TRENT Cotchin has produced an outstanding captain's game to lead Richmond to a 19-point win over Collingwood at the MCG on Thursday night.

Cotchin had 26 possessions, kicked two goals and laid two crucial tackles in the last quarter as the Tigers won 14.15 (99) to 11.14 (80).

It is only the third time since 1995 that the Tigers have won their opening two games of the season.

The last time was 2013, when they returned to the finals.

Five talking points: Richmond v Collingwood

Collingwood only had itself to blame - for the second week in a row the Pies paid dearly for goalkicking inaccuracy.

It is the first time they have made a 0-2 start to the season since 2005 and in Nathan Buckley's time as coach.

This is a crucial season for both Buckley and Richmond coach Damien Hardwick.

As the Pies repeatedly blew scoring chances, Buckley hit the wall in frustration and anger.

Richmond star Dustin Martin was not as dominant as round one, but he kicked the last two goals of the match to seal the result.

Hardwick praises Cotchin's 'huge' last term

Collingwood ruckman Brodie Grundy also starred and, along with captain Scott Pendlebury, helped bring his team to within 10 points twice late in the game, but the Tigers held firm, kicking five goals to four in the last quarter.

Scores were level at quarter-time and, while Richmond looked better through the midfield, Collingwood's defence remained solid and, finally, the Magpies broke the deadlock.

They found key forward Darcy Moore by himself deep inside 50 and he goaled to give them back the lead.

Then Chris Mayne marked and goaled on the half-time siren and Collingwood had a handy 10-point advantage.

The Magpies extended their lead to 17 points early in the third term, but Richmond rallied as the game opened up.

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Well held by Tyson Goldsack through the first half, star Tigers forward Jack Riewoldt kicked two third-term goals.

Small forward Daniel Rioli also became more prominent as the Magpies kept blowing their chances.

The Tigers nearly tripled their score in the third quarter, kicking 6.3 to 3.4 and led by seven points at the last change.

Richmond ruck-forward Ben Griffiths was forced out of the game when he landed heavily in a third-term marking contest.

Hardwick later confirmed that Griffiths had suffered concussion.

The Tigers coach was pleased his team was able to grind out the scrappy win.

"We certainly won't be rushing to the video store to get that first half on tape," he said.

"The struggle between the two clubs was pretty high tonight and we were lucky to probably come out (winning) at the end of it, but we'll take a lot out of it."

Many Tigers had average nights, but Hardwick was particularly impressed that his team never relented.

"Everyone stood up at a certain stage ... it's exciting for our fans to see that," he said.

"We have more players who are capable of doing that now, which is important."

Buckley was left lamenting Collingwood's inability to put more pressure on Richmond when his side had the lead.

"We had our struggles forward of the ball again - we held up OK ... (but) we were never looking like we were on top of the ground or able to get much momentum," he said.

"We had a bit of a gap and then we let it go in the third quarter and got run over.

"Our ball use was not what we train ... (and) we just didn't play with the dare that we'd like.

"It invited a really dour game."

Richmond's Shaun Grigg made the most of the controversial new rule banning the third man up in the ruck contest to gain a crucial free kick in the last quarter.

Grigg kicked a goal from the free and Buckley said the incident was costly.

MEDICAL ROOM
Richmond: Tall forward Ben Griffiths is the main concern for the Tigers after he suffered concussion in the third quarter, ending his night. Dustin Martin injured the right side of his face when bumping opponent James Aish in the first quarter, playing out the game with a black eye. The club checked him for facial injuries but let him play on and coach Damien Hardwick was not concerned about any serious damage. 

Ben Griffiths was motionless for a while on Thursday night. Picture: AFL Photos


Collingwood: Tall forward Jesse White left the ground in the first quarter after injuring his right knee, placing ice on the kneecap in a short spell off the ground. He returned within 10 minutes, however, and played the match out. The Magpies had no other concerns. 

NEXT UP
Richmond hosts West Coast at the MCG next Saturday and will be aiming to go 3-0 for the first time since 2013. Collingwood will be under pressure to find its first win in hostile territory, travelling to tackle Sydney on Friday night at the SCG, where they have played just twice since 2000.        

RICHMOND         2.4   5.5    9.8    14.15 (99)
COLLINGWOOD  2.4   5.10  7.13   11.14 (80)

GOALS
Richmond: Riewoldt 2, Cotchin 2, Martin 2, Rioli, Lennon, Houli, Ellis, Edwards, Caddy, Butler, Grigg
Collingwood: Hoskin-Elliott 3, White 2, Treloar 2, Moore, Broomhead, Mayne, Grundy 

BEST 
Richmond: Cotchin, Rance, Grimes, Houli, Lennon, Martin, Nankervis
Collingwood: Grundy, Hoskin-Elliott, Pendlebury, Treloar, Adams 

INJURIES 
Richmond: Griffiths (head)
Collingwood: Nil

Reports: Nil

Umpires: DeBoy, Schmitt, Kamolins

Official crowd: 58,236 at the MCG