The Box Hill Hawks were unable to tame the Tigers on Saturday afternoon, going down to the top-of-the-table Richmond outfit by 47 points in a fiery contest.

The match begun with the intensity expected of two top-four aspirants. In the middle of the ground, James Worpel set the tone early, at his rampaging best through the stoppages; while the experience of Brendan Whitecross shone, as he started to rack up increasing disposal.

Strong defence accounted for wayward forward fifty entries with David Mirra impassable on the last line and Kaiden Brand showcasing impressive aerial abilities, as neither side were able to put the elusive first major on the board.

Read: VFLW match report - Hawks outlast Tigers

It wasn’t until over 20 minutes into the term that the deadlock was broken, as Ryan Schoenmakers found himself on the end of sweeping defensive transition and booted the only goal of a tight and tough opening quarter.

The physicality lifted in the term that followed, as the first of many spotfires broke out after Dylan Moore was crunched heavily after his kick. The resulting 50 metre penalty taking him to the goal square, where he put the first of the period on the board for the Hawks.

The Tigers looked poised to strike back as a Callum Moore set shot sailed wide, and Tyson Stengle roved dangerously, but it was the eventual boot of Jake Aarts that put through the response for Richmond, to cut the margin to just four points.

There was an undeniable ferocity between the two sides, as yet another scuffle broke out in the middle of the ground. A 50 metre penalty this time awarded to Worpel who slotted the goal.

A quick reply came in the form of a Patrick Naish goal from out of the pack, before Mackenzie Doreian showed why he continues to retain his spot as 23^rd man, with the youngster displaying composure beyond his years to slot his very first VFL goal.

Andrew Moore continued to extract the ball out of the middle and Schoenmakers roamed centre half forward to provide an imposing target. However, an inability to convert saw back-to-back Tiger goals keep the homeside in touch.

It was the cool head of James Cousins who spotted up Mitch Lewis to mark strongly in the forward 50, before an awkward landing forced the tall forward to forgo his kick. Worpel, consistently in the thick of the action, stepped to the plate to convert, well on his way toward a best afield performance.

Marc Pittonet continued to battle valiantly in the ruck, an enthralling dual with Tigers' big man Ivan Soldo.

However, it would be the Tigers who would go on to have the final say of the opening half, as they snuck one through to beat the siren. A three-point margin fitting, considering the closeness of the contest, which felt as though it would go down to the wire.

Ultimately, it would prove to be a tale of two halves.

The Tigers booted three unanswered goals to start the third term.

Positives came in the form of Changkuoth Jiath’s second half cameo, featuring high flying marks and manic pressure, while Will Hams continued to put his head over the ball and throw his body into the contest.

Cousins again came to the fore, the classy young gun rising to the occasion to peg back an important goal deep in the term, to slice Richmond’s lead to a challenging but surmountable 17 points.

Unfortunately, there were few fourth quarter highlights for the Hawks.

In spite of what had become a six-goal margin, the trademark tackling pressure of Mitch O’Donnell never relented and Harrison Jones didn’t take a backward step all day.

In fact, neither side took their foot off the brake, evident as Anthony Miles came off second best as he put his head over the ball in the contest; the result a halt in play as the stretcher was called.

When the action resumed, the Tigers picked up where they left off with two more goals to Callum Jones and Shai Bolton respectively, to put the exclamation point on a nine-to-one goal second half and subsequent 47-point Richmond victory.

The loss sees the Hawks slip to eighth place on the ladder, clinging to their finals position on percentage alone. A season-defining run home against a spate of contenders ensues, with increasing importance now on next week’s AFL curtain-raiser, against the in-form and fifth placed Footscray – a must win clash if the Hawks are to make a dent in September.

Goals: Worpel 2, Schoenmakers, Doreian, D. Moore, Cousins

Disposals: Cousins 27, Whitecross 25, Hams 23, Lovell 22, Worpel 20 

Best: Worpel, Cousins, Jones, Schoenmakers, Whitecross, Mirra

Images courtesy of Kadek Thatcher Photography