The enormous hurdle of overcoming the emotion in Jason McCartney’s comeback match for the Kangaroos has proved too great a barrier for Richmond as the Tigers went down by three points in a thrilling clash at Telstra Dome.

And the result was largely overshadowed by the shock announcement – in an interview straight after the match – of McCartney’s decision to retire because of the physical toll on his body.

The public face of the Bali bombing tragedy played a fairytale role in the Kangaroos’ 13.14 (92) to 13.11 (89) victory, kicking a vital goal in the last quarter and having a hand in another.

The match was extremely tight all night, with Richmond’s four-point lead at quarter-time the biggest margin at any of the breaks in play.

And the contest came down to a desperate last quarter, with the lead changing four times during the final 14 minutes.

After the Kangaroos held a three-point lead at three quarter-time, McCartney was on the end of a David King pass in the opening minute and took a solid chest mark in front of opponent Andrew Kellaway.

His major extended the margin to nine points, before the Tigers edged back with goals to Andy Krakouer and Adam Houlihan.

Krakouer soccered the ball off the ground at the six minute-mark after Troy Makepeace was unable to rush the ball through, and Houlihan followed up seven minutes later, to put Richmond in front.

A free kick to Tim Fleming against Makepeace was followed by a Matthew Richardson mark, who then found Houlihan in a better scoring position.

But McCartney was not the only Kangaroo to display heroics on the night. As David Rodan seemed headed for the Richmond goal, exciting youngster Daniel Wells gave a brilliant chase and brought the Tiger down, to earn a free for holding the ball.

The Roos quickly moved the ball to an unmanned Shannon Grant – a strong contender for best afield honours – who duly slotted the ball home to regain a three-point lead.

But in the blink of an eye, a clever steal from Fleming on Roos’ skipper Anthony Stevens after the next centre bounce, allowed the ball to find its way deep into the Richmond forward line, where the other comeback kid – Brad Ottens – stepped up to take a strong mark.

Ottens, in his first match back from pre-season back surgery, spent large amounts of time on the bench, but his valuable last quarter goal was his second for the night.

But just one minute later, the ball was whisked down to the Kangaroos’ attacking zone, where McCartney had been positioned at full-forward for much of the night - from quarter-time onwards.

As Kellaway laid a tackle, McCartney was able to get a small portion of his right boot to the ball – enough to allow Leigh Harding to run onto the ball and kick his third goal for the night.

Despite a further two minutes remaining on the clock, it would be the last score of the night and enough to ensure yet another fairytale in the story of the Kangaroos.

Richmond’s night was further soured by a serious knee injury suffered by star defender Darren Gaspar, who hurt himself just moments before Harding’s last goal.

There was little separating the sides all night.

With comeback kids McCartney and Ottens both starting on the bench for their respective sides, Richmond looked dominant from the opening bounce, booting three of the first four goals.

Little speedster David Rodan was prominent early, but hard work from Shannon Grant brought the Kangaroos back into the contest. The midfielder had gathered seven possessions by the 20-minute mark of the first quarter and also kicked the Roos’ first two goals of the match.

The second term was controlled by the Kangaroos for the first 15 minutes, before the Tigers fought back strongly before half-time.

McCartney had his first run for the night by starting the quarter at full-forward, but had no influence other than conceding a free to Kellaway for an obvious push in the back.

But perhaps spurred on by the mere presence of their courageous hero, the Kangaroos slotted home four of the first five goals of the term, with David King and Leigh Brown prominent.

A major to Digby Morrell put the Roos out to a 14-point lead before the Tigers counterattacked with three of the last four goals of the half.

Krakouer made the most of a free kick paid against King for an illegal hold and Matthew Richardson leveled the scores with his first goal of the night just before the main interval.

Richardson had an entertaining battle with opponent Shannon Watt, with honours shared on the night.

At the half-way mark of the season, the Kangaroos have cemented their position in the top eight, following three straight wins. Their sixth win of the year has now nudged them ahead of the Tigers on the ladder, by virtue of the two points gained from their round three draw with the Brisbane Lions.


KANGAROOS: 3.4, 8.5, 10.12, 13.14 (92)
RICHMOND: 4.2, 8.6, 10.9, 13.11 (89)

GOALS: Kangaroos: Grant, Harding 3, King 2, Stevens, Brown, Morrell, Harris, McCartney.
Richmond: Krakouer 3, Houlihan, Ottens 2, Bowden, Richardson, Fiora, Rodan, Fleming, Tivendale.
BEST: Kangaroos: Harvey, Grant, Brown, King, Harris, Archer. Richmond:Bowden, Chaffey, Johnson, Krakouer, Tivendale, Zantuck, Fleming.
INJURIES: Kangaroos: Colbert (stomach).
Richmond: Fiora (achilles), Gaspar (leg).
CHANGES: Kangaroos: Mark Porter and Ben Robbins replaced Matthew Burton and Saverio Rocca.
Richmond: Nil
UMPIRES: Rosebury, Sheehan, Rowe.
CROWD: 43,200 at Telstra Dome