Fairytale Finish Masks Ugly Win for Tigers
Jordan McMahon's goal after the siren, from 45 metres out in front, earned the Tigers a four-point win, 12.14 (86) to 12.10 (82), which was a memorable end to a forgettable game.
McMahon kicked truly after marking a centred pass from teammate Richard Tambling just seconds before the final siren.
The post-siren result - which had no bearing on the top eight - was the second in as many rounds, after Geelong's Jimmy Bartel kicked a behind to sink Hawthorn last weekend.
But where that score capped a great Cats comeback, McMahon's major could not hide caretaker coach Rawlings' sobering realisation the Tigers had almost taken a step backwards from their recent encouraging form.
"It should be euphoric, after the game it should have been one of the greatest wins you've ever had," Rawlings said.
"But unfortunately, because we couldn't play the way that we'd become accustomed to playing in the last six weeks, you don't even scratch the surface with it.
"They (Melbourne) still had a crack, they hit us up pretty well and forced us into errors.
"... but the fact there's a bit of positive press and some blokes starting to get some articles (written about them) and things are going along OK ... you don't know how ingrained that sort of comfort is."
Melbourne coach Dean Bailey also endured his share of mixed feelings, as he did not see the deciding kick because he walked out of the coaches box thinking his side had the game won.
"I thought we'd won the game with five or six seconds to go," Bailey said.
"Then it went to fullback and I heard the roar and McMahon's kicked a goal ... it's not often you get beaten with three or four seconds to go."
Richmond led by 11 points entering time-on, but Melbourne hit the front through goals to youngsters Jack Grimes, who marked a Richmond kick-in and then unloaded from 50 metres, and Ricky Petterd, who ran on to a thump forward by teammate Clint Bartram.
Petterd's goal put the Demons two points up with 100 seconds remaining, but the Tigers regained possession and brought the ball into attack along the boundary in the final passage, and Tambling had the poise to find a teammate inboard.
McMahon marked just before the siren sounded, and as he lined up thought more about making up for his gaffed shots earlier in the game than about fulfilling the childhood dream.
"I just thought this was an opportunity to kick a goal from my two mistakes early on," he said.
"It was obviously still there, the idea of winning the game, but honestly it was put aside, to kick a goal, to make up for those mistakes."
McMahon's emotion afterwards was relief, and that was shared by Rawlings.
"I thought we were gone," he said.
"Tambling had good composure to get it to McMahon, but we did everything we could to make it hard for ourselves and lose, so it was good for the players and our supporters to go home having seen this one."
Richmond's best included midfielders Ben Cousins, Brett Deledio and Tambling and Nathan Brown (three goals), while Melbourne's best were skipper James McDonald, Aaron Davey and Grimes.
AFL Results and Standings Round 18
CARLTON 3.4 6.4 12.7 14.10 (94)
NORTH MELBOURNE 3.4 7.9 11.9 11.18 (84)
Goals: Carlton: M Murphy 4 B Fevola 3 B Gibbs 2 B Thornton 2 N Stevens 2 S O'hAilpin. North Melbourne: L Thomas 4 D Petrie 2 L Harding 2 A Swallow B Harvey H McIntosh.
Best: Carlton: M Murphy N Stevens D Armfield B Gibbs B Thornton. North Melbourne: B Harvey L Thomas B Rawlings D Petrie H McIntosh.
Injuries: Carlton: B Thornton (shoulder) M Jamison (groin) replaced in selected side by R Hadley. North Melbourne: A Simpson (calf) L Greenwood (knee) L Harding (hamstring) N Grima (corked thigh).
Reports: Nil.
Umpires: Stephen McBurney, Brett Rosebury, Heath Ryan.
Venue: Etihad Stadium.
WESTERN BULLDOGS 5.2 12.4 14.6 17.9 (111)
FREMANTLE 1.6 5.8 8.11 11.14 (80)
Goals: Western Bulldogs: J Akermanis 5 B Stack 4 C Ward 2 M Hahn 2 W Minson 2 D Cross J Hill. Fremantle: C Mayne 3 K Bradley 2 M Pavlich 2 A Grover A Sandilands H Ballantyne M De Boer.
