FOLLOWING a scrappy, up and down territory battle for three quarters of the match, in a game full of milestones and implications that can shape the top eight, Richmond lifted in the second half to defeat Hawthorn by 11 points at Cazaly’s Stadium in Cairns.

With the Hawks looking to continue their momentum following their win against Sydney, the Tigers were desperate to find A spark, despite still missing key players due to injury.

Both teams had momentum favouring their way in the first quarter with Katie Brennan being a key presence up forward. Monique Conti, Grace Egan and Charli Wicksteed were also busy through midfield. Katelyn Cox lifted and played a key role in the defence end for the Tigers, using her speed and defence pressure in the first quarter. For the Hawks, Greta Bodey was also a key target up forward for the Hawks.

From the second quarter, whilst the Hawks did well to control the tempo, applying the pressure in the midfield, the Hawks couldn’t make the most of their opportunities inside 50 and have any easy possession and territory of the footy.

For the Tigers, whilst they could not find possession out of defence, the Tigers were able to find ball movement from Conti. Both teams continued to fight for territory dominance in the final three minutes of the second quarter, with the Hawks taking a one point lead at halftime, with both teams kicking three goals each.

In the third quarter, whilst it was a battle of defence and finding the outside run, Beth Lynch stepped up in the forwardline, whilst Emily Bates, Jasmine Fleming and Bridie Hipwell opened up opportunities down the ground. In the last quarter, the Tigers lifted from the defensive 50, finding run down the ground and stringing three goals to seal the victory.

Though the Hawks dominated efficiency inside 50 (35 per cent) to 28 per cent and tackle count (91-67), the Tigers lifted in the hitout count (43-22) and the clearances (36-14).

Richmond coach Ryan Ferguson was proud of the fight his side showed in the last quarter.

“There was a couple of structural things and intent, in terms of how we used the ball,” he said. “We tried to get a bit more speed closer to goal and at the back. We needed that in the game where we were breaking down a little bit.

“The changes that the players made and the messaging at three quarter time and get some shape in the game, we felt that the game was going to break open if we could use a bit of poise and waste some ball like in the third quarter.”

Ferguson said Egan had a significant impact on the game.

“I thought Grace’s assertiveness, attack on the ball and driving out of contest changed the game for us,” he said. “She was strong across the night but her impact in the big moments particularly late started to break open for us.”

Ferguson said the Tigers had an important next few weeks, with finals implications and the excitement for the challenge.

“We’ve been challenged in so many ways, availability and we’ve been fighting through that and given ourselves chances,” he said. “To fight back in this contest and game, I thought we had larges patches of control, we weren’t able to capitalise on that.  The spirit of the group is so special to be apart of. If we can continue to build that, for the backend of this season.”