In the seventh of a special richmondfc.com.au nostalgic series celebrating Richmond’s 50 years at home at the MCG, Tony Greenberg blasts back in the Tiger time machine to the 1969 first semi- final.
After being beaten by Essendon in Round 12 of the 1969 season, Richmond was in deep trouble.
The loss was the Tigers’ fifth in their past six matches, and they found themselves two and a half games outside the top four, with just eight rounds to play.
It was going to take something special for Richmond to sneak into the final four, let alone have a decent crack at winning the premiership for the second time in three seasons, after capturing the flag in 1967.
But, just when all genuine hope appeared gone, the Tigers emerged from their wintry gloom of ’69, to stage one of the most remarkable turnarounds in league football history.
An amazing come-from-behind win against Carlton at Princes Park in Round 19, catapulted Richmond into the top four for the first time that season since Round 7.
Victory over Footscray at the MCG in the final home-and-away round would clinch the Tigers a finals berth – and the result of that match was never in doubt. Richmond led by nine goals at half-time and, when the final siren sounded, was 90 points ahead.
So, the Tigers fronted up to their 1967 Grand Final opponent, Geelong, in the first semi-final of 1969, with opinion fairly evenly divided on who would win and advance through to the preliminary final.
On a perfect spring day, in front of a record first semi-final crowd of 101,233 at the MCG, the Cats actually started better, and held a narrow lead eight minutes into the opening quarter, before Richmond launched its incredible goal avalanche.
By quarter-time, the Tigers had shot to a 38-point lead, and they extended that to a whopping 75 points at the main break.
It wasn’t until just before three-quarter time that Geelong scored its third goal of the match, to end an incredible Richmond run of 19 unanswered goals.
Although the Cats gained a small degree of respectability in the last quarter by booting four goals, the Tigers still managed to outscore them with a further five goals.
The final margin was a staggering 118 points – a record margin for a VFL semi-final.
Here’s how chief football writer of ‘The Age’ at the time, former Melbourne star, Percy Beames, saw the 1969 first semi-final slaughter . . .
“It was as if a magician had created a great illusion. How else is it possible to explain the mysteries of the VFL first semi-final at the MCG on Saturday?
Richmond’s 118 points massacre of Geelong just did not make football sense.
Before the game, the most ardent Richmond optimist would never have dared believe the Tigers would play so well.
Nor would the greatest Geelong pessimist believe the Cats would perform so badly.
But it happened, leaving a record first semi-final crowd of 101,233 stunned and bewildered.
Geelong had no explanation for its display – its worst in a finals series for at least 50 years.
Even an hour after the game, shamed-faced Geelong players could not bear to look coach Peter Pianto and club officials in the eye.
But the heads that hung lowest belonged to John Newman, Ken Newland and Ian Nankervis.
It was almost a travesty of justice that these three players, who had done so much for the Cats throughout the season, should fail so miserably when it was so imperative for them to do well.
If Newman, Newland and Nankervis had played well, the Cats might have offered some opposition to Richmond’s might.
It was like throwing a household cat into a cage with a Tiger. Geelong did not have a chance.
It was the best Richmond has played this season and it is out of the question that it will happen again. Its form was just too good to be true.
This must be some consolation to Carlton and Collingwood, one of which will meet Richmond in the preliminary final.
All over the field on Saturday, Tigers were bobbing up and playing like champions. Everything they attempted came off. It was just one of those days.
Richmond had the lot – talent backed by determination – and gave a very loud premiership roar.
Even making allowances for Geelong’s insipid opposition, Carlton coach Ron Barassi, and Collingwood coach Bob Rose, would not be happy about the way the Tigers played.
It would not have surprised Barassi and Rose that Francis Bourke, Bill Barrot and Dick Clay, dominated play across the centreline.
They won 74 kicks between them, and strikingly demonstrated the tremendous importance of a winning centreline on the MCG.
Nor would Barassi and Rose have been surprised at the magnificent play of Royce Hart at centre half-forward, the telling work of flankers Roger Dean and John Northey or the roving of Kevin Bartlett and Bill Brown.
