Throughout 2026, we are cranking up the Tigerland time machine and transporting yellow and black barrackers back to 1966 to relive a pivotal year in Richmond’s history.
Our focus today is on the Tigers’ Round 4 fixture of the ’66 season against Collingwood at Victoria Park. We delve into the archives of The Age newspaper for this match report by leading football writer Ron Carter.
"Collingwood coach Bob Rose probably did not realise it at the time, but he signed Richmond’s fate for Saturday when he made two drastic changes the previous week against Essendon.
Rose embarrassed two of his forwards, Ian Graham and Peter McKenna, by switching them to the defence.
Much to Richmond’s stress and annoyance on Saturday, Graham and McKenna went on to the ground determined to show everyone their rightful places were in attack, and not defence.
And they proved their point in no uncertain manner and finished the game with three goals each. Their marking and kicking set the pattern for a highly efficient Collingwood attack which knocked the Tigers’ confidence and poise from one end of the ground to the other.
Richmond’s concern about Collingwood’s attack was shown in the first 10 minutes, when coach Tom Hafey took Bill Walford away from full-back and switched Graham Gahan on to Graham.
The desire to succeed, and the effectiveness of Graham and McKenna, spread right through the Magpies’ side by the end of the first quarter.
Every department in the Magpies’ team had strength.
There were Len Thompson and Wayne Richardson as a ruck-rover combination, Ted Potter to head the defence, John Henderson across the centre, and an abundance of winners in Tuddenham, McKenna, Waters and Graham on the forward lines.
The 37-point win ended a fine overall performance, rated as the Magpies’ best display for the season.
It is unlikely Richmond would have won had it kicked straighter for goal, but the game would have surely been much closer.
Pat Guinane, with 2.5, and John Northey, 1.6, were the chief offenders around goals.
Guinane, in particular, let Collingwood off with two costly misses in the first quarter after taking great marks.
Richmond, instead of trailing by nine points, could easily have been ahead at quarter-time.
The Tigers were kept goal-less in both the second and final quarters, because of their inadequacies up forward against a sound, close-checking Magpies defence.
A desperate third quarter revival to try to pull the game out of the fire earned the Tigers a lot of praise.
However, their efforts here were again nullified by inaccurate forward work.
Match details
Richmond 2.5 2.9 5.15 5.18 (48)
Collingwood 4.2 8.5 9.9 12.13 (85)
Goals – Richmond: Guinane 2, Barrot, Northey, Warner.
Leading possession-winners – Richmond: Dean 23, A. Richardson 19, Barrot 16, Smith 15, Strang 15.
Best – Richmond: Davenport, Dean, Strang, Smith, Crowe, Barrot.
Goals – Collingwood: Graham 3, McKenna 3, W. Richardson 3, Tuddenham, Wallis, Waters.
Leading possession-winners – Collingwood: W. Richardson 31, Waters 26, Henderson 23, Tuddenham 22, McKenna 21, K. Rose 21, Wallis 20.
Best – Collingwood: Henderson (best on ground), Waters, Tuddenham, W. Richardson, Graham, McKenna, Thompson, Potter.
Attendance: 40,130
