TRAFFIC congestion can be a bitch and the inner suburbs of Melbourne were locked up yesterday. A jam on Swan Street, a breakdown on Punt Road and 73,503 gridlocked fanatics trying to get into the MCG.

It is for this reason that all questions regarding the first 12 minutes of yesterday's bumper clash between Richmond and Carlton should be referred elsewhere, to the two Age reporters who actually made it to the ground on time.

But traffic, so frustrating for those going nowhere on Punt Road, was also a problem inside the MCG.

The middle reaches of the AFL ladder are peak-hour packed in 2008. Yesterday, two inner-suburban sides on the move were trying to negotiate their way to a destination that most thought beyond them this season — eighth place.

With seven sides appearing a cut above the rest, a perception had built that the final finals spot was there for the grabbing. For the Tigers — celebrating a glorious past this week — there was the chance to make this season a winner and knife the old enemy, all in one afternoon.

Carlton understood: "This was the biggest game of our year," best-on-ground and stand-in skipper Nick Stevens said after his team ran over the Tigers to win by five goals. "The season was on the line for both sides and they were celebrating 100 years of footy … it was massive for both clubs."

On the field, there was heavy traffic, too. Aware of the season-defining nature of the occasion, both sides did not so much attack the game as strive to make things difficult for their opponents. Richmond dropped numbers back in defence, clogging Carlton's forward line and the Blues replied in kind.

With both forward zones crowded, the ball was funnelled to the flanks. Forwards Brendan Fevola and Brad Fisher were forced to shoot for goal from the boundary. At the other end, Nathan Brown sprayed points from the white chalk.

"Richmond like to play counter attack, put spares behind the ball and then outrun you," Blues coach Brett Ratten observed. "They got off to a flyer, but we closed the game down, got the momentum and got the ball back in our hands. There were a lot of errors in the first quarter. Missed kicks, over the head, it was not pretty to watch."

At quarter-time, the scoreboard showed ads for Melbourne's newest toll-road (opening today) and the slogan "time better spent". The thousands watching needed no reminding. But if the contest was scrappy for most of the day, there was at least something to remember. After a week infused with one of the sport's oldest rivalries, Matthew Richardson was picked up by Carlton's Jarrad Waite. The son of a Tiger legend stood side by side with the son of a celebrated Bluebagger. It would be a battle to watch and would end with one man injured and his opponent among the best on ground.

"Until Richo went off Jarrad played an outstanding game on him," Ratten marvelled afterwards. "He's a great player, Matthew Richardson, to run as well as he does at his age, to keep belting up and down the field."

The two men, both covering massive ground, were often a kick away from each other. In the second quarter, as Carlton came at the Tigers with three consecutive goals to snatch the lead, Richo drifted back to fill the breach in defence. Then, as they steadied and regained their lead, there he was leading hard in the forward pocket, Waite a spoiling half-step behind.

As the third term began, Richardson shifted to the goal square and Waite followed him, but the play was all at the other end. Carlton were ascendant but the Tigers fought back when Richo grabbed the ball and snapped a freakish grubber from the boundary. It lifted the faithful, stopped the Blues' momentum and levelled the scores. Two minutes later Trent Cotchin stole the ball in traffic and worked the ball to Mitch Morton for a goal. The stadium erupted yellow and black.

But Carlton's midfield, Judderless as it was, kept the Blues in contention thanks to Heath Scotland and Nick Stevens. Support came from Bryce Gibbs and Marc Murphy. Sir Rod Eddington wants to tunnel under Carlton, a gridlock-busting plan that has drawn significant contention. Faced with heavy traffic in Stevens and Scotland, Gibbs and Murphy, Richmond's runners might well have sympathised with the idea.

Richardson, say what you like, is never boring. Engaged in an engrossing battle with Waite, he owned the defining moment of the final quarter. It will not be one he cares to remember. The Brownlow fancy trudged from the field with a hamstring twinge early in the final term. He tried vainly to run the sideline, pulled up lame with the anguished cuss that has become his trademark, and sat back down. Without him, the Tigers hit a wall.

With Richo out, it was Stevens — Carlton's captain and best player — who took the game away. Waite went forward and freed up the Blues' structure. Fevola — well held all day — chipped in with his fourth goal and Gibbs sealed the result. The Blues ended the match inside the eight. Richmond, on Punt Road, going nowhere.

They were willing, but without their champion they were short on class. Terry Wallace rued that the club's senior players had not had a good day; Nick Stevens had. If you are going to be stuck in traffic it helps to have a Rolls-Royce.