The Tigers led by two points at half time after a brilliant eight-goal burst in the second term.
But they were smashed in the second half and went down 24.13 (157) to 14.5 (89).
The 68-point point loss keeps the Tigers in 15th spot while the Bulldogs remain on track for a top-four finish, sitting third on the ladder.
“That’s modern footy,” Wallace said after the match. “If you can’t hang on to the footy you can’t win.”
Richmond will announce its caretaker coach on Saturday but he’ll start his tenure with a club facing a 2-9 record and have some serious pieces to pick up after last night’s loss.
Friday night’s game went awry for the Tigers during the third term.
Their two-point half-time lead evaporated quickly as the star-studded Dogs, led by Ryan Griffen and Adam Cooney, hit their straps.
They slammed on seven unanswered goals to effectively end what had been an absorbing contest.
The Tigers found themselves behind by 42 points at the last change and needing a final-term miracle that didn’t come.
Richmond was best served by Daniel Jackson, Chris Newman, Joel Bowden, Shane Tuck and Nathan Foley. Andy Collins was also busy in just his eighth senior game of AFL.
The Bulldogs had winners all over the field with Matthew Boyd, Cooney, Daniel Cross, Shaun Higgins and Jarrod Harbrow leading the way.
Griffen also enjoyed an excellent second half to continue his rise towards the competition’s elite and Stephen Tiller and Dale Morris were solid in defence.
Richmond captain Newman set early the tone for the evening with a couple of goal-saving tackles in the opening 10 minutes.
The first tackle stopped youngster Josh Hill as he was about to snap from 15m out; the second was more memorable when he chased down the deadly left-footer Nathan Eagleton as he was about to launch a running shot from 45m.
The bone-jarring Newman tackle set the Tigers on the attack and the move finished with Ben Cousins finding Mitch Morton in the goalsquare.
Morton converted and it was the start of a purple patch for the sandy-haired West Australian.
He added another two goals for the term himself with Jack Riewoldt getting the other goal for the Tigers.
The Dogs matched Richmond’s score exactly with Higgins enjoying his role in the midfield and their ruck duo of Ben Hudson and Will Minson creating some quality clearances that ended in goals.
The high-scoring second quarter was remarkable for the changing fortunes of each side.
The Dogs jumped away with six of the first eight goals of the term to lead by 27 points but with just over five minutes left on the clock, Richmond struck back.
A contested mark and converted set shot to ruckman Adam Pattison was the catalyst for a five-goal run that saw the Tigers leading at the long change.
Jackson’s work in the centre was the inspiration for the fightback and Troy Simmonds found some vigour at the contests as well.
When Riewoldt booted his third goal for the match in the shadow of half time, it gave the Tigers the lead and they ran from the field in high spirits.
However, they must have known they had the job ahead of them against the third-placed Dogs who had several of their stars down on form.
And so it proved.
The next Richmond era starts next week at the same venue against West Coast.
Richmond 4.2 12.2 12.4 14.5 (89)
Western Bulldogs 4.2 11.6 18.10 24.13 (157)
GOALS
Richmond: Morton 3, Riewoldt 3, Pattison 2, Tuck 2, McMahon, Collins, Polo, Deledio
Western Bulldogs: Hill 4, Higgins 3, Picken 2, Hahn 2, Giansiracusa 2, Johnson 2, Gilbee 2, Ward, Akermanis, Boyd, Hargrave, Griffen, Cooney, Eagleton
BEST
Richmond: Jackson, Foley, Newman, Tuck, Collins
Western Bulldogs: Harbrow, Cooney, Picken, Ward, Higgins, Boyd, Johnson
INJURIES
Richmond: Nil
Western Bulldogs: Robert Murphy (hamstring), replaced in the selected side by Brennan Stack
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Chamberlain, Meredith, McInerney
Official crowd: 36,483 at Docklands
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
