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 as a four-goal run blew apart a hard-fought contest, going on to round out a 14.4 (88) to 9.7 (61) win.
The win is the third-placed Tigers’ fifth from their past six matches, while defeat ended an eight-game winning run for the Eagles.
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, however, 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.
Liam Ryan also had three goals for the Eagles and claimed four marks inside 50 in somewhat of a lone hand in the forward line for West Coast.
Ryan’s performance was telling after key forward Josh Kennedy was ruled out in the first quarter with a concussion – he caught a knee in the head from Balta as the Tigers utility rose to spoil a ball.
Richmond had their own injury concern 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 touches 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.
