In a special summer series, Richmond Media is counting down the top 25 Tiger recruits from rival AFL clubs throughout the past five decades. We kick off today with No. 25, Ben Harrison.
Ben Harrison joined Richmond at the end of the 1995 season from Carlton, where he had played only two senior games in a brief stint.
Harrison, a close mate of Richmond superstar Matthew Richardson since their junior days in Devonport, Tasmania, found his way to Punt Road via a trade deal involving midfielder Justin Murphy, who had spent a couple of seasons with the Tigers.
After a relatively slow start at Tigerland, managing just eight senior appearances in 1996, Harrison went on to become a valuable contributor for the Club.
One of Harrison’s main assets as a player was his versatility. At 191cm and 96kg, he successfully filled a variety of on-field roles during his career with Richmond – across the backline, up forward, and through the midfield.
His best season for the Tigers came in 1998, playing all 22 games, polling five Brownlow Medal votes and finishing fourth in the Jack Dyer Medal.
He averaged a career-high 18.8 disposals and 5.2 marks per game in that season and was one of Richmond’s most consistent performers.
Harrison racked up an AFL career-high 31 disposals against Brisbane in Round 21 of the ’98 season, and he scored a career-high four goals on three occasions during his time with the Tigers.
He was a natural ball-winner and efficient with his delivery, either by hand or with his left foot.
A key highlight of Harrison’s time at Tigerland came in the final round of the 1997 home-and-away season against his former team Carlton at Princes Park.
Richmond trailed by nearly seven goals during the third quarter but staged a fantastic fightback to grab a thrilling, two-point victory and knock the Blues out of the finals race. It was Harrison who coolly steered through the match-winning goal for the Tigers from a set shot.
Following a 74-game career at Richmond from 1996-2000, Harrison was traded to the Western Bulldogs and he subsequently produced some good football there over five seasons.
