Richmond returned to the winners' circle with a 52-point victory over Coburg at Piranha Park on Sunday after back-to-back losses, following a powerhouse performance in the second half.
After conceding three of the opening four goals, the Tigers responded with a show of strength in the second and third quarters, pilling on 11 goals to four in the second half with a six-goal-to-two burst in the third quarter providing the impetus for a comfortable victory.
Jake Aarts and Noah Cumberland put their hand up for an AFL recall with four and three goals respectively, while Jack Ross found plenty of the ball with 34 disposals and Riley Collier-Dawkins notched up 25 touches.
The Tigers ran out winners 15.14.104 to 7.10.52.
Former Richmond VFL footballer Massimo D'Ambrosio made his AFL debut for Essendon last Friday night against St Kilda, after being recruited in the AFL Mid-Season Draft just a few weeks ago.
D'Ambrosio looked well at home on the AFL stage showing he wasn't fazed by the Friday night lights, collecting 15 disposals at 80 per cent efficiency, three intercept possessions as well as four defensive 50 rebounds to play an important role in the Bombers third win of the AFL season.
In Round 14, the Tigers take on Geelong next Sunday at 12pm at GMHBA Stadium.
CENTRALS CLIMB LADDER
In VAFA Division Three, Richmond Centrals kept their finals hopes alive with a 26-point win over North Brunswick, 8.7.55 to 4.5.29, to record their fourth win of the season and move into fifth place on the ladder, trailing Emmaus St Leos only by percentage.
Senior Men's Coach George Koumantatakis described the win as a bit of a slog and a hard-fought victory, but was pleased with the defensive edge that was brought to the table.
"In previous games we've had lapses in one quarter where opposition teams have been able to kick five or six goals on us and that's been the deciding factor," Koumantatakis said.
"To hold them to two goals to half time and one each in the third and fourth terms was a pleasing aspect."
With the Centrals now within striking distance of the top four, Koumantatakis isn't looking beyond next week's game against Hawthorn.
"For us, it is just really important to try to get consistency in our output and that's been the problem for most of the year," he said.
We understand that if we don't bring that same level of tackling pressure and commitment to the game then the rest is wishful thinking.
- George Koumantatakis
"We had a really good result against Hawthorn a few weeks ago so we'll go in to that game with a high degree of confidence - but we also understand that if we don't bring that same level of tackling pressure and commitment to the game then the rest is wishful thinking."
BIG WINS TO KEW
In Division One, it was another successful weekend for the Kew Football Club with all of its teams recording wins.
Kew's senior team put St Mary Salesian to the sword to the tune of 122 points, 24.15.159 to 5.7.37. Kew started the game off with a bang kicking the opening nine goals which set the tone for the rest of the day. Michael Hannan kicked seven for the Bears while George Smart ended up with four in his first game in the senior team.
The Reserves too notched an emphatic win over St Mary Salesian by 182 points, 30.22.202 to 3.2.20 to keep themselves a game clear in first place. Benjamin Makowski kicked five goals while Riley Streader and Harrison Twist each kicked four.
In the William Bucks Premier Women's division, Kew held on against a determined and plucky Marcellin outfit to win by four points, 4.7.31 to 4.3.27, kicking two goals to one in the final quarter.
