Tigers have top four in sight but season may be setting for Suns

The top four is in sight for Richmond after the AFL reigning premiers outlasted a gutsy Gold Coast Suns at the Gabba.

Richmond’s Kamdyn McIntosh, left, and Dustin Martin celebrate against the Suns at the Gabba. Picture: Getty Images

The top four is in sight for Richmond after the AFL reigning premiers outlasted a gutsy Gold Coast Suns at the Gabba on Monday night.

Drawing the curtain on 20-straight days of games, the AFL’s festival of footy ended with a nailbiter, with the Tigers doing enough to bounce back from their loss to Port Adelaide in the last round and clinch their sixth win in eight games.

Richmond remains sixth on the ladder but is now just two points outside the top four with five regular season games left, starting with Saturday’s clash with Essendon in Darwin.

After coming off second best against Port in one of the games of the season, the Tigers had to dig deep to secure their sixth straight win over the Suns, who held a 10-point lead at halftime.

Jack Riewoldt and Tom Lynch both kicked two majors for Richmond, still unbeaten in Queensland this season.

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The Suns — led by the inspirational teenager Noah Anderson (26 touches) on Monday — have now gone five games without a win.

Lynch faces an anxious wait after what appeared to be a punch to Sam Collins’ stomach late on in the game.

In an incident that is sure to come under the match review officer’s scrutiny, Lynch lashed out at Collins before marking and kicking a crucial fourth term major that gave Richmond some much-needed breathing space.

Tigers coach Damien Hardwick believes Richmond will need to win all of its remaining games to clinch a top-four spot, and the Tigers had their work cut out if they were to launch a title defence judging by their display at the Gabba.

“We will probably have to win every game to make the top four I reckon,” he said.

“It’s certainly achievable. We have some quality guys coming back in the not too distant future we are going to have to play a bit better than we did tonight.

“Hopefully we can play a better brand than we did tonight.”

Richmond’s Tom Lynch scuffles with Sam Collins of the Suns at the Gabba. Picture: Getty Images

Hardwick was more tightlipped on Lynch.

“There was a lot of argy bargy at various stages. Tom is hard at the ball, hard at the man, that’s how he plays,”he said.

Asked about Lynch’s aggression, Hardwick said: “If you give some you take some.

“That is the reality of the nature of the game. It’s a combative sport.

“We want our guys to play aggressive, assertive footy. We don’t want them to go over the line but sometimes they will which is unfortunate.”

The match loomed as a yardstick for just how far the Suns have come this season. And Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew would have liked what he saw despite his side falling short.

The Suns clung on to keep scores level by the first break before dominating the second — winning eight of the first nine clearances – to limit Richmond to just one behind and take a 10-point lead.

The last time the teams played, last July, Richmond led by 84 points at the main break with 23 scoring shots.

But the Suns still fell short against the Tigers on Monday in a result that may come back to haunt them as they make a last-gasp push for the finals.

Gold Coast now sit in 13th spot and six points adrift of the top eight with five regular season games remaining, starting with Friday’s clash against a rejuvenated Carlton in Darwin.

It is another frustrating result after the Suns promised so much when they won three straight when the competition resumed in June.

Still, it has been a vastly improved Gold Coast that has emerged this year, unearthing the likes of Anderson, Rising Star favourite Izak Rankine, promising key forward Ben King and Josh Budarick along with star midfielder Matt Rowell, before he cruelly suffered a season-ending shoulder injury.

And the Suns look set to welcome back David Swallow and Jarrod Harbrow next round after the key players were rested against the Tigers.