Richmond landed a blow over an AFL premiership rival by securing a 27-point win over West Coast at Metricon Stadium on Thursday night.
The Tigers flexed their muscle in the third quarter with a decisive four-goal burst to claim a hard-fought 14.4 (88) to 9.7 (61) win.
The victory was the third-placed Tigers’ fifth from their past six matches, while defeat ended an eight-game winning run for the Eagles.
“It’s really coming into the fire in the belly time of the season we’re you’ve just got to start to consolidate your spot in the eight,” satisfied Tigers coach Damien Hardwick said.
“I thought we probably did that a little bit tonight.
“What I will say is West Coast are a great side.
“Did they play their best tonight? No, they didn’t, and we’re probably a little bit the same.
“I think both of us have got significant areas of improvement that we’ll look at, and we’ll continue to get better.”
Richmond forward Tom Lynch kicked three goals but it was a moment of inspiration by Dustin Martin which sparked a third-quarter surge.
The superstar midfielder kicked a remarkable banana from the pocket after West Coast youngster Jarrod Brander’s awful shank out on the full gave the Tigers possession.
After Martin’s goal, Richmond kicked three more unanswered to open up a 29-point lead.
Jack Darling’s three goals in the third quarter kept hope alive for the Eagles, including a kick after the siren which was his 400th AFL major and reduced the deficit to 14 points.
The Tigers halted the Eagles momentum with the first two goals of the final term, including a long bomb from Noah Balta from outside 50 to seal the battle of the winners of the past three grand finals.
“I thought we had a swing,” Eagles coach Adam Simpson said.
“We played a really good side in Richmond and they pressured us really well … I thought the endeavour and spirit was there with our players and unfortunately we weren’t good enough tonight but we got beaten by a pretty good side.”
Liam Ryan also kicked three goals for the Eagles in somewhat of a lone hand in the forward line.
His performance was telling after Josh Kennedy was ruled out in the first quarter with a concussion – the key forward caught a knee in the head from Balta as the Tigers utility rose to spoil a ball.
Richmond had their own injury concerns with Dylan Grimes limping out of the match in the second quarter with a hamstring problem.
Martin finished with two goals and 17 possessions, while Bachar Houli (23 possessions) and skipper Trent Cotchin (26 possessions) were busy for the Tigers.
Eagles midfielder Andrew Gaff topped the disposals tally with 32 while captain Luke Shuey had 27 disposals.
The Tigers take on Fremantle on Wednesday while fifth-placed West Coast’s next match is on Tuesday against Essendon.
