RICHMOND midfielder Jordan McMahon has kicked an after-the-siren goal to seal a thrilling four-point win over Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday afternoon.

The Tigers, who trailed by two points with just under three minutes to play after Ricky Petterd pinched the lead, won 12.14 (86) to 12.10 (82) after McMahon marked 45m out, almost directly in front, as the siren sounded.

The former Bulldog received the ball from Richard Tambling, before sinking his only goal for the day to steal the win from the Demons after a see-sawing contest. 

Every Tiger on the field ran to McMahon after he nailed the goal, while Melbourne players sunk to the ground in disbelief after falling painstakingly short of claiming their fourth win.

Ben Cousins had 27 touches in another impressive outing, Brett Deledio gathered 24 and kicked two goals, while Daniel Jackson had 22 disposals.

McMahon had 23 touches and of course, one goal, while Nathan Brown was lively with three majors.

For Melbourne, James McDonald was best with 28 touches. Cameron Bruce collected 25 disposals, while Matthew Bate was solid up forward and Petterd (25 disposals, two goals) also played well.

It took over nine minutes for the first score in the opening stanza. It eventually went the way of Richmond after Mitch Morton marked and played on to slot his first six-pointer of the afternoon.

Melbourne responded through Neville Jetta, and after some inaccuracy from Jack Riewoldt cost the Tigers their second, Lynden Dunn gave the Demons the lead with a straight kick on the run.

The Tigers had four more opportunities to forge ahead as the term wound down, but managed just four behinds as they whittled the Demons' quarter-time lead down to one point.

It took just 50 seconds for Morton to get the Tigers' first in the second quarter, which was the only goal for seven minutes.

Bate kicked the next after a spate of points to keep the Demons in touch but again, shoddy kicking from both sides kept the match's scoreline moving slowly.

Richmond grabbed two unanswered to move out to an 11-point lead – the second of which came after Cousins cleverly delivered to Brown in the pocket – before Melbourne's Michael Newton kicked a major shortly before the siren.

The half-time difference was five points to Richmond, with Cousins and Jackson highly prolific and Jake King on top of Aaron Davey.

Melbourne opened up in a lively fashion in the third term and nailed two of the first three goals through Brad Miller and Davey – who upped his work rate considerably – before Dean Bailey began to trial some new moves.

He sent defenders Matthew Warnock and James Frawley into attack, and had Miller – at 194cm – pinch-hitting in the ruck.

Dunn provided the other big highlight of the quarter when he snuck a right-foot checkside through from the boundary line to put the Demons nine points clear.

The Tigers clawed back the margin to three points at the final change and drew first blood in the final quarter. Brown kicked the first after beating his opponent – ruckman Paul Johnson – before Tom Hislop was gifted a goal when Jared Rivers fumbled on the goal line.

Melbourne hit back through Nathan Jones, who marked and converted at the 11-minute mark before Miller snared his second six minutes later to regain the Demons' advantage.

Brown and Deledio goaled but the Demons came again through Grimes and Petterd, before McMahon snared the sealer.
 
Both sides have six-day breaks before they face their next opponents, with Melbourne to play North Melbourne at Docklands and Richmond to face the Sydney Swans at the MCG next Sunday.

Melbourne  2.0  4.3  8.7  12.10 (82)
Richmond  1.5  4.8  7.10  12.14 (86)

GOALS
Melbourne: Dunn 2, Miller 2, Petterd 2, Jetta, Bate, Newton, Davey, Jones, Grimes
Richmond: Brown 3, Morton 2, Deledio 2, Vickery, Nahas, Riewoldt, Hislop, McMahon

BEST
Melbourne: McDonald, Bate, Petterd, Whelan, Bruce, Grimes
Richmond: Deledio, Jackson, Brown, Cousins, Edwards, King, McMahon

INJURIES
Melbourne: Morton (illness) replaced in selected side by Spencer, Bennell (knee), Martin (corked calf), Whelan (foot)
Richmond: Nil

REPORTS
King (Richmond) reported by umpire James for wrestling Davey (Melbourne) in the first quarter
Davey (Melbourne) reported by umpire James for wrestling King (Richmond) in the first quarter

Umpires: Farmer, James, Keating
Official crowd: 37,438 at the MCG

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.

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