Round 20, 1996 - Richmond vs Geelong

Richmond have kept their finals hopes alive with a stirring 65-point win over Geelong at the MCG.

The Tigers lead at every change and kicked away late to thump the Cats 19.18 (132) to 9.13 (67).

Richmond walk off the ground winners against Geelong.

The win meant Richmond would jump back into 8th position with just two rounds to play in the 1996 AFL season.

Darren Gaspar would be missing from the lineup while he nursed a hamstring injury which pre-game would cause some concern for Tigers fans given Geelong's attack, but Richmond had certainly come to play.

He would miss a fiery matchup, particularly early, with both teams cracking in with much vigour and a general disdain for the opposition, highlighted by Chris Bond heavily taking out Michael Mansfield and John Howat sending ruckman John Barnes off the ground for good with a crude hit that put the big man on a stretcher.

Duncan Kellaway had the arduous job on Geelong champ Gary Ablett. and acquitted himself well, constantly harrassing and frustrating the superstar into mistakes or undisciplined acts, with the spearhead only having 5 kicks and 2 goals for the entire day.

Early days, the ever improved Mark Merenda was everywhere, amassing 16 disposals in the first quarter alone, and although some of them weren't always the cleanest, his ability to find the footy helped his side jump out to a 14-point lead at the first break.

With some drizzling rain to start the second term, the skills from both sides took a hit, but it was the Tigers who would be able to adjust best, extending their lead out to 4 goals at the main break.

One sour note for Richmond would be Matthew Knights hobbling off just before halftime with what appeared to be another ankle injury. He wouldn't return for the remainder of the match.

The game was still very willing and tough in the second half, with Chris Bond getting battered from pillar to post copping big hit after big hit, he would keep bouncing back each time but had to come off groggy in the third term after another successive head-high hit.

In fact the big hits kept coming as a crude push on Paul Bulluss meant the tall utility had to come off with a nasty arm injury, as rain began to tumble down again late in the third.

Richmond kicked seven goals to three in the final term to run away with the contest, in a strong showing against a quality side that would have put other teams in the 8 on notice.

While having the opposition ruckman go down with injury would have helped, Justin Charles was clearly the best player on the ground with 22 disposals, 6 marks, one goal and generally just dominating the airspace throughout the contest.

Up forward, the speedy Robbie Powell booted a career-high 5 goals to highlight his rapid rise to a best 18 player, while Brendon Gale was dominant up forward with 10 marks and 3 goals.

The match would also be the last AFL game for key position utility John Howat, who after spending 4 years with Melbourne, played with Richmond between 1993-1996 where he played 45 games and kicked 2 goals.

Stats for the game courtesy of AFL Tables

A Fighting Fury player ratings - click here for explanation

Justin Charles	9
Robbie Powell	9
Brendon Gale	8
Paul Broderick	7
Michael Gale	6
Chris Sullivan	6
Wayne Campbell	5
Mark Merenda	5
Jamie Tape	5
David Bourke	5
Matthew Richardson	4
Chris Naish	4
Chris Bond	4
Jason Torney	4
Matthew Rogers	3
Damien Ryan	3
Duncan Kellaway	2
Matthew Knights	2
Joel Bowden	2
Paul Bulluss	1
John Howat	1