Ben Miller channelled a Richmond star key defender from the distant past in last Saturday’s clash with Greater Western Sydney at ENGIE Stadium.
In Round 7 of the 1969 season, Tigers full-back Barry Richardson did the unthinkable – he kept Peter Hudson goalless for the first time in the outstanding Hawthorn full-forward’s playing career.
Hudson entered that match with 42 goals from the opening six rounds of the season, including an incredible haul of 16 against Melbourne two weeks earlier.
Richardson, however, rose superbly to the enormity of the challenge that day and completely blanketed the Hawks’ goalkicking machine in a defensive master class.
Fast-forward 56 years, and Giants’ star spearhead Jesse Hogan shaped as a major problem for Richmond in the Round 12 clash of the 2025 season.
Hogan was the in-form key forward of the competition, having kicked 30 goals in his eight games, with two big bags of nine and seven, following his Coleman Medal win in 2024.
But the Tigers’ key defender Miller handled the monumental task with aplomb, not only keeping Hogan goalless, but totally scoreless for the entire match.
What made Miller’s performance even more meritorious was the fact that it had been nearly two years since Hogan had not kicked a goal in a game – Round 16, 2023 v Melbourne at Traeger Park in Alice Springs to be exact.
For 42 consecutive games, Hogan had scored at least one goal – until last Saturday, when Miller put the clamps on him.
Miller, himself, had 11 disposals, six marks, four rebound-50s, five intercepts, 285 metres gained and a team-high nine one-percenters in what was the best performance of his 58-game AFL career.
