THE WESTERN Bulldogs and Richmond have fought out a thrilling draw at Telstra Dome on Sunday afternoon, with the Dogs staging a brave comeback to level with the Tigers at the final siren.
Both sides were hard at the contest and threw everything into the nail-biting last five minutes, with the Bulldogs booting three goals in as many minutes to level with the Tigers, 19.16 (130) to 20.10 (130).
The Dogs trailed by 25 points midway through the final term, and with Jason Akermanis off the field after receiving a blood nose, the Tigers looked home and hosed.
But a trio of goals to Daniel Cross, Robert Murphy and Will Minson evened up the scores, with the ball finishing just inside Richmond's attacking arc when the final siren rang.
Minson's leveller came with 45 seconds remaining on the clock after Brian Lake took a Leo Barry-type pack mark before collapsing on the ground with cramp. The sharp-shooting Lindsay Gilbee was initially awarded the kick as Lake was helped from the field, but the ball ended up with the ruckman-turned-forward Minson, who coolly went back and slotted the goal.
Despite the draw, the Dogs now join Geelong and Hawthorn as the only three sides to remain undefeated heading into round six next weekend.
Matthew Boyd (29 disposals) and Cross (24) were the main ball-winners for the Dogs, while Minson and Gilbee were the leading goal-kickers with three apiece. Adam Cooney (19 touches, one goal) and Daniel Giansiracusa (22, one goal) were also impressive, while Murphy provided a spark up forward after starting the match in defence.
It was a tight encounter with both sides failing to amass a match-winning lead until the Tigers got on a roll in the final term. Back-to-back goals to Richmond in the first 10 minutes, as well as Akermanis leaving the field for much of the term and Brad Johnson restricted by a leg complaint, gave the Tigers a seemingly match-defining break before the Dogs' late surge.
Richmond forward Matthew Richardson again played high up the ground, which meant fullback Lake had his work cut out for him from the word go. However, after chasing the Tigers' spearhead across the field early in the game, Lake found himself with a rare opportunity in attack, and converted to boot the first major of the game and his 11th career goal in 101 matches.
It was largely an inaccurate start for the Bulldogs, with eight of the 10 behinds booted coming from wayward kicking - Scott Welsh the main culprit with a trio of sprayed shots. The former Crow ended the match with 0.5.
The Bulldogs opened the second term in fine style with a goal within the first 20 seconds. After failing to touch the ball in the first term, Ryan Griffen broke away from his opponent Kane Johnson to take the ball from the centre and deliver it to Brad Johnson.
The Dogs' captain followed up with a dribble-kick through traffic shortly after, which increased the lead to 20 points. However, the Tigers were quick to reply through Nathan Brown and Chris Hyde after the Dogs were disallowed a major when a Richardson mark desperately close to the goal line was deemed to be within the field of play.
The Tigers hit the front midway through the term before the Bulldogs got a run-on with three straight goals. A late six-pointer to young Tiger Mitch Morton was the only blemish on the way the Dogs ended the half, which left the difference at the main break eight points.
A lop-sided centre bounce saw the Tigers win the first clearance of the second half, which resulted in a forward entry and eventual goal to Graham Polak. The Dogs' lead was cut to two points, but a quick reply from Minson regained the momentum.
The quarter had stalemate tendencies about it, with both sides struggling to score more than one goal in a row. The Tigers broke through first, and with a three-goal burst influenced by the work of their skipper Johnson, moved ahead.
A goal to young gun Jack Riewoldt as the term wound down had the Tigers in front by 12 points at the final change.
The Bulldogs will now host the struggling West Coast next Saturday night at Telstra Dome, while Richmond will face another unbeaten side in Hawthorn at the MCG on Sunday.
Western Bulldogs 4.10 9.11 12.14 19.16 (130)
Richmond 4.2 9.3 15.8 20.10 (130)
GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Gilbee 3 Minson 3 Johnson 2 Lake Hudson Hill Cooney Akermanis Hahn Hargrave Giansiracusa Griffen Cross Murphy
Richmond: Richardson 3 Riewoldt 3 Brown 3 Morton 2 Deledio 2 Edwards 2 Hyde White Polak Schulz Simmonds
BEST
Western Bulldogs: Boyd Cooney Cross Hargrave Murphy
Richmond: Richardson Johnson Simmonds Brown King
INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Lake (back spasm), Johnson (calf)
Richmond: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Meredith, Ryan, Armstrong
Official crowd: 37,767 at Telstra Dome
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
