Tigers closing in on top four

THE top four is in sight for Richmond after the AFL reigning premiers outlasted a gutsy Gold Coast Suns 8.5 (53) to 4.8 (32) at the Gabba on Monday night.

Drawing the curtain on 20 straight days of games, the AFL’s festival of footy ended with a nailbiter, with the Tigers doing enough to bounce back from last round’s loss to Port Adelaide to clinch their sixth win in eight games.

Richmond (7-4-1 win-lossdraw record) remains at sixth on the AFL ladder but are now just two points outside the top four with five regular season games left, starting with Saturday’s clash with Essendon in Darwin.

After coming off second best against Port in one of the games of the season, the Tigers had to dig deep to secure their sixth straight win over the Suns who held a 10-point lead at halftime. Jack Riewoldt and Tom Lynch both kicked two majors for the Tigers who remained unbeaten in Queensland this season.

The Suns — led by the inspirational teenager Noah Anderson (26 touches) on Monday — have now gone five games without a win following last round’s draw against Essendon.

Lynch faces an anxious wait after what appeared to be a punch to Sam Collins’ stomach late in Monday’s clash. In an incident that is set to come under the match review officer’s scrutiny, Lynch lashed out at Collins before marking and kicking a crucial fourth-term major that gave Richmond some much-needed breathing space.

Tigers coach Damien Hardwick is trying to crack down on Richmond’s recent ill-discipline, dumping Josh Caddy for the Gabba clash after the dual premiership player gave away the second part of what was a 100m penalty late in the Tigers’ lastround loss to Port.

Three Tigers were fined last round by the match review officer for indiscretions in their 21-point loss to Port.

The match loomed as a yardstick for just how far the Suns have come this season.

And Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew would have liked what he saw despite his side falling short.

The Suns clung on to keep scores level by the first break before dominating the second — winning eight of the first nine clearances — to limit Richmond to just one behind and take a 10-point lead. But they still fell short in a result that may come back to haunt them as they make a last gasp push for the finals.