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Updated May 10, 2026 \u2014 11:34pm,first published 5:58pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Richmond\u2019s bid to end an MCG win drought dating to July last year has fallen short, unable to hang on to a slender half-time lead over an unimpressive Adelaide in a 37-point defeat.<\/p>\n Only 22,123 fans turned up on Mother\u2019s Day to watch the last-placed Tigers lose for the eighth time in nine matches after having a sniff of back-to-back victories when they entered the main break with a 10-point lead.<\/p>\n The Crows\u2019 stars \u2013 predominantly Jordan Dawson, Izak Rankine and Wayne Milera, who combined for 35 disposals in the third quarter \u2013 took over to put Richmond\u2019s band of kids, battlers and past-their-prime flag heroes to the sword as the visitors piled on six straight goals to avoid an upset.<\/p>\n Put simply, Adem Yze\u2019s injury-ravaged Tigers were spirited, but didn\u2019t have another gear to go to once Adelaide woke from their slumber, although they fought the match out.<\/p>\n Richmond, who snapped their losing streak against West Coast in Perth a week ago, are a long way from the Damien Hardwick premiership teams that won a record-setting 22 consecutive matches at the home of Australian football between 2017-18.<\/p>\n They are neck-deep in a rebuild, one made all the harder because of a league-worst injury list that reached 17 once prized draftee Sam Grlj (managed) was a late withdrawal on Sunday.<\/p>\n Then, defender Tom Brown suffered a broken forearm in the first quarter.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you look at the first half, there\u2019s progress,\u201d Yze said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re playing against a quality team, and we\u2019re a couple of goals up \u2013 and it\u2019s not a couple of goals up with luck. We\u2019re winning all the metrics that you want to be winning. The frustration is we need our players getting better on an AFL field because we need them available.<\/p>\n \u201cSammy Lalor can\u2019t get better sitting here watching … they can\u2019t get a volume of games together, not only individually, but together.<\/p>\n \u201cIn saying that, we had to manage Sam Grlj. There was a red flag around his body, and we took a really cautious approach with him today because he\u2019s such a big part of our future, and that overrides what we\u2019re going through, and where our injury toll is right now.\u201d<\/p>\n The Crows are also a shadow of their minor premiership-winning selves from last year, and their general lack of intent was exposed in the first two quarters.<\/p>\n Hard-headed Richmond midfielders Tim Taranto and Jack Ross were the main reasons their side won the contest and clearance battle up to that point, with support from lesser lights such as Kane McAuliffe and Patrick Retschko \u2013 plus a bit of spunk from Seth Campbell.<\/p>\n Campbell\u2019s brilliant finish while deep in the pocket and running away from goal in the first quarter was one of the highlights of a game mostly lacking in them.<\/p>\n Editor’s pick Among the unavailable Tigers were captain Toby Nankervis, Dion Prestia, foot soldiers Rhyan Mansell, Hugo Ralphsmith, Sam Banks and Maurice Rioli, and young guns Lalor, Josh Gibcus, Harry Armstrong, Taj Hotton, Tom Sims and Josh Smillie.<\/p>\n Perhaps, Taranto, Jayden Short, Noah Balta, Ross, Tom Lynch, Nick Vlastuin, Nathan Broad, Campbell and Ben Miller \u2013 who won his battle with Riley Thilthorpe \u2013 were the only first-choice options who played against Adelaide.<\/p>\n Richmond may have done themselves a disservice by claiming five victories last year, in a season many predicted them to go through winless.<\/p>\n Critics have come for them, given the perceived lack of progress in their third season under Yze.<\/p>\n However, in reality, this regeneration attempt cannot be properly judged for years yet based on how long it has taken most clubs \u2013 including the Crows \u2013 to resurrect their fortunes. Adelaide won only three games in 2020, and that number was still only eight in 2024 before last year\u2019s climb.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a plan around [our] rebuild, and there\u2019s a process around it, and it\u2019s getting players to a certain number of games,\u201d Yze said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you look at Brisbane\u2019s model [it was the same], and then the team we just played today. Riley Thilthorpe, when he was in his 10th game, like Jonty is; I don\u2019t think he was doing what he was doing the last couple of years.<\/p>\n \u201cThat takes time \u2026 and you need games under your belt. I don\u2019t really care about the noise around rebuilds, and people\u2019s philosophies around that. We know that it can work \u2026 when they start playing their 30th, 40th, 50th game as highly talented players \u2026 [they] are going to be the reason why we take this club forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Reflecting on their own rebuilding journey post-match, Crows coach Matthew Nicks said the process took patience and there were many challenges while relying on and developing younger players.<\/p>\n Dual premiership-winning Tigers star Tom Lynch was unsure how long it would take to ascend the ladder again, but said they believed they could do it quickly.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re being tested at the moment, and we haven\u2019t started the year as well as we\u2019d like,\u201d Lynch told The Age.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve played some ordinary footy at times, but we believe we\u2019re heading in the right direction. We\u2019re well-coached, have a great support team around us, and some great young players coming through, so we\u2019ve just got to keep encouraging and keep educating.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve won one game this year. We\u2019re not sitting there saying, \u2018Oh, we\u2019re doing a great job\u2019. We\u2019re not happy where we\u2019re at, but we\u2019re aware that the only way to do it is to keep being together, keep training well, keep educating, and the wins will come.\u201d<\/p>\n Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Crows](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8b2c1ab4ae047c39788717763fe0d12b8e1966c7.jpeg\")
Crows star Jordan Dawson is tackled by Richmond\u2019s Campbell Gray.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"AFL](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778427493_418_95b720a0adbcef114941c52324551608b18766f7.jpeg\")
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