The WESTERN Bulldogs have snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat against Richmond at Telstra Dome, with a Will Minson goal with 14 seconds remaining tying the scores 19.16 (130) to 20.10 (130) after Richmond appeared home with just minutes remaining.
The Dogs, who remain unbeaten after five rounds, led at half time only for Richmond to take control in the second half.
Back-to-back goals to Matthew Richardson and Nathan Brown's third for the match saw the Tigers scamper 24 points clear at the eight-minute mark of the final quarter. The Dogs then roared back into contention with goals to Daniel Giansiracusa, Ryan Griffin and Minson to get to within seven points, but Richmond steadied with Jack Riewoldt's third for the game.
Troy Simmonds' only goal of the afternoon at the 20-minute mark appeared to have ended the contest, putting the Tigers 19 points clear, but goals to Daniel Cross and Robert Murphy brought the Dogs back to a single kick with two minutes remaining. Enter Minson, who kicked truly from a set shot after teammate Brian Lake took a mark but was unable to take his kick. A mad scramble ensued at the next centre bounce, with neither side getting a shot on goal in the desperate last seconds.
The hugely entertaining match featured seven lead changes and 39 goals, and while the Dogs can count themselves lucky to escape with a draw, they'll rue their first-quarter inaccuracy, where they kicked 4.10.
Richmond booted six goals to three in the third term to turn for home 12 points clear, with all six goals coming from individual goalkickers. Scores were tied on two occasions in the quarter before Shane Edwards' second for the match gave the Tigers the lead at the 17-minute mark, the seventh lead change of the match.
A Riewoldt goal with 20 seconds to play in the term, his second for the game, gave Richmond a 15.8 (98) to 12.14 (86) lead at the final change.
The Dogs led by eight points at quarter-time and again at the main break, rueing their inaccuracy after having 20 scoring shots to 11 in the first half, which featured six lead changes.
The Dogs led 9.11 (65) to 9.2 (57) at the half after a series of runs by both teams. The Dogs started the second term with two straight goals to captain Brad Johnson before Richmond kicked four in a row, two of them to former Bulldog Brown. The Dogs then answered with three goals in three minutes, the last of them from a barnstorming run through the middle by Adam Cooney, who had 12 first-half possessions.
The Dogs wasted a good start with a 4.10 return in the first quarter, with Scott Welsh the main offender with 0.3. The lead changed hands four times in the quarter, with a goal from Bulldogs ruckman Ben Hudson after the siren increasing the Dogs' quarter-time lead to eight points.
For the Dogs, Matthew Boyd had 29 touches and Cross 24, with Lindsay Gilbee and Minson kicking three goals, the last the most crucial of his career. For the despondent Tigers, Brown, Richardson and Riewoldt all kicked three goals, while Kane Johnson had 25 possessions.
Western Bulldogs 4.10 9.11 12.14 19.16 (130)
Richmond 4.2 9.3 15.8 20.10 (130)
GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Gilbee 3 Minson 3 Johnson 2 Lake Hudson Hill Cooney Akermanis Hahn Hargrave Giansiracusa Griffen Cross Murphy
Richmond: Richardson 3 Riewoldt 3 Brown 3 Morton 2 Deledio 2 Edwards 2 Hyde White Polak Schulz Simmonds
BEST
Western Bulldogs: Boyd Cooney Cross Hargrave Murphy
Richmond: Richardson Johnson Simmonds Brown King
INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Lake (back spasm), Johnson (calf)
Richmond: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Meredith, Ryan, Armstrong
Official crowd: 37,767 at Telstra Dome
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
