The official attendance of 5190 people may have been quiet throughout the early stages of the clash — largely due to the oppressive heat which clung to the Goulburn Valley’s premier sporting complex like a blanket — but certainly found their voice late in the day as the action out on the field lifted more than a few notches.
The Demons — with Mooroopna export Clayton Oliver leading the way at the coalface — got out by as much as 28 points early in the second term before the Tigers roared back into the game.
The likes of Dustin Martin, Bachar Houli and round-one smoky Noah Balta stepped up to the plate to steer Richmond to success, with the Tigers compiling a five-goal lead of their own in the opening minutes of the final term.
But the Demons ensured the crowd had plenty to cheer about, extinguishing Richmond’s momentum as the power itself went out at the ground.
A Liam Baker snap in the dying moments allayed any fears of defeat for the Richmond-centric crowd though, with the final score 16.17 (113) to 16.5 (101) in the Tigers’ favour.
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick was pleased after the game that his charges were able to combat the conditions well and reach the final siren without any serious injury concerns.
‘‘It was obviously good to get through relatively unscathed, we played a pretty good side in Melbourne too,’’ Hardwick said.
‘‘The game was up and down and I thought we played a pretty good brand of footy the majority of the day.
‘‘We had some phases of the day we weren’t overly happy with, but all in all it was a positive experience.’’
Melbourne was not so lucky in the injury department, with Jeff Garlett copping a dislocated shoulder which could have him out of action for two-to-three weeks.
But Demons coach Simon Goodwin was pleased with his side’s overall performance — including the way it handled new rules — as it looks to prime itself for round one of the season proper.
‘‘There was a bit to like, especially early,’’ Goodwin said.
‘‘I thought (the new rules) were working really well.
‘‘Clearly you can see some space around the centre clearance and generating a few goals for a lot of teams, so that’s the new rule (6-6-6 starting set-up) that seems to have been implemented and working well.
‘‘Obviously as time goes on coaches will look at how to best maximise it and how to best minimise the damage at the other end.’’
Melbourne’s rucking options have been a huge talking point during summer, and with Max Gawn’s absence from the match it gave recruit Braydon Preuss a chance to spread his wings in the number one role.
Goodwin was impressed with the big man’s output, but whether that means he and Gawn fit in the same set-up remains to be seen.
‘‘It’s his first full game in the ruck for us, he’s an improving player and a developing player and we see him in that space in our long term players who will continue to work on his craft,’’ Goodwin said.
‘‘He hasn’t played the game for a long time, so he’s still got plenty to work on and we’ll continue to foster and develop that.’’
Balta also put his hand up for a round-one debut at Richmond, showing his potential to combine well with main man Toby Nankervis as the duo added five goals to the scoreboard between it while cycling through the middle alongside young Ivan Soldo.
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