Finetuned Tigers roar back to form

Richmond regained their signature spark around the contest and defensive muscle against the outclassed Demons.

Tigers star Dustin Martin wrestles with Michael Hibberd for position Picture: Michael Klein

Damien Hardwick spent the week in his overalls fiddling around with his jumper leads.

Not for the first time, the Tigers’ engine had been slow to start this year.

But just as the club prepares to hub it up in Queensland, Richmond regained that signature spark around the contest and defensive muscle which had been strangely missing in its back-to-back losses.

You saw it as Kane Lambert laid a desperate smother on Joel Smith in the third term and then snapped his second goal to keep the foot on Melbourne’s throat in the 27-point win at the MCG.

He was best on ground, Lambert in his 100th game, kicking three goals.

But the victory could come at a significant cost as ruckman Toby Nankervis injured his ankle and went off in the third term, Prestia went down late with a serious-looking ankle problem, Trent Cotchin nicked his hamstring and Tom lynch hurt his right hand but battled on.

It meant the Tigers were down to one man on the bench late as the Dees produced their best footy late.

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For all of the talk about which premiership Tigers will or won’t head to the hub, what mattered most was that Richmond rediscovered its trademark energy, defensive intensity and surge mentality in the triumph.

And as Hardwick touched on during the week, some of the top-line Tigers who had been down on form finally worked their way into the game.

Superstar Dustin Martin was dangerous forward on Michael Hibberd, Jack Riewoldt was busy early on the lead, and Prestia and Cotchin sprang back to life before their injuries. Jake Aarts showed some tenacity in his first game.

For the other side, Bailey Fritsch is Melbourne’s best forward.

The man from Coldstream in the Yarra Valley has springs in his legs and his speed and marking power is making him a nightmare match up for rivals.

When he reeled in a beauty on Nick Vlastuin midway through the fourth term and kicked his second the Demons had cut the lead to 16 points and were threatening to make a serious challenge.

But while Kysaiah Pickett took a fly at mark of the year, Mitch Hannan had some moments and Tom McDonald also kicked an important goal early in the fourth term, connection in the forward half continues to be a headache for coach Simon Goodwin.

It leaves the Demons in a hole already in the bottom four with only one win from four games after sinking to second-last last season.

The question is, how restless will the Demons’ faithful get?

When Christian Petracca lit up the first term with 14 possessions, you thought it could be a landmark day for the Demons.

Paired up against Martin early, Petracca sizzled with his powerful bursts helping crack open the contest with the most prolific first term of the season.

But his impact faded and his close mate Clayton Oliver rued a poor kick in the middle of the ground in the second term which went straight to opponent Liam Baker.