Richmond has effectively closed the door on Adelaide's September dreams, dispatching the Crows by a comprehensive 47 points at the MCG on Friday night.
The Tiger midfield were at their manic best, and were led brilliantly by Dustin Martin who finished with 30 disposals and two majors, while Kane Lambert (33 touches), Dion Prestia (28) and Shane Edwards (28) were equally prolific.
While Adelaide staged somewhat of a fightback in patches of the third term in a desperate bid to keep their season alive, the Tigers were far too strong and easily ran over their opposition with a six-goal final quarter.
Matt Crouch and Rory Laird gathered plenty of ball for Adelaide with 38 and 36 possessions respectively, yet no Crow was nowhere near as penetrating in terms of ball use compared to that of the unrelenting Tigers.
While the Crows had all the ascendancy in the initial stages of the quarter, two late goals from the Tigers had the momentum swinging in favour of the home side.
Registering the first five clearances and seven inside 50s of the match, Adelaide looked a far departure from their previous month, easily picking off Richmond's kicks from half-back and using the midfield intercepts as a launching pad for their forays forward.
Ironically, after three successive behinds, Adelaide's first major came from outside 50 courtesy of a long bomb from Paul Seedsman, who was prolific through the midfield with seven first quarter touches.
While the defence of Daniel Talia and Rory Laird held firm for majority of the term, much of the same problem in moving the ball forward of centre befell the Crows, with Richmond pouncing upon their errant kicks.
Jack Riewoldt finally put through Richmond's first at the 19-minute mark of the term after the Tigers wrestled the momentum back in their favour, before Daniel Rioli quickly jagged Richmond's second in quick succession with a minute left on the clock.
With just six points separating the two sides at quarter-time, the Tigers nonetheless lurked dangerously, ready to break the game open at a moment's notice.
The Tigers wasted no time in burying the Crows in the second half, with an explosive five-goal term blowing away the visitors, despite them kicking three scattered majors of their own.
Winning the clearance count for the term 12-10 and finishing with double the amount of inside 50s for the game (36-18), Richmond blew their Grand Final adversaries out of the water and took complete control of the game
A rare straight up the guts play from Adelaide gave Josh Jenkins his first of the evening, but it was one of the few daring passages of play from the Crows as the pressure-laden Richmond swamped their opposition.
Richmond's manic press and desperation to keep the ball alive created chaos for the Crows, and as Adelaide continued to rush their kicks as a result of the Tigers' pressure, their subsequent hesitancy to move the ball through the middle of the ground resulted in countless turnovers.
While Richmond failed to punish the Crows on the scoreboard early, another turnover from Adelaide finally afforded Callum Moore his maiden major of the evening and kickstarted the Tiger onslaught.
Josh Caddy made it two goals within a minute for the Tigers off the back of an impressive Dion Prestia clearance, and before long the Crows' grip on the game began to slip.
The Tigers' momentum only continued to manifest as Jayden Short duly converted on the run, before Jordan Gallucci abated the surge with an admirable spoil and goal to keep the visitors afloat.
Richmond seemed to hit new heights with an incredible Riewoldt leap, before the key forward crumbed his own ball and kicked true, and as Shane Edwards squeezed through the Tigers' fifth for the term, the home side looked close to unstoppable
.
Adelaide were let off the hook after Jayden Short was deemed to have run too far, giving Jenkins his second from the goal square and putting the Crows 22 points down at half-time.
Despite Richmond's impressive tack on the football throughout the third term, Adelaide managed to keep themselves firmly within the contest, outscoring the Tigers three goals to two.
While the Crows managed to quell the Tigers early, some Riewoldt brilliance in the pocket gave Moore his second goal, leaving the visitors in an unexceptionally vulnerable position and their finals hopes in just as much jeopardy.
But as the Tigers' intensity continued to escalate, Adelaide finally found the courage the move through the centre of the ground with pace, allowing Taylor Walker to put through the first for the Crows with a trademark long-range kick.
A dislocated shoulder to Jack Graham after an attempted tackle brought the Tigers down to just 21 men, yet the injury did little to faze their ferocity around the ball.
Richmond continued to loom dangerous, reminding Adelaide of their damaging capabilities as Dustin Martin threaded through exceptional goal to restore the original half-time margin.
The Crows hung on in the second half of the quarter however, with Darcy Fogarty and Jenkins registering a goal apiece - and kicking the first consecutive majors for Adelaide for the evening - to leave the margin at just 16 points at the final change.
Yet the Tigers brushed aside any such hope of a late resurgence, piling on six goals to one to completely unravel the Crows and bring their season to a premature end.
It didn't take long for the home side to put the visitors to the sword, with Caddy converting in the opening minute and Rioli following up with some slick ball movement to swiftly crush Adelaide's dreams.
The situation only worsened for Adelaide, with a collision between Poholke and Walker preventing them from securing a much-needed major to keep themselves within the hunt.
Richmond punished the blunder soon after, with a desperate Caddy handball to keep the ball in play allowing the passing Dan Butler to stream into goal and snap the sealer with 13 minutes left to play.
A Martin goal just moments later inflicted more pain on the travelling Crows, before Edwards too added his second to humiliate the Crows even further.
With goals streaming through the Punt Road end and the Richmond faithful in a frenzy, the same couldn't be said the Adelaide cheer squad, who only had the one Hugh Greenwood major to celebrate.