Best: Western Bulldogs: J Akermanis D Cross M Boyd C Ward J Hill B Stack. Fremantle: M Pavlich G Broughton A Sandilands C Tarrant D Headland.
Injuries: Nil.
Reports: Western Bulldogs: Nil. Fremantle: H Ballantyne (Fremantle) reported for rough conduct against L Picken (Western Bulldogs) in third quarter.
Umpires: Simon Meredith, Jacob Mollison, Michael Avon.
Official Crowd: 19,065 at Etihad Stadium.
GEELONG 3.3 7.7 11.7 14.9 (93)
ADELAIDE 3.2 4.7 9.11 13.13 (91)
Goals: Geelong: P Chapman 6 C Mooney 2 G Ablett 2 J Bartel J Selwood M Stokes S Johnson. Adelaide: B Burton 4 K Tippett 4 B Reilly C Knights G Johncock M Doughty S Stevens.
Best: Geelong: P Chapman J Bartel C Enright T Harley A Mackie J Selwood S Mumford. Adelaide: B Reilly B Burton K Tippett S Goodwin R Shirley B Vince N Bock.
Injuries: Geelong: T Lonergan (groin soreness) replaced in the selected side by T Gillies. Adelaide: N Bock (bruised heel).
Reports: Nil.
Umpires: Matt Stevic, Scott McLaren, Mathew Nicholls.
Official Crowd: 21,686 at Skilled Stadium.
ST KILDA 4.4 7.8 11.13 13.16 (94)
SYDNEY 3.4 8.9 8.12 13.15 (93)
Goals: St Kilda: A McQualter 2 A Schneider 2 N Riewoldt 2 B McEvoy J Gram J Gwilt J Koschitzke N Dal Santo S King S Milne. Sydney: J White 3 A Goodes 2 L Ablett 2 C Bird E Barlow J McVeigh K Jack M Mattner M O'Loughlin.
Best: St Kilda: B Goddard L Montagna N Dal Santo F Ray M Hudghton N Riewoldt. Sydney: J McVeigh D Jolly E Barlow C Bolton J Bolton K Jack.
Injuries: St Kilda: S King (shoulder). Sydney: C Bird (shoulder) D Jolly (hamstring) R O'Keefe (rib/back).
Reports: St Kilda: S Milne (St Kilda) for striking J Crouch (Sydney) in the first quarter. Sydney: Nil.
Umpires: Chris Donlon, Stuart Wenn, Robert Findlay.
Venue: SCG.
COLLINGWOOD 2.4 4.8 9.14 12.23 (95)
BRISBANE 4.1 7.4 7.6 8.7 (55)
Goals: Collingwood: D Thomas 3 D Beams 2 L Davis 2 A Didak J Anthony P Medhurst S O'Bree S Pendlebury. Brisbane: J Brown 5 D Merrett J Sherman M Rischitelli.
Best: Collingwood: D Swan A Didak D Thomas L Davis N Maxwell S Pendlebury. Brisbane: J Brown M Clark J Macdonald.
Injuries: Collingwood: S Prestigiacomo (head knock) C Dawes replaced in selected side by T Goldsack. Brisbane: D Bradshaw (hamstring) replaced in selected side by J Roe.
Reports: Nil.
Umpires: Michael Vozzo, Ray Chamberlain, Stefan Grun.
Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground.
RICHMOND 1.5 4.8 7.10 12.14 (86)
MELBOURNE 2.0 4.3 8.7 12.10 (82)
Goals: Richmond: N Brown 3 B Deledio 2 M Morton 2 J McMahon J Riewoldt R Nahas T Hislop T Vickery. Melbourne: B Miller 2 L Dunn 2 R Petterd 2 A Davey J Grimes M Bate M Newton N Jetta N Jones.
Best: Richmond: B Deledio B Cousins N Brown W Thursfield M Morton L McGuane R Tambling. Melbourne: A Davey J McDonald J Grimes M Bate K Cheney C Bruce R Petterd.
Injuries: Richmond: J Riewoldt (concussion). Melbourne: J Bennell (knee) M Whelan (foot) S Martin (corked calf) C Morton (heel) replaced in the selected side by J Spencer.
