There's good news and there's bad news. The good news is that the Tigers are back on the winners list with a gritty one point nailbiter against Sydney. Richmond set up the win with a 2nd and 3rd quarter performance reminscent of their early season form. The bad news is that they frittered away a 44 point lead in the 3rd quarter to be almost overturned by the Swans. They went back into a defensive mode for some of the 3rd and all of the final quarter and only scored 3 points whilst their opponents kicked more than 7 goals. However a win is a win, no matter the margin and Richmond needed it badly. Winning a close game also gives a side self belief.

There had been promises during the half season break that changes would be made to the side and that players would be made more accountable. The initial decisions made at the selection table were baffling at best and gutless at worst. There does not seem to be any sense in dropping Daniel Jackson, one of the few players to show some spirit and initiative against Adelaide, one can only wonder what sort of message this sends to a promising young player. The omission of Shane Morrison was a complete no brainer. He only came in because Ray Hall was injured and Ray was fit and reincluded for this game, but Morrison played against Adelaide as if it was the first time he had ever actually seen a football, all that game did was get him a one way ticket to delisting. The dropping of Greg Stafford did send a message to the big man that substandard performances will not be tolerated, however the message was negated by the need to put him back in again when Trent Knobel went down with a dose of the flu, however Stafford did prove by his performance that he had heeded the message being sent. Raines and Hyde both suffered unspecified injuries and their spots were taken by the exciting Richard Tambling and Rory Hilton. Rookie listed player Will Thursfield was picked for his debut. Brent Hartigan also returned.

For once the Tigers began quickly although they were inaccurate. The Swans worked their way back on the scoreboard, but Richmond were the better side and took a slender lead into the break. Early in the 2nd term Sydney actually took the lead, but the Tigers wrested it back and jumped away through goals to multiple players, including a vintage Matthew Richardson one from outside 50 on the boundary. With a 32 point lead at halftime Richmond looked the goods. The 3rd term saw the Tigers full of running and confidence skipping out to a 44 point lead with 10 minutes left on the clock following a Rory Hilton soccer effort. The Fat Lady was tuning up and then the Swans came back, still 33 points behind at 3 quarter time. The last quarter was all red and white with a defensive Richmond desperately clinging to their lead and Sydney finishing fast. With two minutes to go Rory Hilton had a shot at goal to give Richmond a 7 point lead, he missed and the Swans took the ball into their forward line and kicked a point. Somehow Richmond managed to keep possession for the next minute and hung for a one point victory.

Player review:

1. Rory Hilton, a late inclusion, only had minimal time on the ground, but did manage to kick one very opportunistic goal and could argue that his point in the last quarter won the game

2. Darren Gaspar, superb performance, completely shut down Swans key forward Barry Hall and held him goalless.

3. Brett Deledio, in and out of play, with his speed and ability to find time and space even in tight situations standing out.

5. Troy Simmonds, only played a cameo role at best. Spent most of his time in the forward line, still needs to work on his field kicking.

6. Mark Chaffey, quite possibly his best game of the season. Shut out Sydney playmaker Paul Williams while gathering a lot of ball himself.

9. Wayne Campbell, although he's aging and this may be his last season he more than earns his spot each week.

10. Greg Stafford, heeded the call to perform or be omitted. Very influential in the ruck and played a lone hand there with the absence of Knobel and Simmonds spending most of his game in the forward line.

11. Joel Bowden, played his usual sweeping role from half back and even drifted forward for a lovely goal from well outside 50.

12. Matthew Richardson, another 4 goal performance and could have kicked more. Why this man never gets the credit he deserves I will never know.

15. Kayne Pettifer, very prominent early, kicked a useful goal. Faded later, but put his body in and did tackle more which was pleasing to see.

17. Kane Johnson, started off well, marshalling the midfield. Unfortunately twinged a medial knee ligament and although he did return his influence was limited.

20. Ray Hall, with his return the backline takes on another dimension. This showed how much he was missed and why he is severely underrated.

21. Shane Tuck, played an interchangeable role with Mark Coughlan. Both were good and hard to separate as to who was better.

24. Mark Coughlan, back in town. On the bottom of every pack, fought hard to win the ball and always moved it forward.

27. Andrew Krakouer, best on ground without a shadow of doubt. 3 goals, numerous assists and a career high 23 possessions. Someone gave him a huge kick up the backside during the break.

30. Richard Tambling, the excitement machine returns. Although he only kicked the one goal a nice effort after the half time siren, he always looks dangerous every time he goes near the ball.

32. Greg Tivendale, he didn't make many mistakes, but he also didn't get much of the ball. I don't see why he was selected.

33. Brent Hartigan, great to see him return. Only used sparingly and given that he's coming back from a bad hamstring injury that's sensible use of a young player.

34. Mark Graham, only seen in glimpses. He is not justifying taking up a spot that could go to a youngster.

35. Chris Newman, fantastic game. The whole backline was good, but Newman took it to another level. Was in defence, middle and even forward briefly. Love to see him spend some extended time in the centre of the ground.

36. Will Thursfield, nice game from the rookie. Very prolific early and had a cool head, that he was playing on Sydney star Michael O'Loughlin only underlined that the Tigers may have uncovered a defender of the future.

39. Andrew Kellaway, rebounded hard and often. His willingness to put his body on the line was one of the reasons that Richmond won the game.