Just three weeks after being rushed to hospital following an overdose on sleeping pills, controversial Richmond veteran Ben Cousins has turned the clock back to his halcyon days at West Coast by lifting the Tigers to a thrilling come-from-behind win over Adelaide at the MCG on Sunday.
In a match that finished in one of the most intense hailstorms ever to hit Australia's most famous sporting venue, the Tigers defied a dreadful second quarter performance in which Adelaide should have put the game out of reach, to record a stirring 15.10 (100) to 11.14 (80) victory.
The loss all but ends the Crows' slim finals hopes but Neil Craig's men only have themselves to blame after they failed to make the most of their total second quarter dominance of the Tigers - when conditions were dry - as they kicked a wasteful 4.9 after keeping the Tigers scoreless following Richmond's opening goal of the term.
For Richmond, the win means their six victories this season have all come against interstate opposition - the first time they have ever beaten all six non-Victorian teams in the one season since Port Adelaide joined the competition in 1997.
It was also the first time the Tigers had beaten Adelaide at the MCG since 1997 and only their second win from their past 15 encounters against the Crows dating back to 1999.
The loss leaves Adelaide still two games adrift of the top eight with just four rounds remaining and with a nightmare run home with matches still to come against three of the top four sides in the Western Bulldogs, St Kilda and Collingwood.
In fact, Richmond - which lost its first nine games of the season mostly by huge margins under first year coach Damien Hardwick - is now just one game behind Adelaide on the ladder.
And the Tigers showed on Sunday that they do not need to rely solely on their brilliant young spearhead and Coleman Medal favourite Jack Riewoldt to win them games after Riewoldt was held to just two goals by the Crows' champion full-back Ben Rutten.
However it was Riewoldt who still kicked the sealing goal in the final term with a great left foot shot after deciding to play on in conditions that had to be seen to be believed.
But on a day when Richmond played its ninth first-gamer for the season - small forward Robert Hicks as a late replacement for the injured Andrew Collins - it was 32-year-old Cousins that stole the show with a magnificent display of running and ball use in the tricky conditions.
It was only the efforts of Cousins as well as Shane Edwards and Jake King, who played his best game for Richmond, that kept the Tigers in the match in the first half as Adelaide should have had the game wrapped up by half-time.
But as Patrick Dangerfield, Rory Sloane, Kurt Tippett and Jonathon Griffin - who even managed to miss one from ten metres out - wasted chance after chance in front of goal, the Tigers celebrated their first half reprieve by dominating after half-time.
A six-goal-to-two third term - as Brett Deledio and Shane Tuck began to give Cousins some much needed help in the middle - meant the Tigers went to the last change a goal in front after being 19 points down at half-time.
As the black clouds began to build over the famous MCG scoreboard, early goals in the final term were always going to be crucial and they went the way of the home side.
First, Matthew White snapped truly at the four-minute mark before the Tigers' next goal came from the most unlikely of sources - giant ruckman Andrew Browne who in only his third game took a great mark against Scott Stevens and then wobbled one through from 35 metres to send the small but noisy home crowd into a frenzy.
And after Richard Douglas, the Crows' only multiple goalkicker all day, goaled to cut the margin to 14 points at the 18 minute mark down came the hail - making scoring all but impossible as the Tigers easily defended their match-winning lead.
RICHMOND: 4.4, 5.4, 11.7, 15.10 (100)
ADELAIDE: 3.2, 7.11, 9.13, 11.14 (80)
GOALS: Richmond: King 2, Riewoldt 2, McGuane, Newman, Morton, Tuck, Jackson, Cousins, Hicks, Webberley, White, Browne, Martin
Adelaide: Douglas 2, Reilly, Thompson, Griffin, Walker, Vince, Sloane, Dangerfield, Porplyzia, Tippett
BEST: Richmond: Cousins, Tuck, Deledio, Edwards, King, Newman, Moore, Thursfield, Connors, Martin
Adelaide: Thompson, Rutten, Doughty, Stevens, Douglas, Porplyzia
INJURIES: Richmond: Nil
Adelaide: Nil
UMPIRES: McBurney, Kamolins, Jennings
REPORTS: Nil
CHANGES: Richmond: Collins (thigh) replaced in selected side by Hicks
CROWD: 19,181 at MCG