In the second of a Bingle Recruitment Zone special series, featuring 20highlights from Richmond’s trade/draft history during the post-seasonperiod, we focus on Brendon Gale’s arrival, and impact, at Tigerland.
The 1987 National Draft was noteworthy, from a Richmond perspective at the time, due to the fact that the Club had the prized first pick.
With that selection, the Tigers chose Richard Lounder, a giant ruckman (203cm and 116kg) from SANFL club Central District, who they had high hopes could provide the impetus for their rise up the ladder.
Lounder, unfortunately, never lived up to the hype surrounding him, and returned to SA at the end of his one and only season for Richmond in 1989, having managed just four senior appearances.
The failure of Lounder to make an impact in the big man department at the game’s highest level, however, was offset to a good degree by the player the Tigers picked up with their third selection (No. 27 overall) in that ’87 Draft – Brendon Gale.
A 198cm key forward, Gale was recruited from Tasmania, where his father, Don Gale, had been a champion footballer throughout the 1950s and early 1960s,
Several decades before then, Don’s father (Brendon’s grandfather) Jack Gale had played senior football for Richmond (in 1924).
Young Gale, who had played senior football with Burnie Hawks in 1987, was hampered by injuries and illness during his first couple of years at Tigerland, and didn’t make his senior league debut until the opening round of the 1990 season, under Kevin Bartlett’s coaching guidance.
He went on to play every game that season, and 21 of 22 in 1991, establishing himself as the team’s centre half-forward - a position he was well suited, due to his marking ability, mobility, and long kicking.
Later on, Gale would be used by the Tigers in a relief ruck role, before eventually taking over the mantle as the team’s No. 1 ruckman.
Gale was a key member of Richmond’s 1995 finals campaign, and also was acting captain in several games that season when skipper Tony Free was injured, including the memorable semi-final win against Essendon.
As a forward, Gale was a strong focal point for the Tigers, and a real handful for opposition sides to counter.
He scored a career-high 34 goals in the 1996 season, with a personal best of six, against Fitzroy in Round 21 that year.
Six times in his 12 seasons of league football, Gale booted 20 goals or more, underlining his value as an attacking weapon for the Tigers.
And, he’s also fondly remembered by the Tiger Army for the number of match-saving marks he took deep in defence, later on in his ruck role.
Gale ended up with 244 games to his credit, which was the most by any player selected in the 1987 National Draft – ahead of Collingwood’s Graham Wright, 201, and Melbourne’s Stephen Tingay, 162.
