Throughout 2025, we are transporting Richmond supporters back 60 years to what was a pivotal season in the Club’s history – 1965. Today, we examine the Tigers’ nail-biting victory over Footscray at the Western Oval in Round 9 of the ’65 season, via this match report in The Age newspaper by leading football writer Ron Carter.

Richmond was worried far more than usual before yesterday’s game at Footscray, and as it turned out it had every reason to – it scraped home by a goal scored in the time-on period.

Richmond had to win to stay with the other top League teams, and it achieved this by scoring 9.17 (71) to Footscray’s 9.11 (65).

However, everyone at Richmond should be willing to admit, as its club president Mr. Ray Dunn did, that there was a lot of luck attached to the victory.

In his address after the match, Mr. Dunn said luck had played a big part in the win, which had been earned the hard way.

For Footscray it was another day of frustration and disappointment.

It played well enough to win but, for the fifth time this season, it had lost by seven points or less.

After 22 minutes of the last quarter Richmond saw the game slipping through its fingers when Footscray rover Mervyn Hobbs kicked a 50-yard goal to put the Bulldogs a point ahead.

As time slipped away, Richmond first levelled the score, then made a last desperate attack which paid off.

Centre half-forward Pat Guinane pulled down a one-handed mark and his kick sailed to the goal square, where full-forward Mick Erwin, in the middle of the pack, frantically clutched a mark.

Erwin’s goal, which followed was all the Tigers needed to celebrate what coach Jack Titus described as the best win of the season.

Had Richmond lost, the blame for defeat would probably have been directed at four players, Erwin, Frank Dimattina, Michael Patterson and Don Davenport.

All missed goals from almost point-blank range in the first 10 minutes of play and this put the Tigers on the wrong foot from the start.

Because of this wasteful play Richmond had several behinds on the board before it scored its first goal.

Footscray also had it share of bad misses, but overall Richmond was hit hardest by inaccuracy.

Many Richmond players worked in bursts, and it was fortunate for the Tigers they had such players as Guinane, Davenport, Barry Cameron and Bill Barrot who stuck to their tasks all day.

Footscray, on the other hand, got value from almost the whole side, and gave a much more even performance.

Match details
Richmond    3.9    4.12    7.15    9.17 (71)                
Footscray    2.1    6.8    6.9    9.11 (65)

Goals – Richmond: Erwin 3, Brown, Crowe, Dimattina, Guinane, Patterson, Warner.
Leading disposal-winners – Richmond: Cameron 25, Barrot 22, Davenport 18.
Best players – Richmond: Cameron, Guinane, Davenport, Barrot, Dimattina, Dickeson.

Goals – Footscray: Beattie 2, Hobbs 2, Ion 2, Chalmers, McKenzie, Patterson.
Leading disposal-winners – Footscray: McKenzie 27, Chalmers 20, Darcy 17, Hobbs 17, Taylor 17.
Best players – Footscray: Schultz, Chalmers, Darcy, Whitten, Ion, Zeuschner.

Attendance: 25,345