the fourth to take the points in an absolute thriller, giving the faithful something to smile about on a rocky weekend and putting them within striking distance of the top eight.
TALKING POINTIf imitation is the greatest form of flattery, then Terry Wallace appeared to be very visibly tipping his hat to Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson last night. It was not used often, but there were stages when the Tigers were using the Hawks' trademark rolling defensive zone formation — the question now is will both teams use the cluster when they meet in round 20?
HOT AND COLDIt's got to be big Matthew Richardson. The Tigers roared back to life with eight goals in the final term and "Richo" had a role in five of them. Add to that his 22 disposals and game-high 17 marks, and it's easy to see why they love him at Tigerland. Cheynee Stiller. Cheynee who? With just nine possessions and one point for the match, Stiller was barely sighted at all last night.
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