Richmond ruckman Ivan Maric seeks out young gun Reece Conca, front, after kicking the sealer. Picture: Getty Source: Getty Images
Richmond v Sydney Swans. MCG. Reece Conca goals,1st term, Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun
REECE Conca had a decision to make.
As the ball bobbled between him and Ben McEvoy in the middle of the MCG late in the tense last quarter, it was a contest that could decide the match.
But as the bigger-bodied McEvoy came at him, the Tigers' No. 6 draft pick from 2010 pounced on a crucial ball and swerved, avoiding danger at a time when the Saints smelt blood. A minute later, Conca again turned smartly on the boundary line and passed to Ivan Maric, who iced the game from 30m out.
As much as the Tigers' second straight win was about Jack Riewoldt's return to goalkicking form and the second-half heroics of Trent Cotchin, Conca's composure was vital in his best game for the club.
Richmond will next week shoot for its third straight win to open a season, something it has not done since 1995, a finals year.
It will enter the contest against the Western Bulldogs knowing it can now survive the close ones, an issue that haunted it last year.
But the new Richmond doesn't get as jittery. Not last week, and not last night, as the full-of-running Saints closed to within four points.
As much as the headlines will drum up Riewoldt's big night, and fair enough, coach Damien Hardwick will take great pleasure in the growing depth of his midfield band.
Cotchin was superb in the second half, shaking the tag applied by Clint Jones.
In the first half Dustin Martin and Brett Deledio split the Saints through the middle, pushing the Tigers out to a 20-point lead in the second term.
Although Martin's kicking was wayward in parts, the pair again displayed their matchwinning capabilities, especially when Cotchin was down early.
But the run and workrate of the likes of Conca, Shaun Grigg and Shane Edwards illustrated the growing depth of the Richmond midfield.
It was a night, though, where the Tigers' foot skills swung between white-hot and horrendous.
But for the most part, there was a lot of composure in how the Tigers eased out of trouble from half-back.
The contest looked in their keeping from early on.
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