But the two coaches must have been impressed and worried by the great ruck work and marking ability of Mike Green.
Green has been a grand player for the Tigers this season, but his performance against Geelong in winning every knock out that counted, his sure fingered marking and his play on handball, lifted him to new heights on Saturday.
Richmond’s defence, especially the half-back line play of Geoff Strang and Graham Burgin, must have surprised Barassi and Rose, and it is doubtful if they believed that Eric Moore, who kicked six goals, could do so well.
And there were other facets of Richmond’s play that could worry them – the fierceness with which it tackled, an obvious determination by all players to get to the ball first, intelligent use of handball and good kicking to position and to team mates.
The big surprise, however, was the way Richmond eclipsed Geelong in the air. Geelong had earned the reputation as the best marking side in the League, and on figures this was justified.
In 20 home-and-away matches the Cats took about 300 more marks than the Tigers. But on Saturday, Richmond set about to whittle this figure.
Not only was Geelong outmarked all day, but except for a couple of spectacular efforts by Doug Wade, few that really amounted to anything were pulled down.
Before the game, coach Tom Hafey talked pressure . . . pressure . . . pressure to the Richmond players. “Geelong hates pressure,” Hafey said. “If we are to win this game, pressure has to be applied relentlessly from the first to the last bounce.”
The Tigers did this perfectly. They tackled fiercely and did not allow the Geelong players to get balanced. After 15 minutes of the first quarter, the Cats were starting to doubt themselves.
Richmond sensed this weakening. The Tigers went in even harder, Green became even more dominant in the ruck and Hart was getting away with everything he tried.
The Tigers slammed the goals through to be 8.3 to 2.1 at quarter time. After that, it was simply a matter of whether the Cats could pull themselves together and hit back in the second quarter.
But this did not happen. Richmond continued to make the match a one-sided goal kicking exhibition and seconds before the siren at three-quarter time the scoreboard read 20.11 to 2.6.
It told the true story of the game.”
Richmond’s outstanding display attracted plenty of positive publicity within the football world .
Legendary Melbourne coach Norm Smith, in his column for The Age, wrote:
“Richmond threw out a strong challenge for this year’s premiership with probably the greatest display of power football ever seen in a semi-final when it crushed Geelong on Saturday.
By comparison, Geelong turned in a pathetic performance, one unworthy of a finals team.
Since the game, many people have said Richmond had all the luck and the run of the ball. Don’t believe it. It made its own luck and went in hard to get the ball first.
Richmond’s performance bordered on the magnificent, and no other team could have bettered its appetite for the ball or the ruthless way it went about its task.
The Tigers had the game well won by quarter-time. In fact, they kicked a higher score in that quarter than Geelong did for the entire game.
Many critics expected Richmond to lose the ruck duels, although I thought that Mike Green and John Ronaldson’s height advantage on John Newman would make it tough for the Geelong star. This proved to be the case.
But no one thought Richmond would have the ruck dominance it enjoyed. Green gave a wonderful display, and started the ball rolling the Tigers’ way from the first bounce.
He not only dominated the centre bounces, but held sway all over the ground. His effort must not be under-rated, as I believe it had a big bearing on the confidence of the side.
His dominance of the ruck duels and his aerial supremacy triggered off every Richmond player, and they went on from strength to strength.
Geelong, without its expected success in the rucks, never had the chance to develop its usual play-on game, and fell apart.
Another factor in Geelong’s annihilation was the great supremacy Richmond had across the centre.
Not only were Bill Barrot, Francis Bourke and Dick Clay prolific ball getters, but they did a lot with their kicks and also scored six goals between them.
Geelong was completely upset by the Tigers’ fierce tackling from start to finish.
Richmond’s concentration was so intense that the players did not relax for a second, even when they were more than 100 points in front.
The Tigers’ play-on football was a revelation, and the way they backed each other up had to be seen to be believed.
