To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Tigers’ 1980 premiership, Richmond Media is transporting Yellow and Black barrackers back in time throughout 2020 to follow the Punt Road path to that fantastic flag triumph. Today we take a look at ‘The Age’ football writer Geoff Slattery’s review of Richmond’s Round 14 match of the ’80 season against Collingwood at the MCG, which took place on Saturday, June 28 before a crowd of 64,054.

“As usual, Jack Dyer got it right. “Unless you’re a big-time football operator,” he announced just after one o’clock, Saturday, “you wouldn’t be leaving the fire today.”

It was one of those days. Conducive to nothing but moaning and groaning. Certainly, it was anything but the weather for sparkling football.

Nor was it an occasion for T-shirts, although that didn’t stop Collingwood coach Tom Hafey maintaining his iron-man image at the MCG on Saturday. Of the 64,054 people watching the much anticipated Richmond-Collingwood contest, it would be reasonably safe to say Hafey was the only one in a T-shirt.

What that has to do with the match of the day is anybody’s guess. Perhaps it is indicative of Hafey’s involvement with his players. “If they can brave the cold, so can I” type of thinking. He said after the game he wasn’t cold. Actually, he was boiling at the disappointing efforts some of those players had produced.

The game started in the most embarrassing circumstances for the Magpies. It could have been an unexpected gust of wind, or the bellows of delight from all the Collingwood fans at the sight of their heroes, but it was too much for the huge welcoming banner. Just as Ray Shaw and Peter Moore were about to burst through it, down it came on top of them.

After much kicking, punching, scratching, and doubtlessly a few unkind words, the abashed pair emerged. You wonder how much effect such an incident has on the coach’s build up. It wouldn’t do the ego much good to be beaten by a banner before the first bounce.

Despite the high scores in the reserves game, it was soon obvious it was going to be a low-scoring, tough-as-nails contest, and, it was a tribute to both sides that the standard in such trying conditions  was so high.

Experienced players on both sides described the game in identical terms. Kevin Bartlett and Francis Bourke for Richmond, and Kevin Morris for Collingwood, separate said: “It was a slog”.

That Bourke, who has the ability to make even the fearsome occasions seem ho-hum, should go further, shows how hard it really was out there.

“With blokes slipping and sliding, and the ball difficult to grab, it did make the game physically tougher than usual,” he said.

It didn’t stop Bourke, of course. He played the perfect stopping game on one of Collingwood’s hopes, Rene Kink. And once he had stopped, then demoralised Kink, he started launching Richmond forward thrusts. Bourke is one of the great players of our time.

And his long time team-mate Bartlett is not all that bad either. Twelve players kicked goals in this match. Ten of them kicked one, Collingwood’s Leigh Carlson two. Bartlett booted four.

Hafey said later: “Bartlett kicks goals. You’ve got to cover him.”

You do, too, even after 332 games and 16 years at it.

But while Bartlett is exhilarating on one hand, he can be infuriating on the other. He does love kicking goals, doesn’t he? He refused hand-passes to team-mates on more than one occasion on Saturday. But as soon as he breaks the rules, he kicks a goal. Infuriating, but Bartlett has his own rules.

Collingwood fans will say that they lost the game in the first quarter, when the Magpies managed 2.9. It did seem wasteful, but many of the shots were from oblique angles or from miles out. And you don’t get goals from too far out in the slops. Significantly, Hafey wasn’t offering missed shots as an excuse.

The game was won for Richmond late in the second quarter, when it seemed the game was slipping from the Tigers’ grip. Collingwood had grabbed a 15 point lead with only 10 minutes of the half to go, and as Bourke appropriately pointed out later: “That’s a big lead in those conditions.”

Goals late from Bartlett and Roach (his only goal for the day) reduced the leeway to a manageable three points, and 2.6 to seven points in the third quarter was enough.

In the 1979 Grand Final, on the same ground, in the same conditions, Collingwood led Carlton by 27 points at the 10 minute mark of the second quarter, yet trailed by a point at half time. The same period lost it on Saturday. Coincidence?

The third quarter was played in the most appalling light. It was almost as if the heavens were showing sympathy with last week’s SEC power strike. It was as bright as a candle-lit room, and as warm as the taxman’s smile.

It was a good time for Richmond’s centreline to take control, and it did, not allowing the invisible ball into the gloom of the Collingwood forward line.

Despite the slender margin – nine points – it was difficult to find outstanding Collingwood players. The forward line was non-existent and, although Peter Moore probably beat Mark Lee, Bill Picken did beat David Cloke, the rest were team contributors.”

Match details

Richmond         1.4       6.8       8.14     9.19 (73)
Collingwood     2.9       6.11     6.18     7.22 (64)

Goals – Richmond: Bartlett 4, Roach, Monteath, Tempany, Keane, Bottams.
Best – Richmond: Weightman, Bartlett, Bourke, Wood, Collins, Jess, Tempany.

Goals – Collingwood: Carlson 2, Banks, Morris, Brewer, A. Shaw, R. Shaw.
Best – Collingwood: Picken, Moore, Stewart, A. Shaw, Morris.