After a frustrating month of playing decent football against top sides without quite posting a win, Richmond broke through for a victory against struggling Essendon without having to play particularly well.

The Tigers, who led by as much as 54 points during the second quarter after the Bombers started the match in dismal fashion, won the Dreamtime at the G encounter 16.14 (110) to 10.12 (72).

While the Tigers worked hard and tackled strongly, their early dominance was as much to do with the dreadful first half display by Essendon as with any brilliance of their own.

The Tigers kicked five goals to none in the first quarter, most of them coming as a result of Essendon mistakes.

Two of Richmond's first three goals came after Bombers players spilled uncontested marks, while their fifth came after a Kyle Reimers kick out of defence picked out Tigers ruckman Troy Simmonds.

The Tigers were dominating possession, going harder at the ball in the packs and tackling with more vigour, with Essendon at times letting Richmond players run past them with the ease of a training drill.

Richmond added three simple goals in the first six minutes of the second quarter to have eight majors on the board by the time skipper Matthew Lloyd kicked the Bombers' first midway through the second term.

Essendon came out showing much more desperation in the second half, no doubt after some stern words from coach Matthew Knights, and gradually cut into Richmond's 50-point half-time lead.

When Lloyd kicked two goals about a minute apart the Bombers were back within 26 points some 18 minutes into the third term.

After Richmond kicked the next two, the Bombers again reduced the margin to 26 after Brent Stanton and David Hille both threaded through quality shots from near the right-hand boundary.

They had the chance to cut the margin to 20 points nearing the last change, but Angus Monfries missed a set shot from about 20m after being handed a 50m penalty.

While they never threatened the Tigers in the final term, they at least kept the margin more respectable than the 10-goal plus beltings they have copped in the past three rounds.

Midfielders Nathan Foley and Brett Deledio were standouts for Richmond throughout the night, winning plenty of the ball as well as kicking a goal each, while Matthew Richardson put in another strong-marking performance.

Zippy Aboriginal half-forward Shane Edwards also played well in a match created to celebrate the indigenous contribution to the AFL, finding plenty of space in attack for three goals, although he could have had plenty more if not for some poor kicking.

Nathan Brown, with 3.4, also let himself down with inaccuracy, while Kayne Pettifer kicked two goals as well as working hard further up the ground in a solid return in his first game in the senior side since round three.

For the Bombers, senior players Mark McVeigh, in the midfield, and Lloyd at full-forward worked hard to get them back into the match after their poor start, with Hille also good.

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