Reports: Richmond: J King (Richmond) reported by field umpire M James for wrestling A Davey (Melbourne) in the first quarter. Melbourne: A Davey (Melbourne) reported by field umpire M James for wrestling J King (Richmond) in the first quarter.
Umpires: Todd Keating, Mathew James, Luke Farmer.
Official Crowd: 37,438 at Melbourne Cricket Ground.
PORT ADELAIDE 5.1 12.5 15.8 18.13 (121)
HAWTHORN 5.3 10.9 11.14 14.19 (103)
Goals: Port Adelaide: R Gray 4 J Westhoff 3 W Tredrea 3 D Rodan 2 N Salter 2 D Pearce S Burgoyne T Boak T Logan. Hawthorn: B Guerra 2 J Roughead 2 L Franklin 2 L Hodge 2 B McGlynn B Sewell B Whitecross C Bateman J Kennedy S Taylor.
Best: Port Adelaide: D Rodan R Gray S Burgoyne W Tredrea J Westhoff T Boak C Cornes T Chaplin. Hawthorn: C Bateman L Hodge B Guerra C Brown L Franklin B Sewell.
Injuries: Port Adelaide: D Cassisi (concussion). Hawthorn: Nil.
Reports: Nil.
Umpires: Shaun Ryan, Troy Pannell, Shane McInerney.
Official Crowd: 25,154 at AAMI Stadium.
WEST COAST 4.2 8.6 11.7 14.11 (95)
ESSENDON 2.1 4.1 7.6 10.8 (68)
Goals: West Coast: B McKinley 4 M LeCras 3 C Wilson 2 D Wirrpanda 2 T Swift 2 J Kennedy. Essendon: J Neagle 3 K Reimers 2 A Welsh B Prismall C Dempsey H Hocking P Ryder.
Best: West Coast: M LeCras A Embley B McKinley N Naitanui T Swift M Priddis. Essendon: J Watson A Monfries B Stanton J Neagle D Fletcher.
Injuries: West Coast: M Spangher replaced in selected side by E Mackenzie. Essendon: A Lovett (corked thigh).
Reports: Nil.
Umpires: Justin Schmitt, Craig Hendrie, Scott Jeffery.
Official Crowd: 35,765 at Subiaco.
AFL Ladder P W L D For Agst PC Pts
1 St Kilda 18 18 - - 1842 1121 164.3 72
2 Geelong 18 16 2 - 1968 1467 134.2 64
3 Western Bulldogs 18 12 6 - 1969 1582 124.5 48
4 Collingwood 18 12 6 - 1760 1495 117.7 48
5 Adelaide 18 11 7 - 1644 1481 111.0 44
6 Brisbane 18 11 7 - 1639 1517 108.0 44
7 Carlton 18 10 8 - 1795 1654 108.5 40
8 Port Adelaide 18 9 9 - 1690 1829 92.4 36
9 Essendon 18 8 10 - 1680 1692 99.3 32
10 Hawthorn 18 8 10 - 1612 1743 92.5 32
11 Sydney 18 7 11 - 1530 1670 91.6 28
12 Richmond 18 5 12 1 1509 1853 81.4 22
13 West Coast 18 5 13 - 1508 1693 89.1 20
14 North Melbourne 18 4 13 1 1350 1718 78.6 18
15 Fremantle 18 4 14 - 1372 1877 73.1 16
16 Melbourne 18 3 15 - 1355 1831 74.0 12
LEADING GOALKICKERS
68: J Brown (Brisbane) 5
64: B Fevola (Carlton) 3
58: L Franklin (Hawthorn) 2
57: N Riewoldt (St Kilda) 2
50: J Roughead (Hawthorn) 2
46: M LeCras (West Coast) 3
43: W Tredrea (Pt Adel) 3
40: K Tippett (Adelaide) 4, D Bradshaw (Brisbane) 0
38: S Johnson (Geelong) 1
37: J Anthony (C'wood) 1, J Porplyzia (Adelaide) 0, J Koschitzke (St Kilda) 1
