Richmond FC’s 2017 season, rounds 1-6

4 min read·October 03, 2017 - 8:51AM

Herald Sun

A 70m torpedo from Dustin Martin, roaring leadership from Trent Cotchin, Jack Riewoldt the hero and the world takes notice.

ROUND 1

Richmond 20.12 (132) d Carlton 14.5 (89)

Thursday, March 23 at MCG

Summary:

Richmond started brilliantly but there were some nervous moments when Carlton cut a 44-point halftime margin to 25 at the final change. Enter Dustin Martin. He set up the first two goals of the last quarter, including one with a 70m torpedo, to ensure the Tigers won their fourth-straight Round 1 blockbuster.

Goals
Richmond: Martin 4, Castagna 2, Butler 2, Nankervis 2, Rioli 2, Caddy, Edwards, Grigg, Riewoldt, Cotchin, Lloyd, Prestia, Vlastuin
Carlton: Weitering 3, Wright 3, Kreuzer 2, Silvagni 2, Casboult, Gibbs, Armfield, Thomas
Best
Richmond: Martin, Prestia, Cotchin, Castagna, Butler, Conca
Carlton : Murphy, Weitering, Gibbs, Docherty, Marchbank, Kreuzer

I think we kicked 11 goals from forward-half turnovers, which is a number we haven’t had for a long time. To see our forwards and mids put on the pressure they did, and our backs capture those errors, was a great sight I think for our fans - Damien Hardwick:

READ THE FULL ROUND 1 REPORT

ROUND 2

Richmond 14.15 (99) d Collingwood 11.14 (80)

Thursday, March 30 at the MCG

Summary:

The Tigers trailed by five points at halftime and 17 points during the third quarter but roared home led by captain Trent Cotchin, who had 16 disposals and kicked two goals. Dustin Martin added two of his own to seal the win.

Goals
Richmond: Riewoldt 2, Cotchin 2, Martin 2, Rioli, Lennon, Houli, Ellis, Edwards, Caddy, Butler, Grigg
Collingwood: Hoskin-Elliott 3, White 2, Treloar 2, Moore, Broomhead, Mayne, Grundy
Best
Richmond: Cotchin, Rance, Grimes, Houli, Lennon, Martin, Nankervis
Collingwood: Grundy, Hoskin-Elliott, Pendlebury, Treloar, Adams

Everyone stood up at a certain stage … it’s exciting for our fans to see that. We have more players who are capable of doing that now, which is important - Damien Hardwick

READ THE FULL ROUND 2 REPORT

Toby Nankervis: Picture George Salpigtidis

Jack Riewoldt: Picture: Wayne Ludbey

Pendlebury & Cotchin. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

ROUND 3

Richmond 11.10 (76) d West Coast Eagles 8.17 (65)

Saturday, April 8 at the MCG

Summary:

The footy world started to take notice after the Tigers knocked off the fancied Eagles to make it 3-0 for the first time since 2013. Daniel Butler kicked a brilliant goal after a three-bounce run but Daniel Rioli topped it with an incredible banana kick from the boundary that was later crowned Goal of the Year.

Goals
Richmond: Martin 2, Butler 2, Rioli 2, Lambert, Houli, Castagna, Grigg, Riewoldt
West Coast: LeCras 3, Kennedy 2, Hutchings, Darling, Cripps
Best
Richmond: Martin, Cotchin, Conca, Butler, Castagna, Riewoldt
West Coast: Gaff, Shuey, LeCras, Priddis, Masten, Nelson
Crowd: 42,532
Ladder position: 2nd
Flag odds: $21

I thought we challenged our boys a little bit at halftime and I thought all our leaders stood tall – Trent, Jack, Alex, then Dusty came to the fore as well. It was really pleasing.” – Damien Hardwick

READ THE FULL ROUND 3 REPORT

Dan Butler

Rnd 3 v West Coast

Rnd 4: Bell on Conca

ROUND 4

Brisbane Lions 10.7 (67) d Richmond 17.17 (119)

Sunday, April 16 at the Gabba

Summary:

The Tigers led from start to finish on the way to a 52-point win. Mitch Robinson kept Dustin Martin quiet for the first time this season, but it didn’t stop the Tigers achieving their first 4-0 season start since 1995.
Goals
Richmond: Riewoldt 4, Castagna 4, Rioli 2, Grimes, Nankervis, Menadue, Cotchin, Grigg, Caddy, Butler
Brisbane Lions: Hipwood 2, Zorko 2, D. Beams 2, Bell, Schache, Taylor, Robinson

Best
Richmond: Cotchin, Riewoldt, Grigg, Prestia, Castagna, Rioli
Brisbane Lions: Rockliff, Martin, Robinson, Mayes, D. Beams, Gardiner
Crowd: 21,669
Ladder position: 3rd
Flag odds: $21

Outside the footy club things will be beat up, but the reality is we’re four rounds into a long season. So we’ve just to make sure we keep our eye on the ball.” - Damien Hardwick

READ THE FULL ROUND 4 REPORT

ROUND 5

Richmond 12.16 (88) d Melbourne 11.9 (75)

Monday, April 24 at the MCG

Summary:

Richmond looked gone for all money at three-quarter time before storming home with a five goal to zero last quarter to claim victory in front of a monster Anzac Eve crowd. Jack Riewoldt was the hero, with two of his six goals coming in the final term.
Goals
Richmond: Riewoldt 6, Castagna, Butler, Grigg, Rioli, Martin, Caddy
Melbourne: Hogan 3, Garlett 2, McDonald, Watts, Petracca, Salem, Hibberd, Hunt
Best
Richmond: Riewoldt, Nankervis, Martin, Houli, Grigg, Caddy, Cotchin
Melbourne: Oliver, Hibberd, Hunt, N Jones, Frost, Petracca
Crowd: 85,657
Ladder position: 3rd
F lag odds: $19
Melbourne to their credit is very good around the scrimmages and they were outstanding being down two players tonight. We were fortunate to come out on top and there’s no doubt it would have been pretty damning to go up against - Damien Hardwick

READ THE FULL ROUND 5 REPORT

ROUND 6

Adelaide 21.14 (140) d Richmond 11.9 (64)

Saturday, May 6 at Adelaide Oval

Summary:

The Tigers started brightly in the top-of-the-ladder clash and led by nine points at quarter-time before being swamped by a Crows tsunami, conceding 13 goals in the second and third quarters.
Goals
Adelaide: Walker 5, Lynch 3, Sloane 3, Cameron 2, Jenkins, Betts, Douglas, Jacobs, Smith, M Crouch, Otten, Milera
R ichmond: Rioli 2, Riewoldt 2, Markov 2, Butler, Martin, Lambert, Houli
Best
Adelaide: Sloane, M Crouch, Jacobs, Lynch, Walker, Laird
Richmond: Cotchin, Martin, Lambert, Nankervis
Crowd: 51,069
Ladder position: 4th
Flag odds: $26

We are not that far off the pace … But we had a lot of passengers tonight to be fair. We’ve played the No. 1 team in the AFL — and we’ll take a lesson from that - Damien Hardwick

READ THE FULL ROUND REPORT