The fourth and final review of the 2012 season takes you through rounds 18-23.

ROUND 18
CARLTON 4.2 7.5 10.11 14.11 (95)
RICHMOND 5.2 5.7 8.11 13.13 (91)

GOALS
Carlton: Betts 4, Thornton 2, Armfield 2, Murphy, Carrazzo, Bell, Garlett, Casboult, McLean
Richmond: Martin 3, Cotchin 3, Tuck 2, Nahas 2, McGuane, Newman, Grigg

BEST
Carlton: Murphy, McLean, Betts, Carrazzo, Scotland, Jamison
Richmond: Tuck, Grigg, Ellis, Martin, Cotchin

Crowd: 46,013 at the MCG

Summary: For the third consecutive week – and only the eighth time in league football history – Richmond lost by less than a goal, when a long shot from Carlton midfielder Brock McLean, in the last minute of the game, bounced through for full points to consign the Tigers to a four-point defeat. Richmond had led by 13 points at the 20-minute mark of the final term and seemed assured of victory, before another dramatic, disappointing turnaround. Shane Tuck, with 31 possessions and two goals, was Richmond’s best.

Damien Hardwick: “When you lose three games by under a kick, there are some things going wrong that we’ve got to fix. Obviously, we’re not good enough at this stage. It starts with me from a coaching perspective, all the way down. We’ve just got to get better in a hell of a lot of areas.”



ROUND 19
Richmond 3.3 8.5 14.8 20.12 (132)
BRISBANE 3.2 4.9 7.12 12.12 (84)

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

BEST
Richmond: Deledio, Conca, I. Maric, Grigg, Tuck, Cotchin
Brisbane: Rich, Brown, Adcock, Merrett, Zorko, Rockliff

Crowd: 22,311 at the Gabba

Summary: Richmond continued its good, recent form at the Gabba, winning each quarter in a 48-point victory over the Brisbane Lions, and snapping a three-game losing streak in the process. Ivan Maric dominated with 41 hit-outs and 16 possessions, while Reece Conca equalled his career high of 29 possessions in an impressive display.

Damien Hardwick: “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. The one thing I can say about this team is, they give effort. Regardless of the result, I can always say their effort’s there and that's something that I’m proud of as a coach. It’s the one thing we can never actually question.”



ROUND 20
Richmond 6.4 10.10 17.16 22.18 (150)
BULLDOGS 2.3 6.4 12.5 12.8 (80)

GOALS
Richmond: Riewoldt 5, Edwards 4, Cotchin 3, McGuane 3, Grigg 2, King 2, Martin, Nahas, Newman
Bulldogs: Giansiracusa 3, Skinner 2, Lake 2, Addison, Dickson, Hooper, Smith, Wallis

BEST
Richmond: Cotchin, Edwards, King, Martin, Deledio, Riewoldt, McGuane
Bulldogs: Boyd, Picken, Dickson, Wallis, Lake, Murphy

Crowd: 28,286 at the MCG

Summary: The Tigers snapped a seven-year winless streak against the Western Bulldogs, defeating them by 70 points at the MCG. Star midfielder Trent Cotchin was sensational, racking up 35 possessions – 14 of them contested – setting up numerous opportunities for teammates with his sublime, creative skills, and kicking three goals himself, to cap off his brilliant best-on-ground performance.

Damien Hardwick: “Regardless of what happens from a finals perspective, we wanted to finish the season strongly. We wanted to go 5-0. At the moment we’re 2-0 and have an enormous challenge with Fremantle over there, but it certainly is a challenge we are very much looking forward to.”



ROUND 21
FREMANTLE 3.4 7.8 10.12 13.16 (94)
Richmond 2.3 5.4 8.4 11.6 (72)

GOALS
Fremantle: Pavlich 3, Ballantyne 3, De Boer 2, Hill, Mayne, Mzungu, Walters, Bradley
Richmond: King 3, Riewoldt 2, Deledio 2, Nahas, White, Edwards, O’Hanlon

BEST
Fremantle: Duffield, Ballantyne, Mundy, Barlow, Sandilands, McPharlin
Richmond: Cotchin, King, Tuck, Grigg, Martin, White

Crowd: 32,721 at Patersons Stadium

Summary: For the first time all season, Richmond lost all four quarters in a match, going down to a seasoned Fremantle outfit by 22 points in warm conditions at Patersons Stadium. Trent Cotchin’s blistering form continued, with the midfield star picking up 32 possessions. Shane Tuck finished with 28 touches, and Jake King pushed through the pain barrier in trademark style, kicking three goals, to be one of the team’s best.

Damien Hardwick: “We came over here giving ourselves a really good chance to win, but just couldn’t get our game up and going, and that’s what happens against a hardened, experienced unit.”



ROUND 22
Richmond 5.5 8.11 12.16 13.24 (102)
ESSENDON 3.2 4.6 7.9 8.9 (57)

GOALS
Richmond: Riewoldt 3, Edwards 2, McGuane 2, Astbury, Deledio, Grigg, Martin, Nahas, O’Hanlon
Essendon: Monfries 3, Browne, Gumbleton, Hurley, Jetta, O’Brien

BEST
Richmond: Tuck, Cotchin, Deledio, Houli, Jackson, Edwards, Riewoldt, O’Hanlon
Essendon: Heppell, Monfries, Hibberd, Crameri

Crowd: 47,590 at the MCG

Summary: Richmond killed off Essendon’s slim finals hopes with a 45-point victory in the Friday night clash at the MCG. The swirling wind played a part in the Tigers kicking just 13 goals from 37 scoring shots, preventing a winning margin that would have more accurately reflected the team’s overall dominance throughout. Key midfielders Brett Deledio, Shane Tuck and Trent Cotchin generated great drive for Richmond.

Damien Hardwick: “Our ability to finish our work probably wasn’t one of the prettiest things. It probably wasn’t our best work on the night. We kicked 20-odd points and the wind was relatively swirly out there, as we know. The thing that was a little bit disappointing was our composure to get the ball inside 50 to a marking target. We’ve just got to improve in that area.”



ROUND 23
Richmond 5.1 6.6 11.8 16.10 (106)
PORT ADEL. 2.5 6.7 12.8 16.10 (106)

GOALS
Richmond: Riewoldt 6, Edwards 3, McGuane 2, Astbury, Grigg, Nahas, Post, Tuck
Port Adelaide: Schulz 4, Brad Ebert 3, Brett Ebert 2, Broadbent 2, Pearce, Rodan, Thomas, Wingard, Young

BEST
Richmond: Cotchin, Riewoldt, Houli, Tuck, Jackson, Deledio
Port Adelaide: Brad Ebert, Schulz, Broadbent, Pearce, Boak, Cassisi, Hartlett

Crowd: 27,893 at the MCG

Summary: The clash between Richmond and Port Adelaide produced the only draw of the 2012 home-and-away season. The Tigers trailed by three goals late in the third quarter, but regained control with Trent Cotchin brilliant through the midfield, and Jack Riewoldt up forward, to lead by two goals at the 20-minute mark of the final term. Port fought back to level the scores with just 21 seconds to go. Riewoldt finished the match with six goals to clinch his second Coleman Medal.

Damien Hardwick: “We didn’t play anywhere near well enough on the day. We were sluggish early and it sort of summed up our season – not quite good enough when we needed to be. They ground it out, managed to get our nose in front, lost a couple of troops along the way, but just couldn’t quite get the result we were after.”