Richmond completed an impressive second pre-season match simulation against Melbourne at Casey Fields on Friday afternoon, in front of a strong Tiger Army who showed up in voice and numbers.
Laura McClelland and Libby Graham got to work early, applying elite pressure in defence, while Dana East and Beth Lynch laid impressive tackles that resulted in two holding the ball decisions.
Mon Conti was up to her usual tricks early, showing off her improved running skills and feeding the ball from Ally Dallaway to Olivia Wolmarans.
The second quarter saw the emergence of Irish recruit Ana Mulholland, who running amok along the wings, feeding the ball confidently to Maddie Shevlin on the run.
Just a minute later, Richmond's breakthrough came, with Conti snapping a brilliant goal, working her way through the chaos of the Demons' defence to put the scoreboard pressure on.
The intensity quickly lifted, with Lynch again applying pressure, while Poppy Kelly played her role strongly in the ruck.
Meantime, impressive end-to-end play that began from Aoibhin Cleary, found the ball in co-captain Ellie McKenzie's hands, who fed into Charli Wicksteed, who slotted it perfectly to key forward Caitlin Greiser, who kicked Richmond's second truly.
Just a minute later, the ball was in Greiser's hands again, this time just 10 metres out. The perfect clearance play handed the Tigers' their third straight goal of the match before the main break.
With three goals to Richmond's name at half-time, the Tigers managed to keep Melbourne goalless in the second term, an impressive feat.
Greiser took a solid mark to start the second half, but the Dees kept pushing, kicking an early goal and nabbing the lead back.
But it wasn't long before a sneaky Sierra Grieves found her way to the big sticks, kicking truly to give Richmond a two-point lead, while finishing off her team's strong efforts to feed the ball inside-50.
Georgia Stubs patrolled the half-back line in the third, while Sarah Hosking took on contest after contest with ease and a confidence she has been building all pre-season.
A left foot snap on the run, out of a Dees-heavy pack, awarded Grieves with her second of the day, after a scintillating pick up dragged the Tigers back in front, following smooth movement through traffic from McKenzie.
Despite a gallant third quarter effort, Melbourne managed to pile on four majors, taking a six-point lead at the final break, while Richmond added two goals to its tally.
The fourth quarter saw a sea-sawing affair, but the Tigers broke the lock at the halfway mark, with Grieves' elite footwork around the contest on display again.
She would go on to feed the ball to a fast-moving Mackenzie Ford, who wiggled her way through traffic to kick the Tigers' sixth major, and nab the lead back.
Richmond gave it a final push, but it was the Dees who kicked two late goals to seal a narrow victory at Casey Fields.
The Tigers now head over the Perth to take on Fremantle in its official AFLW practice match next Saturday at East Fremantle Oval. The match is set for 10.30am (local time), 12.30pm (AEST), and will be live streamed on the Richmond website and app.
Richmond 0.0 3.1 5.1 6.6 (42)
Melbourne 2.2 2.5 5.7 7.7 (49)
Goalkickers: Greiser (2), Grieves (2), Ford, Conti
