The VFL Tigers secured their third victory of the season on Saturday, defeating Essendon by 17 points in a curtain-raiser to Dreamtime at the ‘G.

Returning to Punt Road for the first time since their Round One victory over North Ballarat, the VFL Tigers narrowly trailed at the first and second quarter breaks, before putting on a scintillating second half display to bring home four well deserved points.

Jake Batchelor came away with the Sir Douglas Nicholls medal, with both coaches deeming his 23 disposal, seven spoil and six mark performance the best on ground for the day.

Richmond Development and VFL Backline Coach Ryan Ferguson sung the praises of the key defender, who he said wasted no time in establishing a dominant presence on the contest.

“He was outstanding from the first minute,” Ferguson said.

“He really held us up, structured us up, and his communication and organisation was absolutely unbelievable.

“From that, his contest really shone through. He rarely got beaten, spoiled some big balls and won some big contested marks.

“He was stellar down there.”

The fixture against the seventh placed Bombers got off to a tight start, with the travelers leading at the main break after the VFL Tigers booted the first three majors of the game.

Jake Aarts began proceedings with a crafty snap out of a tight pack, before a Mabior Chol special from 45 metres out stretched the lead to double digits.

Jacob Townsend then joined in the scoring action, gathering a loose ball from close range and rolling home a classy finish.

However, thanks in no small part to some tireless work out of the middle, Essendon managed to stem the tide of Richmond pressure and took a slender lead into the first break.

Young defender Ryan Garthwaite was valuable in the defensive third, bringing down a series of impressive intercept marks and sending the VFL Tigers on the offensive with his impressive rebound play.

Tom Silvestro, meanwhile, was endearing himself to the Tiger faithful with a spirited performance, chasing down every loose ball and providing relentless pressure to the Bomber’s midfield brigade, while Brandon Wood continued his impressive from from last week with a composed finish from close range.

While Ryan Bathie narrowly missed the chance to take the lead on the half time siren, it was a solitary point that separated the two sides at half-time, both of whom were relentlessly battling for the right to take home VFL Dreamtime bragging rights.

In what is often regarded as the ‘premiership quarter’ the Tigers brought their deadly finishing ability to the fore in the third term, as Bathie and Tyson Stengle both nailed their first and only goals for the day to snatch the lead back.

Ben Lennon, who had been well held by experienced Bombers defender Marty Gleeson, showed his class and experience with a clever finish from a tight angle, as the Bombers desperately tried to turn the momentum back in their favour.

After the Dons managed two quick goals, Wood and Lennon both scrapped to add another major to their own tallies, while Anthony Miles showcased his talent out of the centre, working his way up to 20 disposals at the final break, with four clearances and four tackles for good measure.

However the undoubted moment of the quarter belonged to Chol, who produced a stunning goal with seconds left on the clock to bring the Tiger lead to four goals at the end of the third quarter.

With a looping ball looking all but destined for the boundary, Chol showed extraordinary pace to keep a faint goal-scoring chance alive, before slotting an incredible left-footed effort in from the boundary, and showing the Tiger fans plenty of love in his celebration.

With Chol’s goal sending players and supporters alike into raptures, the momentum continued into the final stanza, where the VFL Tigers showed one more quarter of defensive expertise to bring home the chocolates.

The experience and composure of Batchelor and Steven Morris was on show for all to see, while Daniel Coffield and Hugh Beasley fought until the final siren to keep the Bombers at bay.

A third goal from Lennon and a well taken goal on the run from Miles went a long way in keeping the lead safe, before a late Corey Ellis goal sealed a memorable victory on a special night for the club.

Miles finished the game with an impressive 35 touches, while Oleg Markov's 24 and stand-in-skipper Jacob Ballard’s 23 rounded off a stellar team effort.

The VFL Tigers now look to next Saturday’s clash with sixth-placed Werribee, to be played at Beaconsfield’s Holm Park Recreation Reserve.