RICHMOND has continued its late-season surge, coming from behind to upstage Adelaide by 22 points in a high-scoring game at AAMI Stadium on Sunday.

The Tigers trailed by 24 points early in the second quarter, but rallied to kick 10 of the last 14 goals and record their third straight win, 17.9 (121) to 15.9 (99).

Young stars Dustin Martin, Tyrone Vickery and Trent Cotchin led the Tigers' fightback.

Martin (nine possessions) and Cotchin (10 possessions) were well held in the first half, but combined to gather 27 touches in the second half.

Martin also kicked two clutch goals after half-time and set up another with a clever cross-kick to Vickery in the goalsquare, which helped to keep the Crows at bay at the start of the final term.

Vickery overcame a shoulder complaint to finish with four goals, while Crow Jack Gunston enhanced his claims for a NAB AFL Rising Star nomination with five goals.

The loss was Adelaide's second (and worst) under caretaker coach Mark Bickley.

In the lead up to the match, Richmond vowed to try and slow the attacking Crows down, but there was very little attention paid to defence in the first quarter.

The two teams took turns taking the ball out of the centre square without resistance, and combined to kick 12.5 for the term in an old-fashioned shoot-out.

Adelaide skipper Nathan van Berlo continued his rich vein of form under Bickley, kicking two goals from 14 possessions for the term.

Crows midfielders Scott Thompson and Bernie Vince also got in behind the Tigers defence and converted shots at goal, while Tyrone Vickery outpointed forward-turned-defender Shaun McKernan to slot two goals at the opposite end.

Tigers Daniel Jackson, Robin Nahas and Mitch Morton also got involved, but Kurt Tippett's second goal saw the Crows edge 13 points ahead at quarter-time.

The scoring dried up in the second term, but it could've been a different story if the Tigers had kicked straight.

Richmond dominated the play early in the quarter, but recorded four straight behinds before ruckman Angus Graham kicked his team's one and only goal for the term.

Gunston registered two goals from his team's nine inside 50ms for the quarter to put the Crows 16 points clear at half-time.

The Tigers had several lapses in concentration in the third term, allowing the Crows to kick two of the first three goals of the quarter and skip to a 24-point lead early, but they didn't panic.

Led by Cotchin, Martin, Vickery and a previously well-held Brad Miller (two goals for the quarter) Richmond gained the momentum, piling on five unanswered goals to snatch the lead for the first time.

The four-point deficit at three-quarter time appeared manageable for the Crows, but the Tigers kicked the first two goals of the term to snuff out any hope of an Adelaide comeback.

Influential players
Van Berlo led the way for the Crows, with 36 possessions to go with his two goals. Bernie Vince (35 touches and two goals) and Patrick Dangerfield (31 possessions and 10 clearances) also continued their good late-season form.

The story of the subs
Michael Doughty's unexpected withdrawal from the team with illness forced Adelaide to call upon midfielder Brodie Martin to play against the Tigers. On Saturday morning, the club made the decision to allow all three emergencies (Martin, Ivan Maric and Ricky Henderson) to play in the SANFL, meaning it was Martin's second match in 24 hours.

The Crows started the wingman as the sub to limit his time on ground, and waited until the ninth minute of the final term to introduce him. Martin struggled to have an impact, picking up just three possessions one of which landed on the chest of Cotchin from a kick-in.  In contrast, Richmond's substitute Jeromey Webberley was able to have a positive influence after coming on in the third quarter, with three of his five touches resulting in scores for his team.

What the coach said
Mark Bickley (Adelaide): "We're not in a situation where we can afford to be two, three or four per cent off our game. We're not that good a side. Today, we were off. We weren't clean, we fumbled and we didn’t make the most of our opportunities."


Toyota AFL Dream Team highlight
Adelaide: Bernie Vince (144 points) and Nathan van Berlo (143) were the standouts for the Crows, but it still wasn't enough to get the tri-colours across the line.

