Australian Football

Match Report

Richmond put three weeks of heartbreak behind them to record a solid win over Brisbane at the Gabba. Having lost their three previous matches by under a goals, Tigers' coaches, players and fans alike would have been relieved to record what was eventually a comfortable eight-goal win against the Lions. But for the Tigers, this was not a match without its nerve-wracking moments. Trailing by 38 points at the last change, the Lions came out with renewed energy in the final quarter, kicking the first four goals in just nine minutes and reducing the margin to just 14 points. But this time, led by Brett Deledio and Shaun Grigg, the Tigers withstood the Brisbane burst and kicked six of the last seven goals of the match. The win allowed the dream of playing finals football to remain at least a mathematical possibility for Damien Hardwick's men. Their remaining four games, against the Bulldogs, Fremantle, Essendon and Port Adelaide, are all winnable but, even if Richmond were to secure the points in all four matches, they would require the results of many other games to go their way. For Brisbane, the game was a almost a microcosm of their entire season. The Lions looked potent at times, but well short of the mark at others. But with four games remaining and seven wins on the board, three more than their entire season's return in 2011, the Lions have demonstrated promising signs for 2013.

GOALS
Brisbane: Brown 4; Green, Rockliff, Zorko 2; Polkinghorne, Redden
Richmond: McGuane, Nahas 3; Grigg, Jackson, Riewoldt 2; Cothin, Deledio, Edwards, Houli, Maric, Martin, Tuck, White

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Brisbane: Rich, Brown, Adcock, Merrett, Zorko, Rockliff
Richmond: Deledio, Conca, Maric, Grigg, Tuck, Cotchin

BEST - SPORTAL.COM.AU
Brisbane: Brown, Rich, Zorko, Rockliff, Redden, Black
Richmond: Conca, Deledio, Tuck, Grigg, Edwards, Cotchin, Martin, Riewoldt

COACHES COMMENTS
Michael Voss (Bris): Once we find ourselves in a non-winnable position, we're just stopping. We can't afford to sit at the end of games and give away the scoreboard like we have. It's just unacceptable.

Damien Hardwick (Rich): There's no doubt we've learned some lessons over the last month of footy and the positive is we'll bounce back and keep trying to get better.

Umpires: Fila, Findlay, Mitchell