North Melbourne has won a classic elimination final against Richmond at the MCG by 17 points, sending the Tigers crashing out of September at the first hurdle for the third straight season.
In a high stakes final that neither club could afford to lose, it was the Kangaroos who held on under fierce pressure in a nail-biting final term to progress to a semi-final against the Sydney Swans next Saturday night.
The final score was 15.15 (105) to 14.4 (88), with the Tigers yet to taste finals success since 2001 and coach Damien Hardwick now carrying a 0-3 record in September.
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Richmond was brave, and led by two points early in the final term, but ultimately ran out of legs against a team that strategically rested 10 players in round 23.
The Kangaroos were also ferocious at the contested ball (149-115), getting on top where finals are ultimately won.
North Melbourne forward Lindsay Thomas was both hero and villain in front of the crowd of 90,186, snapping the goal that gave North Melbourne breathing space in the final term.
His place in the team to face the Swans is not guaranteed, however, after he kicked Tigers defender Dylan Grimes in the chest minutes after being substituted into the game late in the third quarter.
Recruit Jarrad Waite, who was brought in from Carlton in the off-season to put the finishing touches on a list aiming to strike now, repaid the Kangaroos' faith, kicking four goals, including the sealer.
Reborn tagger Ben Jacobs was also instrumental, keeping Richmond captain Trent Cotchin to just nine possessions – his equal lowest-ever tally – in an emphatic shutdown job that gave his team a decisive clearance advantage (42-35).
Veteran Brent Harvey was the star, finishing with 31 possessions and two goals, with his pace in stark contrast to the Tigers, who were flat-footed in comparison.
The influence of contested-ball specialists Andrew Swallow (22 possessions and seven clearances) and Ben Cunnington (21 and seven) was also critical in a third-quarter surge.
"A lot of players stepped up and took control, a lot of veterans in particular," North coach Brad Scott said.
"Jarrad Waite played arguably his best game ever given the circumstances.
"'Boomer' (Harvey) just keeps doing it, Dal's (Nick Dal Santo) second half was enormous, but you go through the list and a lot of guys stood up."
It was billed as a match between two teams that couldn't afford to bow out at the first hurdle, with Richmond placing it firmly on the agenda early in the year that the club needed to win a final.
The Tigers took the risky move of bringing tall forward Ben Griffiths into the team one month ahead of schedule following surgery on a finger tendon, but he was substituted in the third quarter with just four possessions and 0.2.
The pressure of the occasion – and the reality that there was no tomorrow for the losers – got to both teams in the first quarter.
Richmond was the more settled side early and had back-to-back goals inside the first five minutes to calm the nerves, but a turning point came when Grimes collided with Shaun Higgins in spectacular fashion.
In a ferocious contest on the half-forward flank, neither Grimes nor Higgins blinked as they attacked a loose ball, but Higgins came off second best and left the ground.
From that moment the Kangaroos lifted, with Ziebell landing a square-up blow on Grimes that then forced the Tigers defender from the ground.
The margin was only three points at quarter-time but there was significant scope for the Kangaroos to lift, with Harvey, Dal Santo and Cunnington all well held.
All three got to work, but it was the key forwards who took over the second quarter, with Jack Riewoldt kicking three goals and Waite booting two.
North Melbourne was also winning an important midfield battle, with Cotchin held to just five possessions in the first half by Jacobs.
The Tigers' fatigue became obvious from the third quarter on, with bad decisions mounting, most obviously when defender Troy Chaplin tried to play on around Robin Nahas and was caught holding the ball deep in defence.
By the end of the third quarter North Melbourne had gone inside 50 20 times to four and it was going to take something incredible for the Tigers to turn the tide.
Riewoldt did his best, and Kane Lambert kicked a clutch long-range goal, but the Tigers let themselves down at crucial times, with Ty Vickery missing a wide open shot on the run from 30m that sucked the life out of the crowd.
"Contested ball we got absolutely poleaxed," Hardwick said post-match after a brutal review with his players that could be heard through the Tigers' rooms.
"You can sit there and look at everything, but what it comes down to is we didn't win the ball and we didn't hunt the ball hard enough.
"We speak about the intensity, the attitude and the work rate to get across to contest and unfortunately we didn't bring it today.
"We've got a long six months to wait to rectify that."
RICHMOND 2.3 9.3 12.3 14.4 (98)
NORTH MELBOURNE 1.6 6.8 11.13 15.15 (105)
GOALS
Richmond: Riewoldt 4, Newman 2, Vickery 2, Deledio, Miles, Edwards, McIntosh, Conca, Lambert
North Melbourne: Waite 4, Petrie 2, Harvey 2, Garner, Brown, Nahas, Brown, Macmillan, Higgins, Thomas
BEST
Richmond: Riewoldt, Miles, Martin, Rance, McIntosh, Newman
North Melbourne: Harvey, Waite, Ziebell, Goldstein, Jacobs, Swallow, Hansen, Higgins
INJURIES
Richmond: Nil
North Melbourne: Jamie Macmillan (ankle)
SUBSTITUTES
Richmond: Reece Conca replaced Ben Griffiths in the third quarter
North Melbourne: Lindsay Thomas replaced Taylor Garner in the third quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Rosebury, Jeffery, McInerney
Official crowd: 90,186 at the MCG
