Round 18, 1995 - Richmond vs Hawthorn

On yet another rainy night in Melbourne, Richmond blew away the Hawks, and their finals chances, by 44 points in front of almost 40,000 fans at the MCG.

Hawthorn were probably fortunate that the Tigers were so inaccurate in front of goal for the night, in what could have easily been an 11 or 12 goal loss, instead though, Richmond won 13.21 (99) to 8.7 (55).

Scotty Turner blanketed Jason Dunstall

For the second time this year the two clubs faced off in trying conditions, with the first meeting only allowing for nine goals between them for the entire day.

Also for the second time this year, full back Scott Turner blanketed Jason Dunstall, keeping him goalless for the first time this year, to add to just the one goal he kicked in the same matchup earlier in the season.

It's a far cry from three years prior when Dunstall terrorised the Richmond defender, kicking 17 goals in a game.

While conditions certainly aided Turner, he was strong in the contest, outmarking Dunstall on a few occasions, and hot on his heels with a spoil whenever the Hawthorn great was on a hard lead.

Making his performance even more impressive was the fact that he'd missed the previous three games through suspension.

Both teams came into the game in poor form, with the Tigers a chance of slipping out of the top 4 if they continued their slide, while Hawthorn were in real danger of missing the finals all together for the first time in 14 years.

It was a vicious start to proceedings, with wingmen Nathan Bower and Paul Barnard getting into fisticuffs right from the first bounce. This eventually boiled over to the point where Barnard was reported.

It was a much better start by Richmond than a week earlier against St Kilda, with a great spread of contributors across the field helping them get out to a slender nine point lead at the first break.

One player who jumped out of the blocks however was Matthew Knights. While it wasn't great conditions for footy, his skills by foot set him apart from most others on the ground, having a hand in the majority of Richmond's early looks at goal with some exquisite kicking.

Unfortunately for Richmond their dominance around the ground wasn't being reflected on the scoreboard due to some poor kicking in front of goal, by halftime the Tigers had taken 14 more scoring shots yet only led by four goals.

As the rain tumbled down, the play too took a bit of a turn, but Richmond's pressure and intensity was so much that Hawthorn seemed to have lost all spirit in the wet. The Tigers put in a gutsy four-quarter effort and ended up increasing their advantage at every quarter break before recording the 44-point victory.

While Knights' class was on display for all to see with 25 touches and a goal, it was some of Richmond's lesser lights that also had impressive games.

Nathan Bower put in another great performance after probably being the Tigers best a week earlier as well. After getting dusted up by Paul Barnard, he went on to have the last laugh with 21 touches and providing his side with plenty of run and carry, which is so important on a wet night.

Justin Charles was another who had arguably his best game for the club to date, kicking three goals along with taking eight marks to provide a key focal point for the Tigers in attack. Those three goals would be his first in the yellow and black.

And speaking of focal points, Brendon Gale was his consistent self, picking up 14 disposals, eight marks and a goal himself.

Speaking after the game, ex-Hawthorn champ Greg Dear spoke of his joy in beating his old side twice in one season, while also having an interesting battle in the ruck against his brother Paul!

It was also Duncan Kellaway's 50th AFL game and Chris Bond's 50th game for Richmond since arriving from Carlton.

Stats for the game courtesy of AFL Tables

A Fighting Fury player ratings - click here for explanation

Matthew Knights	9
Nathan Bower	9
Brendon Gale	9
Justin Charles	7
Stephen Jurica	7
Scott Turner	6
Matthew Rogers	6
Duncan Kellaway	5
Nick Daffy	5
Wayne Campbell	4
Ashley Prescott	4
Paul Bulluss	4
Paul Broderick	3
Greg Dear	3
Matthew Dundas	3
Chris Naish	2
Jamie Tape	2
Chris Bond	0
Mark Merenda	0
Jason Torney	0
John Howat	0