RICHMOND has finally killed off Essendon's slim finals hopes with a strong 45-point win, condemning the Bombers to their sixth straight loss.
The Tigers, themselves out of finals contention, ended any chance of the Bombers making the top eight with a comprehensive but wasteful performance, winning 13.24 (102) to 8.9 (57).
Five talking points: Richmond v Essendon
Following the Bombers' 96-point thumping last week at the hands of Carlton, coach James Hird promised a more competitive performance against the Tigers. But, aside from a brief patch in the third term, the Bombers were outclassed and outplayed.
The Bombers have now lost nine of their past 12 games, a fall no more obvious than their inability to compete and keep up with the faster and stronger Tigers on the wider spaces of the MCG.
After the loss, James Hird lamented his side's inability to take risks against the Tigers, a feature seemingly lost for the Bombers as their season has wore on.
"If you're going to play AFL football and kick the ball down the line and kick to a contest the whole time, it's too easy to work out," Hird said.
"We didn’t take the game on and that's probably the most disappointing part from my point of view."
The win was Richmond's 10th of the season, a landmark not previously reached under coach Damien Hardwick and another indication of its development this year. Although inefficient in attack, Hardwick was pleased but won't be putting the win down as one of the club's finest.
"Our ability to finish our work probably wasn't one of the prettiest things," Hardwick said.
"It probably wasn't our best work on the night, we kicked 20-odd points and the wind was relatively swirly out there as we know.
"The thing that was a little bit disappointing was our composure to get the ball inside 50 to a marking target. We've just got to improve in that area."
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The victory was built on run and drive from defence - half-backs Brett Deledio and Bachar Houli combined for 59 disposals - and a hunger for the contest that outweighed the Bombers.
Jack Riewoldt missed his chance to move to the top of the Coleman Medal leaderboard, kicking three goals and five behinds. He now sits one goal behind Fremantle captain Matthew Pavlich, who is expected to play against North Melbourne on Sunday.
Veteran Richmond midfielder Shane Tuck was industrious with 32 disposals, while Trent Cotchin was again impressive with 31 touches. However, Cotchin was also wasteful in front of goal, kicking five behinds - something that could cost him votes in his charge to Brownlow Medal glory.
The star pair's inaccuracy was emblematic of the Tigers' issues.
After a dominant start, they should have had the game sealed at half-time. By the main break, Richmond had 42 inside 50 entries (on track to break the all-time record) to Essendon's 23, and had also almost doubled the Bombers in scoring shots.
But they didn't make the most of it and Essendon, after a few changes, emerged looking more dangerous in the third quarter.
Courtenay Dempsey was moved into the midfield to provide some spark, while Michael Hurley was shifted to the backline and added poise under pressure.
Alex Browne also started to find space on both wings and created much-needed overlap.
Three of the first four goals of the third quarter got the Bombers within 18 points. However, it was short-lived, with Richmond re-establishing dominance and eventually winning the quarter and doing the same in the last term to post a comfortable victory.
The win was slightly soured by a hamstring injury to midfielder Matt White, who was subbed out of the game in the second quarter. Essendon's soft-tissue curse continued, too, with Alwyn Davey also subbed off in the second term with a hamstring strain and Nathan Lovett-Murray also appearing to hurt his hamstring.
RICHMOND 5.5 8.11 12.16 13.24 (102)
ESSENDON 3.2 4.6 7.9 8.9 (57)
GOALS
Richmond: Riewoldt 3, Edwards 2, McGuane 2, Astbury, Deledio, Grigg, Martin, Nahas, O'Hanlon
Essendon: Monfries 3, Browne, Gumbleton, Hurley, Jetta, O'Brien
BEST
Richmond: Tuck, Cotchin, Deledio, Houli, Jackson, Edwards, Riewoldt, O'Hanlon
Essendon: Heppell, Monfries, Hibberd, Crameri
INJURIES
Richmond: White (hamstring)
Essendon: Davey (hamstring), Crameri (shoulder)
SUBSTITUTES
Richmond: Brett O'Hanlon replaced Matt White in the second quarter
Essendon: Jake Melksham replaced Alwyn Davey in the second quarter
Reports: Shane Edwards (Richmond) reported for striking Angus Monfries in the third quarter.
Umpires: Nicholls, McInerney, Mollison
Official crowd: 47,590 at the MCG
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
