A GOAL after the final siren to spearhead Jack Riewoldt has given Richmond n exciting one-point NAB Cup victory over Hawthorn at Aurora Stadium in Launceston on Saturday.
 
The Tigers' less than inspiring recent record in close matches looked like rearing its head again when Jarryd Roughead booted his third goal of the final term to put the Hawks in front with only minutes remaining.
 
But Riewoldt was ice cool in slotting a set shot from 35 metres out on a 45-degree angle to seal the 0.13.7 (85) to 0.13.6 (84) win.

Click here for the best match pics.
 
The Coleman medallist finished with three goals to be his team's leading scorer along with former skipper Chris Newman, who kicked two of his three goals in the back-and-forth final term.
 
Roughead kicked five for the Hawks, but their loss was further soured by the loss of Matt Suckling to a right knee injury.
 
The half-back's knee buckled under him during the third quarter, and he was helped from the field and subbed off.
 
In his post-match press conference, Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson feared the worst.
 
"We'll get it scanned on Monday, but it doesn't look good – I think it's more than likely going to be a [ruptured] ACL," Clarkson said.
 
"That's a great disappointment for us; we've had five knee reconstructions in 12 months at our club now."

Richmond took a much stronger team on paper into the clash, and its seasoned stars stood out.
 
Along with Riewoldt and Newman, midfielders Trent Cotchin and Brett Deledio were among the Tigers' best, both finding plenty of the football.
 
Hawthorn remains without a win in the pre-season competition, but there were some positives.
 
Without several senior stars including Lance Franklin, Brad Sewell, Cyril Rioli and Luke Hodge, a number of borderline players strongly pressed their round one claims.
 
Chief among them was wingman Bradley Hill, who ran hard from start to finish, while Jonathan Simpkin, Jed Anderson, Sam Grimley and Matt Spangher were all prominent in stages.
 
Star midfielder Sam Mitchell was the best of the senior Hawks, with Shaun Burgoyne and Grant Birchall also playing well in their first hit-outs of the year.

What it means: Richmond can take some confidence from getting over the line in a close game, having lost half a dozen matches by 13 points or less in 2012. But the Tigers won't be overly thrilled with the way they played, given the long list of Hawthorn players missing.
 
The Hawks are winless in the NAB Cup, although three of the four losses have been by less than a kick. Suckling's injury is a devastating blow, but the club will back itself to replace him. There is still time to find form before round one, particulary, as Clarkson pointed out, as the Hawks don't play until Easter Monday.
 
What they said: "We're playing some OK footy, but we've still got a fair bit of work to do. Hawthorn had a truckload of players out, so we're under no illusions that we should have won the game with the squad we had in, and we just got over the line. So from our point of view, it wasn't good enough." – Richmond coach Damien Hardwick
 
"It was a gallant effort … we were just a bit stiff that we weren't in front when the final siren went. We played a young side today and we were pleased with a lot of their efforts. We made plenty of mistakes, like young players do, but we kept hanging in and having a crack." – Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson.
 
Fantasy snapshot: Young Hawk Anderson strengthened his chances of playing against Geelong on Easter Monday, collecting 15 disposals and 69 fantasy points. He should be on your watchlist. Guns Mitchell (111 points), Deledio (108) and Cotchin (101) showed nothing to suggest they won't be just as valuable this year as last.




 
HAWTHORN   0.4.1    0.5.3    0.9.5    0.13.6  (84)                  
RICHMOND     0.4.1    0.8.4    0.9.7    0.13.7  (85)          

SUPERGOALS
Hawthorn: Nil
Richmond: Nil

GOALS
Hawthorn: Roughead 5, Burgoyne 2, Spangher 2, Savage, Anderson, Wanganeen, Grimley
Richmond: Newman 3, Riewoldt 3, King 2, Deledio 2, Vickery, Grigg, Houli

BEST
Hawthorn: Hill, Mitchell, Roughead, Simpkin, Burgoyne, Grimley
Richmond: Cotchin, King, Newman, White, Riewoldt, Deledio

INJURIES
Hawthorn: Suckling (right knee)
Richmond: Newman (corked left thigh)
 
Reports: Nil