Richmond have responded from a shock AFLW opening round defeat to West Coast, holding off a fast-finishing GWS by 11 points.
Nine days after suffering a stunning loss in Daisy Pearce’s first game as Eagles coach, the Tigers controlled Sunday’s match at Punt Rd in windy conditions from the outset.
But GWS launched a brave fightback from 29 points down, kicking three straight goals to give themselves an outside chance of pinching victory.
Despite kicking just one goal in the second-half, Richmond held on to win 5.8 (38) to 4.3 (27).
The Giants dominated after halftime, but their slow start cost them any chance of going 2-0 to back up last week’s demolition of the hapless Western Bulldogs.
Captain Katie Brennan set the tone with an imposing first quarter, while Sarah Hosking capitalised up forward with two goals.
“GWS are a great team. They love to use the footy through the corridor,” Brennan told the Seven Network.
“Really proud of our group to be able to stop that, stem the flow and and also come out firing, which was a bit of a focus for us off the back of last week.
“We were all just ready to start our engines, make sure we started really fast.
“I thought it was a super effort from all our girls.”
GWS had the four leading possession winners on the ground, headlined by Alyce Parker’s 26.
Tigers superstar Monique Conti had a quieter game than her usual lofty standards with 18 disposals, matched by teammates Ellie McKenzie and Grace Egan.
Richmond will travel to Coffs Harbour next Saturday to face Sydney, while GWS will host winless Gold Coast in Canberra on Sunday.
