Part three of our review of the 2012 season takes you through rounds 13-17.

ROUND 14
ADELAIDE 3.0 8.1 11.2 17.4 (106)
RICHMOND 8.3 10.4 11.7 13.9 (87)

GOALS
Adelaide: Walker 5, Tippett 3, Douglas 2, Knights 2, Porplyzia, 2, Sloane, Callinan, Mackay
Richmond: Riewoldt 3, Martin 3, Edwards 2, Nahas, Cotchin, Deledio, Connors, Grigg

BEST
Adelaide: Thompson, Dangerfield, Jacobs, Sloane, Walker, Porplyzia
Richmond: Tuck, Martin, Deledio, Cotchin, I. Maric, Jackson

Crowd: 33,780 at AAMI Stadium

Summary: Richmond got off to a flying start in its clash with Adelaide Crows at AAMI Stadium, stunning the Crows with an eight-goal to three first quarter. Jack Riewoldt was on fire up forward, with three goals, capitalising on the good work further up the ground from the likes of Shane Tuck, Dustin Martin, Brett Deledio and Trent Cotchin. The Tigers, however, were restricted to just five more goals for the remainder of the game, as the Crows ground out a 19-point win.

Damien Hardwick: “We had the plan to come in and match them inside to get them outside. The last quarter, their contested ball numbers went through the roof, and that was the game. We couldn’t get the contest on our terms.”



ROUND 15
MELB. 1.0 4.4 5.6 11.12 (78)
RICHMOND 4.6 6.12 9.20 13.23 (101)

GOALS
Melbourne: Martin 2, Blease, Garland, Rivers, Jones, McKenzie, Bail, Tapscott, Bennell, Sylvia
Richmond: Nahas 4, Deledio 2, McGuane 2, Grigg, Riewoldt, White, Edwards, Tuck

BEST
Melbourne: Jones, Watts, Sylvia, Frawley, Howe, Rivers
Richmond: Cotchin, Morris, Grigg, Deledio, Tuck, Riewoldt, I. Maric, Nahas

Crowd: 46,773 at the MCG

Summary: Despite making an unprecedented seven changes to the team that lost the previous week, Richmond clinched a 23-point victory over Melbourne. Robbie Nahas booted four goals, while fearless defender, Steven Morris, who looked in trouble early, after suffering a knock to his shoulder, was a solid contributor.

Damien Hardwick: “It’s not often you make seven changes to a footy side and still get the result. The guys that we brought in are hungry, competitive types. The thing that probably takes away from that is they haven’t jelled with the side. We’ve made very few changes in the first 13 rounds, we’re just pleased to take the four points.”



ROUND 16
Richmond 2.2 4.3 10.7 13.10 (88)
GC SUNS 4.2 7.9 9.9 13.12 (90)

GOALS
Richmond: Riewoldt 5, Nahas 4, McGuane 2, Graham, A. Maric
GC Suns: J Hall 2, Matera 2, Hunt 2, Ablett, Bennell, Hunt, A. Hall, Brown, Caddy, Swallow

BEST
Richmond: Cotchin, Deledio, Ellis, Riewoldt, Nahas, Conca
GC Suns: Ablett, Bennell, Stanley, McKenzie, Matera, Harbrow, Hunt

Crowd: 10,961 at Cazaly’s Stadium

Summary: For the second year-in-a-row, Richmond’s home fixture against the Gold Coast Suns in
Cairns turned into a nightmare. After trailing the Suns by as much as 36 points during the first half, the Tigers looked certain winners when they led by 10 points with less than 30 seconds to go. Somehow, Gold Coast managed to conjure up an amazing two-point win, with a set shot after the final siren from ex-rugby league star Karmichael Hunt, sealing Richmond’s fate.

Damien Hardwick: “It can go one or two ways from here, it can fracture us as a group or we can build on it and get back to where we know we can. It’s got nothing to do with the venue, we just haven’t played well up here… at the end of the day the Gold Coast played better than us.”



ROUND 17
Richmond 2.3 5.9 10.12 14.15 (99)
NTH MELB 3.5 7.9 9.11 15.13 (103)

GOALS
Richmond: Riewoldt 3, Nahas 3, Martin 2, Tuck 2, Edwards 2, Cotchin, Houli
North Melbourne: Petrie 7, Anthony 2, Harper 2, Harvey, Macmillan, Hansen, Campbell

BEST
Richmond: Cotchin, Morris, Deledio, Tuck, Riewoldt, Jackson
North Melbourne: Swallow, Petrie, Bastinac, Grima, Goldstein, Thompson

Crowd: 47,432 at MCG

Summary: Jack Riewoldt’s third goal, right on three-quarter time, gave Richmond a seven-point advantage and, seemingly, all the momentum going into the last quarter. The Tigers, however, couldn’t control North’s key forward Drew Petrie, who kicked five goals in the final term to lift the Roos to a four-point victory.

Damien Hardwick: “Our next step is to nail those games. You go back into the history books and you look at the sides that have had [those sorts of close results], it means you’re going to step up pretty quickly. We want to do that now.”