Even before he’d played one senior game of league football, I knew Royce Desmond Hart was destined for greatness. How else can you explain the decision of a mad-keen, nine-year-old Tiger fan to ask his mum to put the No. 4 on the back of his precious little yellow and black guernsey in the early autumn of 1967? Royce had worn No. 42 in the under 19s and reserves in 1966, but after a series of sparkling practice match displays in the ’67 pre-season, was awarded the No. 4 guernsey. The fact that Royce hadn’t even made his senior debut didn’t deter me one iota. I had to have the No. 4 on the back of my footy jumper. I’d followed his career closely since he was lured across from Tasmanian club Clarence to Tigerland for the princely sum of six shirts, and was convinced that there was something a little bit special about him. How right I was . . . For the next decade I (along with thousands of other Tiger devotees) marvelled at the match-winning deeds of Royce Desmond Hart. In today’s game, it’s star forwards such as Barry Hall, Jonathon Brown, Nick Riewoldt, Matthew Lloyd and our very own Matthew Richardson who dominate the footy headlines. Back then, however, Royce ruled the roost. Whenever Richmond needed a team-lifting goal, invariably it was Hart who provided it. According to Tommy Hafey, the man who guided the Tigers to four premierships in the Club’s golden era from 1967-74, Hart was “a coach’s dream”. “He was just so keen to listen and learn from the time he joined the Club,” Hafey said. “I distinctly remember one night at training when we worked on a special drill which involved the players making out they were going to have a set shot for goal, only to run around the man on the mark at the last moment to gain a few metres, before taking their kick. “It’s one of those things you try at training from time to time, but players very rarely show that type of initiative in a match situation. “Royce, however, did exactly that in our next match, which is an indication of just how hard he always worked on his game and how seriously he took training . . . “He was always one of the best workers on the training track for us and that’s why the defensive side of his game was so good. “Although he was renowned for his excellent marking, once the ball hit the ground, he was like a rat up a drainpipe. “His recovery was sensational and he could chase and tackle like Wally Lewis!” Hafey knew very early on that the boy from Clarence had star qualities. “We were playing a pre-season practice match against a combined Goulburn Valley side at Shepparton, and Royce climbed on to the roof of someone’s mouth to take an absolute screamer. “He could take marks like that over the top, but had such courage that he was able to consistently float across packs or back back into them and pull the ball down. He had courage that you just wouldn’t believe.” Not only was Hart a coach’s dream, the yellow and black faithful were enraptured with him – none more so than yours truly. My bedroom was littered with Royce Hart posters, photos, newspaper clippings, etc. Mind you, I also idolised the likes of Sheedy, Bourke, Bartlett and Clay, but Hart, he was something else! Memories of Royce Hart magic are indelibly etched in my mind. There was, of course, that breathtaking mark in the 1967 Grand Final over Geelong defender Peter Walker – one of the best grabs of all time. But, of all the Hart highlights over the years, the one for me that sticks out more than any other, concerns the 1973 preliminary final, Richmond v Collingwood. Hart had a badly injured leg, which had forced him to miss a fair chunk of the ’73 season, and he was considered too big a risk to play the whole preliminary final. He lined up on the bench and watched helplessly as the Magpies shot to a six-goal lead at half-time. With the situation looking hopeless, the Tigers again turned to their captain for inspiration. Once again, he didn’t let them down . . . From the moment Royce ran out with the team after the long break, and took his place up forward, Richmond rallied. The Tigers kicked 11 goals to four in the second half, with Hart booting two of them, and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. In typical fashion, everything Royce touched turned to gold (or goals, to be more precise) and the Magpies were powerless to stop the Richmond surge. Hart followed up that magical two-quarter effort in the preliminary final with another superb Grand Final performance the following week against Carlton to lead the Tigers to premiership glory. And, he did exactly the same 12 months later, in the Grand Final slaughter of the Kangaroos. Royce was the consummate big-occasion player. He had an ice-cool temperament and repeatedly absorbed the most intense pressure imaginable from opponents without batting an eyelid. I never saw Hart do his block out on the field, and it must have frustrated the life out of opposing backmen, who just couldn’t get him sucked in, no matter how hard they tried. He would simply respond to extra-tight defensive tactics by reaching into his bag of silky skills and producing something out of the ordinary, which hurt the opposition where it really counted – on the scoreboard. I could go on and on about the sheer brilliance of RDH, but let me just finish up by thanking Royce, on behalf of all Tiger supporters who saw him in action, for the glorious memories . . .