1. Cloke steps up and delivers
Collingwood players Nathan Brown and Tyson Goldsack suggested in interviews during the week that Travis Cloke was "not far away" from grabbing a game by the scruff of the neck. It turned out they were right on the money, as Cloke had his best game for 2015 against the Tigers. The Pies spearhead kicked 3.1 for the day – a fair improvement on his recent accuracy in front of goal – but it was his work-rate to keep presenting that was the most impressive facet of his game. With Elton for company early and then Rance later on, Cloke hauled in a team-high 10 marks. The Magpies spearhead has had plenty of doubters early in the season, but he took some big steps to silencing those commentators who have been critical of his game.
2. O'Neal eases the pressure on Hardwick
After a lacklustre start to 2015, in which his side fell to two wins and four losses after the first six rounds, the blowtorch was quick to hone in on Richmond coach Damien Hardwick. With the external noise surrounding Hardwick, who is contracted until the end of the 2016 season, picking up in recent weeks, O'Neal used her president's speech to reiterate the club's united front: "We don’t make reactive decisions based on the latest view in the media or in the vocal minority," she said. The Tigers president went on to say that Richmond would not be deterred from its overall plan, "It’s a strategy that requires us to stay the course for a very long time." A win against fellow powerhouse Collingwood on Sunday is also a welcome sight.
3. Leadership personified from Deledio and Cotchin
Richmond has often been criticised for a perceived lack of on-field leadership in the past. But with the game in the balance, it was skipper Trent Cotchin and vice-captain Brett Deledio who took the reins and delivered when it mattered most for the Tigers. Cotchin had 11 disposals in a pulsating final term, working from contest to contest and leading from the front as a captain should do. Deledio kicked two crucial goals in the final term and battled through the calf complaint that has limited him early this season. It was the kind of individual efforts that Richmond has been crying out for after it started the season with two wins and four losses. Deledio told Channel 7 after the game that the players were to blame for their sluggish start and that they all wanted to pull through for a memorable victory to get behind under-the-pump coach Damien Hardwick.
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4. Hardwick's first-quarter gamble doesn't pay off
When things aren't working, try something new. At least that was the motto Damien Hardwick decided to adopt in the first quarter. Hardwick threw caution to the wind and started second gamer Todd Elton in defence on Collingwood spearhead Travis Cloke. That meant Alex Rance, arguably the best full-back in the League, spent the bulk of the first quarter playing as a tall ruck rover. Forward Jack Riewoldt also started in the centre square for one centre bounce. Rance, who at times was the third-man up at stoppages, had just three disposals through the midfield while Cloke took six marks and kicked one goal to be the most influential forward on the ground in the first term. Hardwick's decision was gutsy, but it's fair to say the experiment didn't work as the Magpies dominated the first term to kick four goals to Richmond's one.
5. Back to basics works wonders for the Tigers
Needing to weather the first quarter Collingwood storm, it was a more conventional Richmond that came charging back into the contest in the second term. The Tigers went back to basics, sending Rance down back to go one-on-one against Cloke and stacked their forward line with Jack Riewoldt, Trent Cotchin (at times), Brett Deledio and Dustin Martin. Their pressure lifted around the ball and they forced the Magpies' defenders, who had an abundance of time and space to deliver the ball forward in the first term, into mistake after mistake. The Tigers slammed on six goals in a row in the second quarter, before Jesse White stemmed the tide with a goal at the 12-minute mark of the second term. The Tigers ended the quarter with three goals in a row to take a 12-point lead at the major break and turn the game on its head.
