Richmond slumped to its eighth straight defeat, going down by a hefty 69-points to Collingwood at the MCG on Friday night - 20.11 (131) to 9.8 (62).
Last weekend, Richmond coach Danny Frawley refused to declare his team’s finals hopes as over while they remained mathematically possible.
But now the only action his men will see in September will be from the same side of the fence as you and me.
Ben Holland was the only Tiger to succeed up forward, kicking three second half goals after being switched from defence.
After Andy Krakouer kicked the first goal of the night from close range, it was all downhill for Richmond.
Collingwood was simply in a different class to the hapless Tigers and sent a strong warning to those who believe the premiership cup is headed out of Victoria for the third year in a row.
Nathan Buckley did his Brownlow chances no harm with another brilliant performance, Scott Burns and Paul Licuria were tireless around the packs and Chris Tarrant, Anthony Rocca and Jarrod Molloy were all effective targets up forward.
The Magpie defence was rarely under pressure all night, but when the ball did venture down into the Richmond scoring zone, Simon Prestigiacomo had the better of an out-of-sorts Matthew Richardson.
Collingwood did not have any great system behind its five-goal-to-one first quarter, but a classier midfield brigade ensured that the ball spent most of its time in the Magpie attacking area.
Buckley, Licuria and Brodie Holland ran rampant in the first half and were ably supported by Burns, who exerted his physical presence in close.
Frawley tried four opponents – Matthew Rogers, Tim Fleming, Joel Bowden and Mark Coughlan – on Buckley in the first quarter alone, but none of the quartet was able to curb the Collingwood skipper’s influence.
With Tarrant held goalless by Ty Zantuck until the third quarter, Jarrod Molloy stepped up to play a pivotal role in the Magpies establishing 54-point lead by half-time.
Collingwood was never going to be threatened after outscoring Richmond by seven goals to two in the second term.
Molloy was the most influential forward on the ground in the first half, with 14 possessions, four marks and three goals.
Richmond’s season cannot finish quickly enough now, but the Tigers at least have a chance to snap their losing streak against the bottom-placed Western Bulldogs at Telstra Dome next Saturday night.
RICHMOND 1.3, 3.6, 5.8, 9.8 (62)
COLLINGWOOD: 5.3, 12.6, 13.8, 20.11 (131)
GOALS: Richmond: Holland 3, Krakouer 2, Tivendale, Richardson, Chaffey, Ottens.
Collingwood: Molloy 4, Rocca 3, Willams, O’Bree, Tarrant 2, Holland, Burns, Johnson, Lonie, Buckley, Fraser, Betheras.
BEST: Richmond: Holland, Coughlan, Tivendale, Newman, Krakouer.
Collingwood: Buckley, Molloy, Licuria, Burns, Prestigiacomo, Holland, Rocca.
INJURIES: Richmond: Hilton (ribs)
Collingwood: Kinnear (ankle).
REPORTS: Tim Fleming (Rich) by field umpire Matthew James for unduly rough play against Jason Cloke in the first quarter.
CHANGES: Richmond: Clinton King and Chris Hyde replaced Leon Cameron and Kane Johnson in the selected side.
Collingwood: Dane Swan replaced Rhyce Shaw in the selected side.
UMPIRES: James, McLaren, Nicholls.
CROWD: 54,655 at the MCG.
