'End of an era' for reigning premiers

Richmond's hopes of achieving 4 premierships successful 5 years look implicit aft the Tigers were thrashed astatine the hands of the GWS Giants by 39 points astatine Marvel Stadium.

The Giants contiguous outscored the reigning premiers 7 goals to 2 successful the opening quarter, and from determination GWS ne'er looked backmost arsenic they cruised to a 16.10 (106) to 10.7 (67) win.

The triumph for the Giants bumps them up to the seventh spot connected the AFL ladder, portion the Tigers, who would've jumped into the 8 had they won, stay astatine the 11th spot.

With 1 crippled remaining for the Tigers, not lone volition they request a triumph adjacent week, but a fig of results volition request to spell their mode implicit the remainder of Round 22 and adjacent week's Round 23 to sneak in.

The Tigers look dejected aft losing the circular 22 AFL lucifer betwixt Greater Western Sydney Giants and Richmond Tigers astatine Marvel Stadium connected August 13, 2021 successful Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images) (Getty)

Most importantly for the Tigers, they volition request Fremantle to bushed West Coast this weekend, with the Eagles presently sitting 4 points wide successful the eighth spot.

West Coast indispensable suffer its adjacent 2 games for the Tigers to stay a accidental of sneaking into the apical eight.

But according to AFL large Garry Lyon, it's virtually each implicit present for the Tigers.

"This is the extremity of an epoch for Richmond. They've mislaid six retired of 8 and we support saying they're going to travel back, it conscionable comes, clip comes," Lyon told Fox Footy astatine half-time.

"Now they're looking astatine it going tin we triumph a premiership? Probably not. Do we privation to play finals? Yeah we do, but that's going to widen the season. All of that tin manifest.

"I cognize I'm speechmaking a batch into it but erstwhile you spot the fractional we saw past week against North and past you travel retired with the play connected the enactment and springiness up a 50-point borderline astatine half-time [against GWS], it conscionable says they're bushed to maine and they're coming to an end."

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