Throughout 2025, we are transporting Richmond supporters back 60 years to what was a pivotal season in the Club’s history – 1965. Our focus today is on the Tigers’ final game of the ’65 season against North Melbourne at Coburg Oval. Here is the match report that appeared in The Age newspaper by football writer Trevor Davis.

North Melbourne ended an indifferent season on Saturday on a high note by playing irresistible football, packed with power and purpose, to crush Richmond by six goals.

It was a prestige-building victory over the Tigers, whose performances throughout the year had quite rightly won them the title of best team outside the four.

But, those who saw the ease with which North bottled up Richmond’s match-winners, and dictated the trend of the game with intelligent co-operative football, might well have considered they, not the Tigers, deserved that distinction.

North showed the completeness of strength and skill which lifts a side into the finals.

The Tigers were beaten at almost every facet of the game – in teamwork, handball, anticipation and pace.

They were outpointed clearly in and around the rucks, across the centre and, more damagingly, in attack.

The cumulative effect of these handicaps was that Richmond did not score its first goal until the seven-minute mark in the third quarter.

It went on to play much better than in the first half, without ever threatening to wrest control from North.

The Kangaroos, responding to a fiery pre match address by coach Killigrew, hopped off to a scintillating start.

Teasdale, driving the ball from the ruck, Dowdle roving well, Johnson, burning on a wing, and Goode at full-forward, were the players who enabled them to finish the first quarter with a lead of 23 points.

Teasdale, a leader in many football awards this season, probably was the outstanding player on the ground in the first quarter.

But after that he had to surrender the distinction to team-mate Bob Pascoe, who went on to give North his best game since coming from South Australia.

Pascoe’s physical strength, marking and penetrating handball, provided North with much of its match-winning impetus and nothing his opponents, including talented Neville Crowe, could do dimmed his brilliance.

Richmond had only one clear winner on the day – centreman Bill Barrot. He won many kicks, only to see most of them wasted by haphazard forward play.

Full-forward Erwin was a prime offender – kicking 1.5 for the game.

It was surprising to see and attack which had kicked more goals than any other in the League this season play so poorly.

Part of this was due to the pressure exerted by North’s defence, but there was much inexplicable fumbling, hesitancy and misplaced short passing by the Richmond forwards.

Match details
Richmond        0.3    0.7    3.10    6.12 (48)                    
North Melbourne    4.2    5.7    8.9    11.12 (78)

Goals – Richmond: Guinane 2, Barrot, Bartlett, Erwin, Sheahan.
Leading disposal-winners – Richmond: Bartlett 22, Barrot 19, Davenport 17, A. Richardson 16.
Best players – Richmond: Barrot, Busse, Smith, A. Richardson, Sheahan, Crowe, Guinane.

Goals – North Melbourne: Goode 4, Dowdle 2, B. Pascoe 2, Allison, Dean, Ibrahim.
Leading disposal-winners – North Melbourne: Teasdale 30, B. Pascoe 26, Johnson 23, Dowdle 19, Ibrahim 18.
Best players – North Melbourne: B. Pascoe, Johnson, Dowdle, Teasdale, Waddington, Gaudion, O’Brien.

Attendance: 11,867