QUARTER BY QUARTER
First quarter
It was a goal-fest early with both teams relishing the glorious conditions at West Lakes. Scott Thompson continued on from his 51-possession clinic against Gold Coast last week with the first goal of the match and nine disposals for the quarter. Richmond's Tyrone Vickery also looked dangerous, outsmarting Adelaide's Shaun McKernan inside the Tigers' forward 50 on two occasions for a pair of early goals. But momentum went with the Crows after Alex Rance was harshly penalised for a deliberate rushed behind, gifting Jack Gunston his first. Adelaide then peppered the scoreboard, with goals to Vince, van Berlo and Tippett giving the home side some breathing space. The Tigers responded through Morton and Jackson as Richmond looked to win just its fifth first term of 2011, but Adelaide lifted another gear under the leadership of skipper Nathan van Berlo (two goals, 14 touches for the quarter) to take a 13-point advantage by the first break.
Adelaide by 13 points.

Second quarter
With 12 goals kicked in the first quarter, the shoot-out looked set to continue as Jack Gunston booted his second within the opening minutes. But instead the contest turned into an arm wrestle, as both clubs struggled to hit targets and convert its opportunities. A sloppy handball from defence by McKernan was lucky to go unpunished after Richmond's Jake King ignored Robin Nahas in the goalsquare and grazed the goalpost for a minor score. The Tigers were their own worst enemy, with four consecutive behinds, including easy misses to Shane Edwards and Angus Graham, letting Adelaide off the hook. Eventually, Graham gave Richmond some reward for effort, converting at the 17-minute mark to bring the Tigers back within two goals. Despite controlling play for most of the term, Richmond finished with just 1.6 for the quarter and the Tigers were unable to close the margin to Adelaide, with a third goal late to Gunston extending the Crows' lead by half-time.
Adelaide by 16 points.

Third quarter
The Crows nailed the first goal after the major break through Vince following a smooth coast-to-coast transition from defence. Ben Rutten had kept Jack Riewoldt quiet until half-time, but 'Jumping Jack' took a strong contested grab in the goalsquare to give Richmond the quick reply moments later. The contest started to heat up as players from both sides worked to stamp their authority. Dustin Martin was one man who stood up for Richmond,  juggling a loose ball onto his boot for a goal at the 15-minute mark, before helping to set-up Robin Nahas for his second goal as Richmond made its move. Former Demon Brad Miller (two goals for the quarter) also got involved, with his set-shot goal bringing the Tigers back within six points late in the term, much to the dismay of the Adelaide faithful. A shocking turnover from Ben Rutten at the 28-minute mark led to a Jake King goal as Richmond snatched the lead by three-quarter time.
Richmond by four points.

Fourth quarter
Richmond took the ascendency in the final term, as Vickery, Martin and Cotchin steered the Tigers home to just their second win over the Crows since 2007. Jack Gunston continued to fight hard for Adelaide to finish with a career-high five goals against the tide. Fittingly, it was Tyrone Vickery's fourth goal at the 21-minute mark that sealed the deal for the yellow and black, as the Tigers turned a 24-point deficit at the 14-minute mark of the first quarter into a gutsy 22-point win.
Richmond by 22 points.

The finish
Adelaide: West Coast (Patersons Stadium)


 MATCH DETAILS
Adelaide          7.3   9.6   12.9    15.9     (99)
Richmond       5.2   6.8   12.13   17.19  (121)

GOALS
Adelaide: Gunston 5, Vince 2, van Berlo 2, Tippett 2, Thompson, Douglas, Wright, Walker
Richmond: Vickery 4, Nahas 3, Miller 2, Martin 2, Morton, Jackson, Graham, Riewoldt, King, Cotchin

BEST
Adelaide: van Berlo, Vince, Dangerfield, Thompson, Gunston, Rutten
Richmond: Vickery, Martin, Cotchin, Rance, Houli, Nahas, Jackson, Deledio

INJURIES
Adelaide: Michael Doughty (illness) replaced in selected side by Brodie Martin, Dangerfield (right shoulder)
Richmond: Vickery (right shoulder)

SUBSTITUTES
Adelaide: Shaun McKernan replaced by Brodie Martin in the final quarter
Richmond: Jamie O'Reilly replaced by Jeromey Webberley in the third quarter

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Grun, Dalgleish, Wenn

Official crowd: 38,023 at AAMI Stadium

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.