Round 1, 1996 - Richmond vs Essendon

Essendon have got their revenge, of sorts, on Richmond from the semi-final defeat a year prior, toppling the Tigers by 18 points at the MCG.

The game eerily followed a similar script of the grand final, with the Tigers cutting the margin from 40 points to 9 in the fourth quarter, but this time around Essendon were good enough to hold on 19.8 (122) to 15.14 (104).

David Bourke with one of the great hangs over James Hird.

Both teams had lots of hype going into the clash, with both sides pegged as not only finals-bound sides, but potential contenders as well.

While there were no new names in terms of players for the Tigers, it was the Richmond coaching debut of Robert Walls, who essentially swapped jobs with John Northey over the off-season.

The Tigers would also be without reigning best and fairest winner, Wayne Campbell, who missed through suspension following a hit on Paul Couch in their preliminary final loss to Geelong.

The game also saw the return of Matthew Richardson, who hadn't played since rupturing his ACL back in Round 9, 1995. Bombers first gamer Peter Berbakov would get the job on Richo, which quickly turned into a daunting prospect as the Tiger no. 12 showed he'd lost none of his magic.

Justin Charles opened Richmond's account for the year with their first goal, but it was the Bombers who got the jump on their opponents, getting out to a 21-point lead late in the second term, before Brendon Gale was able to steady the ship just before quarter time.

It hadn't become clear just yet with how Robert Walls planned to utilise his new side, but one interesting move was seeing Matthew Rogers playing off half-back, to at least start the game, despite showing a lot of capability as a medium forward in the 1995 finals series.

For Essendon, Scott Cummings was on absolute fire and had six goals halfway through the second term and was just one of the many Bomber big men playing well to open them up to a 47-point lead at one point.

The Tigers then began systematically working their way back into the contest, much like they did in the semi-final one year earlier.

A crude hit by Scott Cummings on Chris Bond that momentarily knocked out the tough onballer stopped play, and also created a weird moment where the stretcher came out, even though Bond could jog off. Bond clambered onto the stretcher just before getting to the boundary line so the Tigers didn't incur a $25,000 fine. Strange!

Justin Charles, in his second year at the club, showed that he was a potential breakout candidate. Not only was his athleticism on display for all to see in the ruck, but he was consistently dropping back in the hole to chop off a number of Bomber forward entries.

The Tigers went on a run that rivalled their '95 semi-final exploits, pulling the margin back to nine points early in the final term, but that would be as close as they'd get, with the Bombers steadying to win by three goals.

For Richmond fans, the highlight of the day was no doubt the return of Matthew Richardson. ACL injuries are difficult to come back from but he didn't look hampered at all and piled on six goals in a stunning return to AFL football, not to mention the 10 marks to go along with it.

The aforementioned Charles showed he was ready to take the number one ruck mantle, with 15 disposals, 9 marks and a goal, while Paul Broderick and Jamie Tape showed that they were going to continue their glistening 1995 campaigns with equally impressive performances. Broderick had the most disposals for Richmond with 25, while Tape picked up 22 from the backline to go along with his 6 marks.

Nick Daffy recorded a milestone in playing his 50th AFL game.

 Stats for the game courtesy of AFL Tables

A Fighting Fury player ratings - click here for explanation

Matthew Richardson	12
Justin Charles	10
Paul Broderick	9
Jamie Tape	9
Brendon Gale	7
Ashley Prescott	6
Duncan Kellaway	5
Matthew Rogers	4
Nick Daffy	4
Matthew Knights	4
Greg Dear	4
Nathan Bower	3
David Bourke	3
Mark Merenda	3
Chris Naish	3
Michael Gale	2
Chris Bond	2
Stuart Edwards	2
Mark Neeld	1
Chris Sullivan	0
Paul Bulluss	0