Australian Football

Match Report

The bubble has burst for Richmond - at least temporarily - after a withering eight-goal third-quarter burst from Collingwood enabled the Pies to inflict defeat on the Tigers for the first time in 2013 in front of more than 81,000 fans at the MCG on Saturday.

Richmond looked every inch as good as, if not better than, the Magpies in the first half. Early goals to Jack Riewoldt and Tyrone Vickery enabled them to jump to a two-goal lead, which they maintained at the first break.

A strong mark to Travis Cloke early in the second quarter enabled him to kick his and the Magpies' second, reducing the lead to under a goal. But Luke McGuane replied with a mark and goal of his own, restoring an 11-point lead to the Tigers. Marty Clarke and Steele Sidebottom then scored a major each, giving Collingwood the lead for the first time in the match. A string of behinds was broken by a mark and goal to Shane Edwards and Richmond had once more taken the lead. Sidebottom then marked and kicked his second and the lead changed hands once more, as it did a final time before the half-time break when Vickery marked and kicked his second.

Holding a three-point lead at the main break, Richmond fans could not have foreseen what was to come when play resumed in the first quarter. A strong mark to Cloke right in front at the two-minute mark was converted to a goal, giving the Pies a three-point lead. It was a lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the game. In the next seven minutes Cloke would mark and goal twice more, giving Collingwood a 16-point break and establishing a roll of momentum that the Tigers would be unable to halt until late in the quarter. The Pies followed up with goals to Sidebottom, Cloke again, Harry O'Brien, Sidebottom again and Jamie Elliott. The onslaught gave Collingwood and unassailable 49-point lead and Richmond players and fans alike looked shattered.

To their credit, the Tigers regrouped and through Bachar Houli and Riewoldt kicked the last two goals of the third term.

Trailing by six goals going into the final term, Richmond actually made the early running but the good work was poorly rewarded, with McGuane, Jake King and Shaun Grigg all kicking behinds. But then Riewoldt and ruckman Ivan Maric both kicked goals and, with the margin back to 22 points, it looked as though an unlikely Richmond win might be a possibility.

But Collingwood steadied with a goal to the ever-reliable Dane Swan and when Cloke kicked his seventh at the 21-minute mark, any hope of a remarkable Tiger comeback victory was snuffed out and the Magpies coasted home to a 34-point victory.

The Tigers showed that, while they can mix it with the "big boys" for periods of a match, they are perhaps a little way from being a top-four contender. That said, they and the Magpies both have 3-1 records and they are certainly "in the mix".

Best for Collingwood was Travis Cloke, his seven-goal performance outstanding, while captain Trent Cotchin played an inspiring game for the Tigers.

Collingwood will now face Essendon in the traditional ANZAC Day clash on Thursday, while Richmond will face a tough match against Fremantle at Subiaco on Friday night.

GOALS
Richmond: Riewoldt 3; Vickery, McGuane 2; King, Edwards, Houli , Maric
Collingwood: Cloke 7; Sidebottom 4; Clarke, O'Brien, Elliott, Swan, Dwyer

BEST - SPORTAL.COM.AU
Richmond: Cotchin, Riewoldt, Vickery, Grigg
Collingwood: Cloke, Swan, Sidebottom, Pendlebury, O'Brien, Shaw

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Richmond: Cotchin, Deledio, Jackson, Martin, Houli
Collingwood: Cloke, Shaw, Fasolo, O'Brien, Reid, Sidebottom, Swan

COACHES' COMMENTS
Damien Hardwick (Rich): We just couldn't get our hands on the ball [in the third quarter]. Collingwood were winning the ball, running hard forward and we just couldn't at any stage stop that momentum. The things we went into the game trying to achieve, we didn't achieve one of them, apart from centre bounces.

Nathan Buckley (Coll): We took advantage of our turn with the momentum and were able to hold up the other way. It was encouraging, [although] it was all off the third quarter. The third quarter margin is the game margin.

INJURIES
Richmond: King (hamstring); Chaplin (head)
Collingwood: Brown (groin)

SUBSTITUTES
Richmond: Shane Tuck replaced by Brandon Ellis in the third quarter
Collingwood: Josh Thomas replaced by Dale Thomas in the third quarter

CHANGES
Richmond: Nil
Collingwood: Goldsack replaced in selected side by Macaffer

UMPIRES: Rosebury, Meredith, Mollison