Ivan Maric

Brook “Boris” Kilpatrick reporting for AFANA from Australia

Round 22's “Clash of the Sash” was also shaping up as Essendon’s last chance to take a stand and show the football world they were worthy of playing Finals footy. For Richmond, it was once again about rebuilding a franchise and taking it back to the glory days of the 70s, when the Tigers and playing Finals were synonymous.

Brook “Boris” Kilpatrick reporting for AFANA from Australia

Despite having only the slimmest of mathematical chances of making the Finals, Richmond Coach Damien Hardwick insists that his team will be going all out to win every remaining game of the 2012 season. On the other side of the coin, the Western Bulldogs are doing their best to stay positive in the face of multiple injuries and poor performance. Past match history was in the Bulldogs favor in Round 20 as the Tigers had not registered a win against the Doggies since Round 3 in 2005. The Tigers received a pre-game boost when Bulldog midfield gun Ryan Griffen was ruled out with an injury.

Jamie Kloeden reporting for AFANA from Adelaide, Australia

After a disappointing loss to North Melbourne last week, the Adelaide Crows returned home to face a young Richmond side that has shown plenty of positive signs this year but really needed another win to show that they deserve to be in the Finals mix this year.

Brook “Boris” Kilpatrick reporting for AFANA from Australia

In an unlikely “match of the round”, form teams St Kilda and Richmond met at Etihad Stadium in front of a pumped up Friday Night Footy crowd. The Tigers had not beaten St Kilda since 2003, though they came painfully close in the corresponding match just 12 months earlier when the game ended in a tense draw. The Saints were instilled as slight favorites with the bookmakers, in part due to the Tigers' poor form at Etihad and the aforementioned head to head record. St Kilda has been transformed into a more attacking team under new coach Scott Watters, giving the match all of the ingredients for an enthralling contest.

Brook "Boris" Kilpatrick reporting for AFANA from Australia

A massive crowd of over 80,000 footy fans streamed into the MCG to witness the Dreamtime clash between the Essendon Bombers and the Richmond Tigers. The game had been built up as a battle between two up and coming teams. The Bombers were sitting pretty near the top of the AFL Ladder with a 6-1 record versus the Tigers who were coming off good wins against Port and Sydney to be knocking on the door of the Top Eight.

Brook "Boris" Kilpatrick reporting for AFANA from AAMI Stadium, Adelaide

Overcast conditions and a steady drizzle greeted the visiting Richmond Tigers as they ran onto a pristine AAMI Stadium surface to face the Port Adelaide Power. With both teams sporting an equally precarious 1-4 record, the importance of a win and the prized four Premiership points could not be understated. The home fans were buoyed by a strong Port performance a week earlier at the same venue when a late fade out cost them a win against their arch rival Adelaide Crows, while Tiger fans could point to narrow losses against League pacesetters the West Coast Eagles and Geelong Cats as evidence of solid improvement.