The rugged-up, travelling Tiger Army that made the trek out to Casey Fields were treated to a fierce and rugged contest that was alive until the final moments.

Richmond withstood a barnstorming Casey to eventually clinch a tense one-point win, 7.10 (52) to 8.3 (51).

The Tigers held an 18-point lead at three-quarter time, eyeing of its third win for the year from as many starts.

The Demons however had the scent of an upset in their nostrils, as they quickly slammed on four goals to one in the final term.

Casey made its intentions clear in the last quarter, as they exerted their dominance in the air and converted their chances up forward.

The Tigers were scrounging for a goal and Jake Aarts was the man to deliver in the clutch moment.

With the Demons surging, Aarts drilled his set-shot to arrest back a slither of momentum, handing the Tigers an 11-point lead.

Casey was not done yet.

The hosts answered back and trailed by just five points with under six minutes to play.

The Demons levelled the scores a minute later, with the Tigers looking bereft of firepower up forward.

Richmond was handed the advantage via a rushed behind; a lead it wouldn’t surrender.

Ryan Garthwaite played his best game for the year and made the crucial final spoil of the game that halted the Demons' final foray forward.

Connor Menadue was another who stood tall in the final term, swooping on the loose ball created by Garthwaite and calmly kicked to a contest on the Grandstand Wing.

The Tigers were able to lock the ball in the contest as the siren sounded.

This was a win born from fight, and trust in one another.

What made the win more meritorious was the fact Richmond was down two rotations in the second half, and one rotation for 99 per cent of the game.

Jack Graham’s return to VFL football didn’t go as planned as he lasted no more than two minutes before leaving the field with hamstring awareness, which he iced immediately.

Maverick Weller’s return from injury only lasted a half, after he took no further part in the match following half-time with back soreness.

However that did nothing to dampen the spirit or will of this connected Tiger outfit.

Shai Bolton returned after AFL duties, adding silk and spark in gloomy and blustery conditions.

Bolton brought his trick-bag on the road to Casey and slotted the opening goal of the game with customary panache.

The blustery conditions didn’t lend themselves to pretty football, and as the Demons looked to transition through the corridor Steve Morris sprang into action, instigating the turnover.

Richmond surged the ball forward, with Bolton swooping on the crumb; he then ducked, weaved and found space to snap the goal.

He also used his cat-like agility to exert pressure on Casey, be it through the midfield or up-forward, which is a layer of his game that is gaining momentum week by week.

Another who impressed in a rugged opening term was first-year midfielder, Riley Collier-Dawkins.

The towering midfielder was powerful and fierce in the contest, consistently getting his hands free to feed his fellow midfielders on the outside.

With members of his fellow draft class shining at AFL level, Collier-Dawkins produced a performance which made the throng of Tiger faithful stand up and take notice.

Collier-Dawkins has shown flashes of his potential and ability this year, but this was his best, all-round midfield performance for the Club.

Casey cashed in on its aerial ascendency late in the first quarter, finishing with a rush of three goals to take a two-goal lead into the first change.

The Tigers’ usual watertight defence was cracking a little under the Demons’ pressure.

The hosts kicked the opening goal of the second term before the Tigers tightened the screws.

Richmond’s defensive coverage behind its attack returned, and it trapped the ball in its forward half for large chunks of the quarter.

Speedy forward Dan Butler worked into the game after quarter time, having a direct hand in the Tigers’ only goal of the term.

Butler stalked a Casey defender, trapping him holding the ball inside forward 50.

His set-shot held up in the breeze, with the ball falling into the lap of Mabior Chol, who happily snapped the goal from close range.

The Tigers did a lot right in the second term, for very little reward; that changed in the third term.

Jacob Townsend asserted his authority on the contest and had a direct hand in two goals to kickstart the third quarter.

Firstly, Townsend was proactive in a forward contest, swooped on a loose ball and drilled home his first for the day.

He then set up another.

While most players struggled to read the ball in flight, Townsend tracked the drop of the ball superbly.

After clutching a mark in the corridor, he played on swiftly, flicked a handball to Butler, who put the ball into the path of Callum Moore and Chol eventually finished with the goal.

Butler would then scorch past a line of Casey defenders, pump the ball inside 50, crumb it and snap truly in what was a tremendous solo effort.

The Tigers set up the win with a four-goal-to-nil third quarter and then held their nerve in the final term to travel home with the win.

CASEY           3.0       4.1       4.2       8.3 (51)

RICHMOND    1.0       2.5       6.8       7.10 (52)

Goal Kickers:

Casey: Keilty (2), Wale-Buxton (2), White (2), Chandler & Hutchins

Richmond: Chol (2), Aarts, Bolton, Butler, Moore, Townsend