1. Sam Lloyd kicks the matchwinner after the siren
Richmond's Sam Lloyd took a mark with 10 seconds to go, kicking from on the 50-metre mark with the Tigers five points down. The siren went as he stood preparing for his kick. Richmond had given up two-goal leads twice in the second half, and had managed just 7.11 (53) from set shots up to that point. Lloyd, who had kicked two for the night, lined up for the 38th goal of his career in just his 28th game. He did not blink. He went back and, in front of delirious Tiger fans at the Punt Road end, made himself a hero by kicking the ball straight through the middle for a match-winning goal. It was a nerve-wracking end to a desperate contest and a thrilling moment for long-suffering Tiger fans.
2. Set shot inaccuracy NEARLY cost Richmond
Just after half-time, the Tigers had all the momentum but could not kick straight. They missed five gettable set shots with the only goal coming from a Lloyd snap. When Ty Vickery missed another set shot at the 12-minute mark of the third quarter it was head-in-the-hands stuff as the Sydney Swans ran the ball into attack and George Hewett, in just his seventh game, managed to kick straight. It seemed heartbreaking stuff until the Tigers hit back with three set-shot goals to open the last quarter. If nothing else it would have taken years off Tiger supporters' lives as they ended the night with 8.11 (59) from set shots compared to the Sydney Swans 9.3 (45).
3. The Rioli moment(s)
We've all seen Cyril light up the MCG with magical moments, but when the time came for Daniel Rioli early in the last quarter with the Tigers closing, he did not disappoint. He took a handball from Jack Riewoldt on the wing with only space in front of him and he took off. Three bounces later and with the Tiger army on their feet riding every step, he kicked the goal from the top of the square. Two minutes later he was at it again, dribbling the ball through from the top of the goalsquare for the Tigers fifth in a row. It was electrifying stuff from the youngster in his first season and the difference in the end.
4. Franklin v Rance
The keenly anticipated one-on-one battle between the best forward and best defender in the AFL did not disappoint. Whenever the ball went into an inside 50 only inhabited by these two guns it was brilliant entertainment. In most of those battles Rance won, his desperation allowing him to turn Franklin inside out. But Buddy won the war. He had five goals by three quarter-time, his biggest haul against Rance, and his second biggest tally against Richmond. However, the reality was, no-one could have contained Buddy better than Rance, and the brilliant full-back’s performance in the last five minutes was instrumental in the Tigers winning.
5. Ben Griffiths benefitted from a style change
The 24-year-old kicked five goals, three of them in the tense last quarter and one on the run with Ted Richards hot on his heels. It was a big moment for the much-maligned Griffiths, who stood tall when his team needed him. He benefitted from the Tigers' change in style after quarter-time, after they had 63 handballs and just 48 kicks in the first term, overusing the ball in tight against a team who knows how to pressure the opposition when in close. In the second quarter, the Tigers changed their approach and began to kick the ball, racking up 80 kicks and just 32 handballs as they drove the ball forward from clearances and spread the Swans defence. At times it went back and forth across the defensive 50, but the tactic drove the Sydney Swans mad and Richmond took 19 marks inside 50
