Members of the Richmond team, published in May, 1910

With the 2020 AFL season currently in shutdown mode, Richmond historian Rhett Bartlett recounts previous times throughout Tigerland history (VFA and VFL) when games were postponed and played at a later date.

1896: Round 17 v Williamstown postponed for one week because of extreme wet weather with the grounds saturated. 

1910: Round 2 v Melbourne postponed by the league for one week due to the death of the King (Edward VII). Before that announcement, Melbourne had informed Richmond it would not play because of the King’s death. When the game eventually took place, both teams wore black and purple armbands.

1917: Round 13 v Geelong postponed for one week at the request of the State War Council, which pointed out that a special effort was to be made to obtain recruits for the war, and expressed a wish that there should not be a counter-attraction on the day.

1936: Round 10 v Footscray postponed for one week because of torrential rain. Jack Titus kicked 10 goals of Richmond’s 15 goals when the match was played seven days later.

1939: Round 18 v Collingwood postponed for one week by the league’s adverse weather committee due to wet weather. 

1960: Round 2 v Essendon scheduled for the MCG April 23 was postponed and subsequently shifted to Punt Road on April 30 because of heavy rain. It was set to be the first time Richmond had played Essendon at the MCG in a league home-and-away match. When the Round 2 clash with the Bombers eventuated, it was the first time the Tigers had ever lost a league match by 100 points (125-point defeat), and it was the largest score kicked against them in a league match up to that stage (25.20). Ruckman Neville Crowe was scheduled to play only three quarters of the game originally fixtured for April 23, then was to leave the ground and head to the church, where he was getting married at 5pm. With the game postponed, Crowe's marriage went ahead, but he never did play on the rescheduled date (April 30), as he injured his knee at training during the week. The postponement pushed all other matches that season back a week.

1963: Round 11 v St Kilda scheduled for July 13 at Punt Road was postponed to July 20 due to heavy rain throughout the week. The entire round of VFL football was postponed.