THREE goals to Jack Riewoldt and a captain’s effort from Trent Cotchin has helped Richmond pull off a rousing comeback to beat Hawthorn by eight points in their final AFL pre-season hit-out in Launceston.
The Tigers trailed by 40 points at halftime but came roaring home in the 14.11 (95) to 13.9 (87) victory on Saturday night at University of Tasmania Stadium.
Cotchin had a huge final term, kicking two goals and having a hand in several others to finish with 24 touches.
“He does so many things that probably go unseen to the everyday fan but we see it heavily in the coaches box,” Tigers coach Damien Hardwick said.
“Every time he touches the ball good things happens. He finished the game with that centre-bounce goal which was really impressive.”
The Tigers, last year’s preliminary finalists, didn’t hit the lead until the 23rd minute of the final term. They enter the season with back-to-back trial wins after storming home from a similar margin last week against Melbourne.
Dustin Martin finished with a team-high 30 possessions, while Maverick Weller and Dan Butler kicked two majors each.
Hawks veteran Jarryd Roughead booted five goals in a losing side, while Jaeger O’Meara picked up a game-high 35 possessions and a goal in a midfield missing injured star Tom Mitchell.
O’Meara had 21 of those touches by the main break as the Hawks ran roughshod over Richmond early.
“He’s going to be able to fill some of that void,” Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said of O’Meara.
“But we need a whole series of players to fill some of that gap that’s been left by Tom’s absence.”
Hawthorn kept Richmond goal-less in the second term and opened up a 59-19 margin at the main break.
But the Tigers surged in the third quarter, kicking seven goals to two with key forward Riewoldt slotting three for the term after getting just one touch in the opening half.
They went on with it, kicking four of the last five goals.
Hawks youngster Jack Scrimshaw had an eye-catching start to the match and topped the first-quarter possessions with 12.
The 20-year-old Gold Coast recruit, with just four AFL games under his belt, also slotted a goal to put his hand up for a round-one start.
Hawk Isaac Smith had a howler late in the third term, missing from point-blank range just outside the goal square after deciding to play on from a mark.
The Hawks have lost both of their trials ahead of a Round 1 clash against Adelaide Crows.
© AAP 2019
RICHMOND 2.3 2.7 9.8 14.11 (95)
HAWTHORN 5.0 9.5 11.7 13.9 (87)
Goals: Richmond: J Higgins 3 J Riewoldt 3 D Butler 2 M Weller 2 T Cotchin 2 N Balta T Nankervis. Hawthorn: J Roughead 5 I Smith J O’Meara J Scrimshaw J Worpel L Breust L Shiels R Henderson S Burgoyne.
Umpires: Chris Donlon, Craig Fleer, Eleni Glouftsis, Alex Whetton.
Official Crowd: 6,982 at University of Tasmania Stadium.
