There weren't too many punters who tipped Richmond. But what the Tigers proved tonight was that they are the real deal. Mauled last week by Essendon, the Richmond of a few years ago would have come to the west and been beaten. But Damien Hardwick's men have jumped into the top eight and, on this form, are a good chance to stay there. What was most impressive was the way in which they beat West Coast at their own game. The forward pressure was superb and when the Eagles went forward, they couldn't get clear enough to give decent delivery to their forwards. They lost the hit-outs but won the clearances. And their star, reigning Coleman medallist Jack Riewoldt, wasn't the only avenue to goal. Ty Vickery, Chris Newman, Shane Edwards and Nick Vlastuin were all dangerous, while Dustin Martin was in everything. With Adelaide, the Western Bulldogs, St Kilda, North Melbourne and Gold Coast to come after next week's bye, the Tigers are sitting pretty.

Last time he ran on to the ground at Paterson's Stadium, Nick Vlastuin was making his AFL debut against Fremantle. He impressed early and looked at home on the big stage before fading in the second half. This time around, last year's Vic Metro U18 captain was a threat for the entire match. He kicked two cracking goals in the first half, including one from a centre clearance, and then notched a classy third goal to seal the four points late in the third quarter. The youngster has quickly developed into a 20-plus possession player and looks likely to build an impressive career with Richmond. After the match, coach Damien Hardwick said it was difficult to believe Vlastuin had only played five AFL games before this match. “I think he only had 16 touches, but everything he does, he does to a very high level,” Hardwick said. “He’s got some areas of his game we’d like him to improve, but we think he’s going to be a very good player for us going forward.” It's enough to warm the hearts of success-starved Tigers fans everywhere.

Pre-season, they were one of the favourites for the flag. But an ordinary start to the year had them in trouble and the Eagles now face the unthinkable – they may miss the finals altogether. Consider this: West Coast hasn't beaten a team inside the top eight and have also been beaten by 11th-placed Port Adelaide. The Eagles' five wins have come against the teams placed 12th, 14th, 15th, 17th and 18th. They face an away match against St Kilda next week before the bye, which is followed by a horror run against Hawthorn, Essendon, Adelaide, Fremantle and the Sydney Swans. On tonight's form, they won't win any of those games. And, even if they beat St Kilda, they would be left with a 6-10 record. It's a tough ask to make the eight from there.

Something has to be done about the jumpers worn by these two clubs for games in Perth. Unless you could recognise a particular player in this match, it was nearly impossible to work out whether it was an Eagle or a Tiger who had gathered the ball and emerged from a pack. West Coast's home strip hasn't really changed in the past five years. And the Richmond strip, for both home and away games, has been a black jumper with a gold sash since 1914 (other than on a couple of occasions for promotional purposes). Perhaps next time the Tigers travel west to play West Coast they should bring a clash jumper. Or West Coast could always wear their royal blue away jumpers.

Never before has West Coast, or Fremantle for that matter, played a match on WA Day. Previously known as Foundation Day, it has traditionally been the WAFL's big day of the year with derbies between East Fremantle and South Fremantle, and West Perth and East Perth leading to the sort of crowds that were enjoyed before West Coast entered the then-VFL. But Eagles supporters seemed keen to end their long weekends at the footy. Hundreds of them walked from Leederville Oval to Subiaco after the end of the Perth derby. A healthy crowd of 37,781 will ensure that AFL footy on WA Day becomes a regular fixture.