Round 22, 1996 - Richmond vs North Melbourne

Richmond have fallen at the final hurdle to return to the AFL finals following a successful 1995 campaign, going down to North Melbourne by 32 points at the MCG.

In the last round of the season, the Tigers held a 10 point lead late in the third term, but the Kangaroos were too good from there, eventually winning 21.15 (141) to 16.13 (109).

Brendon Gale takes a mark closely followed by Mick Martyn.

In what was essentially an elimination final for Richmond, the Tigers deployed their normal set up of sending Duncan Kellaway to Wayne Carey.

The Tigers were also boosted by the return of Nick Daffy after a layoff with injury, but given the rise of Robbie Powell during his absence, the duck was sent to half-back for this one.

The Kangaroos got the jump on the Tigers, booting two goals in the opening three minutes, and led by 20 around halfway through the first quarter.

Richmond got going in the second term, and piled on four goals in a row to pull the margin back to just 7 points at the half.

Richmond shot out of the blocks in the second half, kicking two goals in the first minute to take the lead, and then a few minutes later a goal to Richardson had the Tigers out by 9 and Tiger fans dreaming big.

As the third quarter began to wind to a close, it became hard to see how the Tigers would be beaten, as although the margin didn't balloon out, their momentum looked unstoppable.

However, you can't keep a great side down for too long, as the Kangaroos bounded back into contention, kicking the last two goals of the term to take the lead, and by the 7 minute mark of the final term, they were out to a 20-point lead.

When Richardson goaled again it gave his side a sniff, but the Roos put the hammer down, booting three goals in two minutes to end the chance of a comeback, and Richmond's 1996 season in the process.

North Melbourne actually went on to kick 10 of the last 12 goals such was their dominance, winning by a final margin of 32 points.

For Richmond, Justin Charles tried his heart out across the four quarters, picking up 23 disposals, which was a great effort for a ruckman.

Richardson also stood up kicking 6 goals, to finish the season with 91 in total, an amazing effort considering the ACL injury he suffered a year earlier.

Duncan Kellaway, Matthew Knights and Paul Bulluss also tried hard throughout the day, but ultimately it wasn't enough.

Milestone wise, it was Chris Bond's 150th AFL game, while Chris Naish booted his 200th career goal.

The game would also be the last of Chris Sullivan's AFL career, having spent time at both Melbourne and Richmond. He played 8 games in the yellow and black, kicking 4 goals.

It was a disappointing end to the season for the Tigers, who weren't able to back up their impressive 1995 season, missing out on a finals run.

Stats for the game courtesy of AFL Tables

A Fighting Fury player ratings - click here for explanation

Justin Charles	11
Matthew Richardson	9
Duncan Kellaway	6
Matthew Knights	6
Paul Bulluss	6
Paul Broderick	5
Nick Daffy	5
Jamie Tape	5
Wayne Campbell	4
Chris Naish	4
Matthew Rogers	4
Robbie Powell	4
Darren Gaspar	3
Chris Sullivan	3
Joel Bowden	3
Jason Torney	2
Michael Gale	2
Mark Merenda	1
David Bourke	1
Brendon Gale	0
Chris Bond	0