Collingwood coach Steve Symonds felt his injury-hit side simply ran out of puff as their AFLW finals hopes went up in smoke in a 52-point thrashing from Richmond.
Needing a win and percentage boost to break into the top eight on Sunday, the Magpies flirted with their fate early.
But star ball-winner Monique Conti (34 disposals, 11 clearances, one goal) took over in the midfield and captain Katie Brennan kicked four goals as the Tigers ran away with an 11.11 (77) to 4.1 (25) win at Victoria Park.
The result meant Richmond overtook Collingwood on percentage, finishing in 10th spot on the ladder, with the two sides both one win and percentage outside the top eight.
"It's very disappointing," Symonds said.
"We went in with some hope that we'd put a game together that would put pressure on finals but the reality is that we've been battling with injuries all year.
"We thought we fought it out for a bit of the season but in the end I think we just ran out of gas. There wasn't much left."
Richmond trailed by four points at halftime, but piled on 9.3 to 0.1 in the second half - including seven unanswered goals in the final term - to post their highest AFLW score.
"We could've put numbers behind the ball and saved the score a little bit, but we want to be a team that keeps on attacking," Symonds said.
"And if teams start doing that, I don't think it's very good for the growth of the game."
Key ball-winners Grace Egan (25 disposals, four clearances) and Eilish Sheerin (24, six) also shone in Richmond's engine room alongside Conti.
Their ascendancy around the contest meant the Tigers easily won the territory battle with 38 inside-50s to 25, and they scored with more than half of their forward entries.
Each of their first three goals came from marks inside 50m - a statistic they dominated 14-2 - but their inaccuracy kept Collingwood in the contest until the devastating final term.
"It was a great way to finish off," Richmond coach Ryan Ferguson said.
"We were challenged in a lot of ways throughout the season and we showed a lot of character.
"We showed the growth in our game and it will catapult us forward."
Aishling Sheridan (20 touches), Mikala Cann (17) and Brittany Bonnici (15) fought hard for an outclassed Collingwood side, while Nell Morris-Dalton kicked two goals.
