RICHMOND grabbed victory from the jaws of defeat in stirring fashion over Geelong at Central Reserve on Saturday.
The Cats were within reach of the win at 3-73 early, chasing the Tigers' paltry 124, before collapsing to all out 118 with the last two wickets coming from run outs.
The Tigers fell to 8-46 after being sent in before Chris Weeks (45) and captain Allan Wise (34) formed a 76-run partnership for the ninth wicket.
The Tigers' unexpected win continues the club's hold over the Cats in Melbourne. Geelong has never beaten them in city-based matches.
Tigers captain Allan Wise said his side never gave up on the win. "The guys were a bit quite out there in the field," he said.
"I don't know if they were looking inside a bit, or if like me they knew we just needed a wicket and anything could happen.
"We got that wicket and it went from there. This win shows we have that belief in ourselves in any situation."
Defending such a small total, the Tigers needed all the help they could get from their bowlers and got leading performances from Victorian captain Cam White (3-19 from 10 overs), Wise (1-10 from nine overs) and part-time medium pacer Dom Matarazzo (2-15 from six overs).
"Cam is very hard on himself and that is partly why he has gotten to such a high level of cricket and his bowling was fantastic today," Wise said.
"I threw the ball to Dom because the pitch was starting to play very low and he bowls stump to stump.
"He ended up giving us two very good wickets at a key stage."
Wise also praised his players for finding two run outs late in the match although he partly credited them to the pressure of the situation.
"It's amazing what pressure situations can be created in cricket and how people's decision-making reacts both in the field and for the batsmen.
"We benefited from those decisions today in terms of their running between the wickets."
The Tigers played Ringwood yesterday and the match finished after the Weekly went to print.
The Tigers will host Fitzroy-Doncaster at Central Reserve this Saturday for day one of a two-day match.
Hawthorn-Monash University put on a fighting performance against Carlton at Princes Park on Saturday.
The visiting Hawks kept the Blues to 9-180 from their 50 overs, with Javid Khan, Daniel O'Shea and Rod Keogh taking two wickets each.
In reply, the Hawks couldn't find the top-order partnership needed to steer them home, being bowled out for 155. Grant Westgarth made 54.
The Hawks host Northcote in a two-day game at Monash University starting on Saturday.