Australian Football

Match Report

Richmond's roll towards a finals berth in 2013 has gained further momentum with an imperious 60-point thrashing against the Western Bulldogs at Docklands stadium on Saturday night. The Tigers furthered their September credentials with a convincing four-quarter performance against a Bulldog outfit that tried hard at all times but was a level or two below Richmond in poise and polish.

In past seasons, there has been an expectation of Richmond to drop games such as this one, where the Tigers were coming off an impressive win over fellow contenders Adelaide but Damien Hardwick's outfit is displaying a maturity that appears to have eliminated such defeats. That maturity was to be seen in most aspects of Richmond's game on Saturday night. Despite not perhaps being at their best in terms of disposal and efficiency, the Tigers' work-rate was maintained by almost all players throughout the evening, evidenced by the fact that Richmond won all four quarters. The Bulldogs also worked hard but were hamstrung time and again by poor use of the ball. While some of this was of the Bulldogs' own making, credit must also be given to Richmond for the pressure they applied.

The Tigers' performance was even across the board, but best players included Bachar Houli (25 disposals and a goal), Daniel Jackson (23 touches, one goal) and Dustin Martin (23 possessions, one goal). For the Bulldogs, Ryan Griffen - who is having his best season - played another fine match, collecting the ball 38 times, while captain Matthew Boyd (34 possessions and a goal) and veteran Bob Murphy (23 touches, one goal) also played fine games. Youngster Lachie Hunter (19 disposals and a goal) made an impressive debut.

Firmly ensconced in the top eight with an 8-4 record, Richmond could probably afford to split their remaining 10 games 50-50 and still make it to September, but the Tigers will be looking to make certain of a place in the finals with wins over St Kilda, North Melbourne and Gold Coast - all outside the top eight - in the coming three weeks. The Western Bulldogs will be looking for a couple of wins of their own in the next fortnight. They play Melbourne at the MCG next Saturday night and GWS in Canberra in round 15.

GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Stringer 2; Cooney, Jones, Hunter, Giansiracusa, Murphy, Boyd
Richmond: Riewoldt 3; Conca, Vickery 2; A Edwards, Foley, Houli, Grigg, Martin, White, Jackson, Vlastuin, Cotchin

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Western Bulldogs: Griffen, Boyd, Murphy, Macrae, Hunter, Roughead
Richmond: Martin, Conca, Houli, Jackson, Grigg, Riewoldt, Deledio

BEST - SPORTAL.COM.AU
Western Bulldogs: Griffen, Boyd, Macrae, Murphy, Smith, Stringer
Richmond: Grigg, Houli, Jackson, Martin, Conca, Vickery

COACHES' COMMENTS
Brendan McCartney (WB): It was a disappointing second half [after a] very positive first half. We got beaten by a team that's better than us, quite clearly. They're a good team; they broke our tackles, tackled us, kicked the ball better, got the ball into space and set up some nice goals. They're better than us. We're young, we're learning, we're making some mistakes. We're getting there inch by inch.

Damien Hardwick (Rich): I thought the second half was a lot better than the first. In the first we probably wasted some opportunities going forward. By the end of the game it was a good result. If you had have come into the game and said you'd win by 10 goals, you'd certainly take it. They're an outfit that's much improved.

INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Nil
Richmond: Troy Chaplin (left knee); David Astbury (hamstring); Nick Vlastuin (shin)

SUBSTITUTES
Western Bulldogs: Nathan Hrovat replaced by Daniel Giansiracusa in the third quarter
Richmond: David Astbury replaced by Matt White in the third quarter

UMPIRES: Margetts, Stewart, Kamolins