Throughout 2025, we are transporting Richmond supporters back 60 years to what was a pivotal year in the Club’s history – 1965. Our focus today is on the Tigers’ semi-final clash with Carlton in the post home-and-away season night series at South Melbourne’s Lake Oval. Here is the match report that appeared in The Age newspaper by Greg Hobbs.
Carlton made Richmond look like a novice combination when it scored a runaway victory by 59 points in the first semi-final of the night series at South Melbourne last night.
Carlton was never troubled and clearly outpointed the Tigers in most positions on the field.
Richmond was first away with four behinds and then a goal to John Northey, but from that point Carlton produced a great effort and completely overwhelmed its opponents.
Richmond looked anything like “the best side out of the four” it has been claimed to be.
The game produced few highlights. In fact, it was probably the worst game so far in this series.
In the end, it was only about how much Carlton would win by, for Richmond appeared to lose hope as the Blues peppered away at goals.
Bill Barrot, who was not selected in Richmond’s line-up, was a last-minute inclusion in place of Kevin Bartlett . . .
But he was not a dominating player for the Tigers, who continually broke down in attack against the strength of the Blues’ defence, led by John Goold and Wes Lofts.
The star of the match was Carlton’s schoolboy rover Adrian Gallagher. He gave his side a match-winning drive from the packs, and topped a fine effort with two goals.
Gallagher and Terry Board shut out Richmond’s rovers. Frank Dimattina and Peter Hogan, and the Tigers, struggled for drive all night to take the ball from the bounces and the throw-ins.
Carlton was also given a big lift by the fine ruck play of John Nicholls, who was rarely troubled when going for the knockouts.
After Richmond had started promisingly by putting 1.4 on the board before the Blues had scored, Carlton swung back for six goals before Richmond added its next major.
Pat Guinane and Peter Hogan got goals for Richmond to retrieve the position slightly, but Nicholls goaled for Carlton shortly before the interval, and the Blues had a 22-point advantage at half-time.
In the last half, with rover Gallagher running wild, Carlton outpaced, outplayed and out-generalled Richmond to score seven goals to Richmond’s two.
It was all Carlton, and Richmond appeared to throw in the towel as the Blues ran riot.
Match details
Richmond 1.4 3.6 4.8 5.10 (40)
Carlton 3.0 7.4 8.9 14.15 (99)
Goals – Richmond: Hogan 2, Guinane, Sheahan, Northey.
Best players – Richmond: A. Richardson, Dean, Davenport, Brown, Swift, Gowers.
Goals – Carlton: Hall 3, Nicholls 3, Gallagher 3, Board 2, Cox, Quirk, Collins.
Best players – Carlton: Gallagher (best on ground), Nicholls, Quirk, Reilly, Goold, Lofts, Cox.
Attendance: 23,730
