Tom Lynch has booted four goals in his most productive outing of the AFL season to help steer Richmond to a 38-point win over the woefully inaccurate Western Bulldogs.
The Tigers' spearhead took advantage of an undermanned Bulldogs defence on Saturday night at the MCG in an important 15.9 (99) to 7.19 (61) victory.
The Dogs sorely missed Alex Keath (hamstring) and Zaine Cordy (concussion) as Lynch imposed himself with four contested marks.
Fellow key forward Jack Riewoldt kicked two goals on return from injury, including a big barrel from outside 50 metres after the three-quarter time siren.
It brought the Tiger Army to their feet but the highlight of the night was Shai Bolton's brilliant goal from the boundary line after he intercepted a Bailey Smith handpass.
The Tigers' efficiency in front of goal was in stark contrast to the yips that plagued the Bulldogs for a second straight week.
It left last year's beaten grand finalists with a 1-3 record in 2022 that has cast doubt over their top-eight credentials.
Bolton finished with 20 disposals, five clearances and two goals in a starring role for the Tigers.
Experienced teammates Dion Prestia and Shane Edwards were influential in the midfield, Marlion Pickett and Jayden Short racked up plenty of touches, and former captain Trent Cotchin stood up in some big moments.
The Bulldogs should have led by more than five points at quarter-time but let themselves down with poor accuracy in front of goal, registering 2.7 (19) in the opening term.
The trend continued throughout the night and came back to bite them in a big way.
Infringements on the mark cost Bailey Williams and Aaron Naughton 50-metre penalties within minutes of each other during the second quarter, gifting goals to Jason Castagna and Prestia.
They swung the momentum and Lynch's big pack mark and goal moments later put the Tigers 18 points up.
There were shades of the premiership Tigers as Bolton and Liam Baker ramped up the pressure in the third term, creating further goals from forward-half turnovers.
The Bulldogs' prime midfielders, Jack Macrae, Josh Dunkley, Marcus Bontempelli and Bailey Smith, had a stack of the ball and generated clear advantages in clearances (36-25) and inside-50s (57-48).
But the Bulldogs didn't make it count on the scoreboard and Aaron Naughton finished as their only multiple goal-kicker with two.