One final major from Dion Prestia closed out the game, as the Tigers treated the Crows like witches hats and finished the game as definitive 47-point victors.
Richmond will hit the road next week to quash Greater Western Sydney's slim finals aspirations next Saturday at Spotless Stadium, while Adelaide will hope to play spoiler to Geelong's September dreams in six day's time at Adelaide Oval.
RICHMOND 2.3 7.8 9.10 15.13 (103)
ADELAIDE 1.3 4.4 7.6 8.8 (56)
GOALS
Richmond: Rioli 2, Edwards 2, Moore 2, Caddy 2, Martin 2, Riewoldt 2, Butler, Prestia, Short
Adelaide: Jenkins 3, Fogarty, Greenwood, Gallucci, Seedsman, Walker
BEST
Richmond: Martin, Lambert, Grimes, Riewoldt, Edwards, Grigg
Adelaide: Doedee, Laird, Crouch, Talia, Sloane, Jenkins
INJURIES
Richmond: Graham (shoulder)
Adelaide: Nil
TALKING POINTS
1. TIGERS STEAMROLL CROWS ON THEIR WAY TO SEPTEMBER
A back-to-back Grand Final appearances is looking more and more likely each week for the Tigers, who are showing no signs of slowing down as they approach September.
Armed with an indomitable midfield, a sturdy defence and a fiery forward line, Richmond - against every conceivable belief of what is possible - are travelling even better than last season's premiership year.
Now sitting two games clear on top of the ladder with figures of 12-3, it's eerie thinking that at this point last year, the Tigers were sitting in sixth position at 9-6.
The Crows meanwhile have been left in a shambles, and even though a host of stars have returned in recent weeks and their form over the past month has been commendable, it's too much to even fathom them making an appearance come finals time.
Once again the Tigers' fourth quarters stood marked, booting six goals against the Crows' solitary one off the boot of Hugh Greenwood.
It's their 12th final quarter victory for the season, with a whopping 66.45 (441) kicked from their 15 matches - almost double the amount of points they have conceded in this year's last terms.
They're not taking to foot off the gas - Richmond are going all the way to that last week in September.
2. 17 STRAIGHT AT THE MCG... AND A RECORD CLOSE TO BEING BROKEN
As if it couldn't get any better for the Tigers, they look set to surpass the record for the most consecutive wins at the MCG - a statistic which has stood for over 60 years.
The 17-game reign of Melbourne from 1955-56 has now been equalled by Richmond following tonight's victory, and only Collingwood stand in their way in preventing them from writing themselves into the history books.
Should the ladder remain the same in three week's time, first playing second will be one of the best contests of the season.
A Grand Final preview perhaps?
3. ADELAIDE IN ALL SORTS
A hotly contested pre-season camp, alleged internal disputes and several stars leaving the Crows' nest following last year's Grand Final defeat seems to have finally caught up with Adelaide, as their disappointing season lies on the rocks.
While Adelaide competed well for patches of the third term, the Crows had somewhat of a reluctance to seize the game and play with any such dare, often playing predictable football which the Tigers pounced upon.
Furthermore, no Crow had so significant impact on the contest, despite Rory Laird - who was arguably Adelaide's best player - and Matt Crouch both registering above 35 touches.
While Josh Jenkins starred with three goals, all were kicked from the goal line and the big man had little influence from that point onward.
Curtly Hampton registered just two handballs for the entire night, while several other players had minimal impact for the majority of proceedings.
It's just a snapshot into Adelaide's fall from grace following last year, and while miracles can happen, it doesn't look like 2018 will be the year of the Crow.
Adelaide still have four games to play at their home deck, but a single misstep will well and truly rule them out of a September appearance - if they haven't been already.
4. RICHMOND MIDFIELD MIGHTY... AGAIN
It's not often where a team can boast so many quality midfielders who week after week tear sides to shreds, but with Richmond, that's just the norm.
Dustin Martin and Kane Lambert finished with over 30 disposals and were instrumental in inflicting ample amounts of pain on the hapless Crows.
Yet Shaun Grigg, Shane Edwards, Dion Prestia, Trent Cotchin, Brandon Ellis, Jack Higgins and Jayden Short all finished with above 25 touches, with each playing valuable contributions in the dismantling of the Crows.
It's hard to argue about a midfield so consistent and so potent going around at the moment, with Collingwood standing as the only true competition in terms of a top quality midfield who rack up high numbers and perform splendidly week in, week out.
While it's easy to highlight Martin and Cotchin each week, the lesser-known stars of the Richmond centre have been just as pivotal in their success.
Expect a few of these players to become common household names later this year.
5. JACK IN THE PACK ALMOST CLINCHES MARK OF THE YEAR
Jack Riewoldt nearly brought the entire MCG to their feet after his phenomenal attempted hangar in the second quarter, which undoubtedly would have seen him take out Mark of the Year instantaneously.
Soaring high above the pack, Riewoldt stretched himself to full height but was unable to hold on to the footy as both Richmond and Adelaide supporters groaned in disappointment.
After having a nice chat with Warwick Capper in the airspace above, Riewoldt finally tumbled back down to earth before crumbing his own ball and snapping through an incredible major to the roar of the Richmond faithful.
If Mark of the Year is out, why not try to clinch Goal of the Year?
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