Round 12, 1996 - Richmond vs Adelaide

Richmond have backed it up with two great performances in a row at the MCG, belting Adelaide by 46 points on a Friday night.

The Tigers bounded out of the gates in the first term and never looked back, and if it wasn't for the Crows upping their level of play in the second half, the 19.14 (128) to 13.4 (82) scoreline at the end of the game could have been much greater.

Mark Merenda in action for the Tigers under lights.

On a night that featured greasy and slippery conditions, Richmond certainly adjusted best, playing ferocious and direct footy to get the jump on their Crows opponents who were known to usually bring a physical style of game.

For the second week in a row Nick Daffy got off to a flyer, buzzing around the half-forward line, although on this occasion he didn't quite convert as efficiently, kicking a couple of goals but could have had four or five by quarter time.

One other player who received a loud cheer, albeit for different reasons, was Nathan Bower, who was returning from injury and playing his first game for more than a month.

By the time halftime came around, Richmond were absolutely dominant and streets ahead of their opponents, holding a 61-point lead at the main break.

Such was their dominance that Crows gun forward Tony Modra hadn't had a touch until halftime, largely due to the great defensive play of Darren Gaspar.

To their credit, the Crows won the second half, but the damage had already been done, and the Tigers went on to record a win that would put them back into the eight.

For Richmond, Paul Broderick continued his super impressive start to the season, tearing the Crows apart in the middle, particularly in the first half, on his way to 32 disposals and two goals.

He was unstoppable at stoppage, getting his hands on the ball first more than anyone else and firing out a well timed handball to a running teammate often.

Wayne Campbell also continued to enjoy his newly found form as a utility, switching between defence and midfield to also deliver a great all round performance, finishing with 26 disposals and two goals.

Matthew Richardson was dominant inside 50, booting five goals, taking nine marks, and generally tearing apart the Crows defence, while young defender David Bourke had arguably his best game in the yellow and black, being a general nuisance and being a good third man up to support the likes of Darren Gaspar in defence.

Another nice little highlight out of this game was that teenager Ben Moore not only booted his first career goal, but two, which was nice reward for effort in limited game time.

Stats for the game courtesy of AFL Tables

A Fighting Fury player ratings - click here for explanation

Paul Broderick	11
Wayne Campbell	10
Matthew Richardson	8
David Bourke	7
Michael Gale	6
Darren Gaspar	6
Justin Charles	5
Ashley Prescott	5
Matthew Rogers	5
Mark Merenda	5
Jamie Tape	4
Chris Bond	4
Nick Daffy	4
Greg Dear	4
Ben Holland	3
Ben Harrison	3
Brendon Gale	2
Chris Naish	2
Damien Ryan	2
Ben Moore	2
Nathan Bower	0