The pressure Richmond applied was the greatest I have seen. Even when Geelong received a free kick or took a mark the player on the mark forced his opponent to kick high rather than let him make a stab pass, which is usually a feature of Geelong’s game.
Richmond’s direct approach to goal was also in contrast to Geelong’s short, ineffective kicking, which lacked purpose. This no doubt was brought about by the Cats’ sheer frustration.
Every Richmond player contributed to the team success, but it would be hard to go past Royce Hart as the best on the ground.
He is a delight to watch. His tenacity was contagious on the forward line, and his freakish marking, fine recovery of spilt marks and accurate disposal by hand or foot made him a real danger man.
If Hart can continue in this form, he could play a big part in winning the premiership for Richmond.
Roger Dean and John Northey also won hands down. Possibly the biggest surprise was six goals from new full-forward Eric Moore. He did an excellent job on the open forward line.
Richmond’s defence was the tightest I have seen from it. This has always been one aspect of their play I have doubted, but they were certainly a mean group on Saturday.
After this win, Richmond is on equal terms with Collingwood and Carlton, and there will be tremendous interest in the games ahead.
Neither Collingwood nor Carlton would allow pressure to affect them as much as Geelong did, and would put more pressure on Richmond.
How the Tigers react to this will decide their premiership chances. After Saturday’s game I would rate the three teams equal favorites for the flag.”
History, of course, shows that Richmond went on to overpower Collingwood in the preliminary final two weeks later, and then defeat Carlton by 25 points in the 1969 Grand Final, to secure its seventh league premiership.
It was that first semi-final flogging of the hapless Cats, which sent the Tigers on their way to a wonderful September to remember . . .
1969 first semi-final match details
RICHMOND 8.3 14.7 20.11 25.17 (167)
GEELONG 2.1 2.4 3.6 7.7 (49)
Goals – RICHMOND: Moore 6, Bourke 4, Bartlett 3, Green 2, Brown 2, Northey 2, Ronaldson, Bowden, Dean, Clay, Hunt, Barrot. GEELONG: Wade 5, Andrews, Ainsworth.
Best – RICHMOND: Hart (best on ground), Green, Barrot, Bourke, Sheedy, Clay, Strang, Bartlett. GEELONG: Ryan, Wade, Goggin, Rosenow, Ainsworth, Andrews.
Umpire: J. Crouch
Injuries, replacements – RICHMOND: Richardson (knee) by Hunt at half-time; Northey (ribs) by Bond at three-quarter time. GEELONG: Primmer (leg) by Gladman at quarter-time; Harris by Davies, last quarter.
Attendance: 101,233 (record for a league first semi-final)
Richmond player statistics
J. Ronaldson: 6 kicks, 1 handball, 1 mark
R. Dean: 17 kicks, 2 handballs, 6 marks
R. Hart: 25 kicks, 5 handballs, 11 marks
E. Moore: 12 kicks, 3 handballs, 7 marks
D. Clay: 19 kicks, 2 handballs, 7 marks
J. Northey: 9 kicks, 2 handballs, 3 marks
K. Sheedy: 20 kicks, 2 handballs, 3 marks
M. Bowden: 9 kicks, 6 handballs, 3 marks
C. Beard: 12 kicks, 0 handballs, 4 marks
B. Richardson: 2 kicks, 0 handballs, 2 marks
B. Barrot: 29 kicks, 2 handballs, 15 marks
G. Burgin: 11 kicks, 1 handball, 4 marks
G. Strang: 15 kicks, 3 handballs, 6 marks
K. Bartlett: 21 kicks, 1 handball, 3 marks
F. Bourke: 19 kicks, 1 handball, 5 marks
M. Green: 13 kicks, 9 handballs, 17 marks
B. Brown: 14 kicks, 5 handballs, 2 marks
I. Owen: 7 kicks, 2 handballs, 0 marks
R. Hunt (19th man): 5 kicks, 0 handballs, 2 marks
G. Bond (20th man): 4 kicks, 1 handball, 2 marks
