Cloke puts end to Tiger swagger

Collingwood star Travis Cloke demolished the Tigers with seven goals. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

TRAVIS Cloke has always haunted Richmond by dint of the fact that his father David spent more time in yellow and black than in black and white.

But never before has that pain been as up close and personal as it was at the MCG yesterday.

Cloke monstered the club that he rebuffed as a father-son option at the end of the 2004 season, kicking a career-high seven goals to lead Collingwood to a 34-point victory.

Before a crowd of 81,950 - the first over the 80,000-mark between these two sides for 30 years - the 26-year-old power forward took the game by the scruff of the neck with a dominant third term made up of four goals, six disposals and six marks.

By the end of the game, Cloke had 20 disposals and had taken 14 marks (six contested). Richmond had only 70 marks to Collingwood's 127.

Dane's not ready for Swan song

After trailing narrowly at halftime - courtesy of a goal to Ty Vickery just before the main break - the Magpies went on a game-changing rampage, scoring 8.4 to the Tigers' 2.1 in the next 30 minutes.

It was Collingwood's third best third quarter against Richmond in their 200 meetings - and it effectively killed the contest.

Thereafter, the Tigers tempted and teased, and at one stage cut back what was a 49-point margin to 22 early in the last term. But the damage had already been done.

That difference was that third quarter lapse and the sheer brute strength of the man in the No.32 jumper.

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick had forecast on Friday that he was tempted to try and use two or three opponents on Cloke, with the possibility of rotating them on him.

It was Alex Rance who was the unlucky first candidate. But Cloke proved too strong for him in almost every one-on-one contest and Hardwick made the call midway through the third quarter to finally give Troy Chaplin a chance.

He didn't last long.

Chris Knights inadvertently cannoned into Chaplin when the Magpie forward dragged down another mark and the Richmond recruit departed with concussion.

That meant Rance was back to trying to quell the unstoppable Cloke.

It was fitting that Cloke's massive left-foot goal - his seventh - quelled what had started to look like a Tiger revival in the final term.

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But it wasn't just Cloke who did all of the damage.

Dane Swan had polled nine Brownlow Medal votes in his past three games against the Tigers and his name would almost certainly have been in the umpires' vote sheet from yesterday, though he will have to settle for either of the two or one votes.

Swan started his 200th AFL game slowly, but his gut-running and sheer will to find the footy saw him streak to 35 disposals - 31 after quarter time.

Steele Sidebottom was outstanding for most of the afternoon.

Once more he seized a big game and influenced it with four goals, including two in the second term when the Magpies were trying to stay in the game after a solid Tiger start.

Harry O'Brien is relishing the chance to cut his way through the corridor - as he did consistently yesterday - and Heath Shaw was back to his best form, providing plenty of run.

In a match that promised so much for Richmond - and delivered for a fair slice of the first hour - the Tigers were overwhelmed when the game was there to be won.

Leading by 11 points at quarter-time after a strong start, the difference was back to three points at the half.

Part of the reason for Richmond's strong start was a good opening quarter by Dustin Martin.

He had 10 disposals in the first term, but only seven more for the rest of the game.

Jack Riewoldt kicked the first goal of the game, but a lack of opportunities and some good defence from Ben Reid meant he could finish with only three goals.

This match was always going to tell us more about the Tigers than the Magpies - and it showed that while improvements have been made, they still have plenty of work to do.

But Collingwood - with arguably the most dominant forward in the game at the moment and a host of stars out injured - gave us a not-so-gentle reminder that it will once more run very deep into the business end of the season.

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