A five-day break and a resurgent Richmond proved too much for the Crows as they lost their Wizard Home Loans Cup semi-final to the Tigers by 39 points at Colonial Stadium tonight.

The Tigers’ 16.11 (107) to 9.14 (68) victory gives them the chance to capture their first trophy since winning the 1980 premiership while their last success in the night series competition was way back in 1962 when only the eight clubs who did not make the finals participated.

Richmond, which only scraped through to the semi-finals on percentage after topping the weakest of the four round-robin groups, took full advantage of its home ground advantage tonight and the fact the Crows were coming off a reduced break.

The Crows only trailed by five points midway through the third quarter but Richmond, not surprisingly considering they had enjoyed two more days to prepare, finished full of running with Joel Bowden sealing victory with a great goal on the run in the opening minute of the final quarter to cap off an outstanding 30-possession display.

But it was Brad Ottens who was the star of the show not only dominating in the ruck but still managing to kick four goals when drifting forward.

It was the sort of performance which shows just why agile big men who can kick goals are the most valuable players in the competition and his incredible agility even at ground level set up numerous opportunites for the Tigers all night.

The Crows as usual won plenty of midfield ball through their star quartet of Mark Riccuito, Andrew McLeod, Kane Johnson and Simon Goodwin but they lacked the Tigers’ firepower in attack with their best option – Daniel Schell – fading after a bright start.