THE WESTERN Bulldogs have survived an almighty scare from a gallant Richmond to escape with a 10-point win at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night that catapults them back inside the top four.

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On a day when fellow top-four contender Greater Western Sydney was upset by Collingwood, the Bulldogs seemed set to suffer a similar fate when they trailed by 14 points midway through the third term.

But Jake Stringer then shook off a slow start to kick four second-half goals, including three in the final term, that lifted the Dogs to a 12.13 (85) to 11.9 (75) win.

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The Dogs' night was soured, however, when star midfielder Tom Liberatore suffered a seemingly serious rib injury late in the dying seconds of the second quarter.

The result was in doubt right up until Stringer kicked his final goal at the 28-minute mark of the final term, with the lead changing five times in the final term.

The Tigers had led by seven points midway through the last quarter after Shaun Edwards set up a Jack Riewoldt goal with a clever pass and roved the next centre clearance to snap a major of his own.

Jack Redpath then redeemed two earlier botched final-quarter scoring attempts to level the scores before Stringer put the Dogs in front for good with his third goal at the 23-minute mark.

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The Bulldogs' win ensured it took advantage of slip-ups by Geelong and Greater Western Sydney earlier in round 16 to climb from sixth to third, although they will fall back to fourth if Adelaide beats Carlton at the MCG on Sunday.

Coach Luke Beveridge said wins did not get "much uglier" than the Bulldogs' narrow escape.
 
"I love to be sitting here giving Richmond a lot of credit for taking the fight up, which they did and really pressuring us into skill errors and decision-making errors, but it was a tough one to sit through," Beveridge said.

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"But I just said to our players credit to them they still believed and they still hung in there and ultimately they adjusted a little bit and it was a really important win, but it wasn't pretty."

The Bulldogs' comeback was sparked midway through the third term when Stringer pinged Dustin Martin in a tackle 40m out from the Dogs' goal and converted.

Marcus Bontempelli (25 possessions) was also instrumental in the Dogs' strong finish to the game, while Matthew Boyd (28 possessions) gave the Bulldogs drive from defence all night.

Lachie Hunter (24 possessions) was a tireless midfield runner and captain Easton Wood and Dale Morris were steadying influences in defence.

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick could not fault his team's endeavour, but said skill errors had been costly in the end.

"We just weren't quite efficient enough going inside 50. I think in that last quarter they took five marks off 'oppo' (opposition) which hurt us. I think Easton (Wood) might have taken three of those and we just weren't quite clean enough when it mattered most and that's probably the difference in the sides at the moment," Hardwick said.

"We were really happy with our pressure. They controlled the game in the back half a little bit, we couldn't quite equalise those numbers at the start, but once we started to get our system up and going a little better our speed up forward was certainly noticeable closing down space.

"It was a good starting point."

Hardwick buoyed by Tigers' depth

Martin was outstanding for the Tigers all over the ground with his trademark mix of grunt and class. The Richmond star finished with a game-high 38 possessions, eight clearances and six inside 50s.

Shaun Hampson made a strong return from injury, dominating the ruck for the Tigers, while Trent Cotchin (28 possessions) continued his strong form through the middle and Alex Rance marshalled Richmond's defence.

Oleg Markov also impressed on debut for Richmond with 18 possessions and three rebound 50s.

Just one point separated the teams at the major break after a hard-fought first half.

The Bulldogs look sharper in the opening minutes and took advantage of some poor turnovers by Richmond to kick two of the first three goals.

The Dogs led by nine points after a rushed behind at the 24-minute mark of the first term, but a clever snapped goal from Jason Castagna helped Richmond close the gap to two points at the first break.

Castagna's goal was the first of four straight for the Tigers, who led by 12 points midway through the second term after majors from Edwards, Jack Riewoldt and Sam Lloyd.

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With Nick Vlastuin keeping Stringer on a short rein, the Bulldogs were struggling to find a target inside their forward 50.

However, Bontempelli stepped up to take a strong mark at the 19-minute mark and converted from 45m.

And when Tory Dickson made Richmond pay the full price of a turnover from a Dylan Grimes kick-in down the centre, the Bulldogs led by one point heading into half-time.

MEDICAL ROOM
Western Bulldogs: Tom Liberatore suffered a rib injury after copping a heavy knock in a marking contest with Jayden Short in the dying seconds of the second quarter. The Bulldogs midfielder hobbled to the bench and did not play any further part in the game, leaving the ground during the third quarter to be assessed at hospital. Beveridge said in his post-match press conference an initial scan had cleared Liberatore of internal damage, but he would have to undergo further tests, including an X-ray of his ribs, before his condition was fully known.

Richmond: The Tigers emerged with a clean bill of health.

NEXT UP
The Bulldogs will host Gold Coast at Cazaly's Stadium next Saturday night, the Dogs having won their previous two clashes against the Suns at the Cairns venue. Richmond faces Essendon at the MCG next Saturday, when the Tigers will be bidding to extend their winning streak over the Bombers to five games. 

WESTERN BULLDOGS   3.3  5.9  6.11  12.13  (85)
RICHMOND                     3.1  6.2    8.6    11.9  (75)

GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Stringer 4, Bontempelli 2, Redpath 2, Suckling, Smith, Dickson, Johannisen
Richmond: Castagna 2, Riewoldt 2, Edwards 2, Griffiths, Cotchin, Lloyd, Ellis, McBean

BEST
Western Bulldogs: Boyd, Hunter, Bontempelli, Stringer, Wood, Suckling
Richmond: Martin, Cotchin, Rance, Edwards, Vlastuin, Hampson, Markov

INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Liberatore (ribs)
Richmond: Nil

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Farmer, Bannister, Chamberlain

Official crowd: 39,679 at Etihad Stadium