To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Tigers’ 1973 premiership, Richmond Media is transporting Yellow and Black barrackers back in time throughout 2023 to follow the Punt Road path to that fabulous flag triumph. Today, Tony Greenberg reflects on Noel Carter’s whirlwind transition from talented Tasmanian teenager to Tiger premiership hero.

One of the interesting new players on Richmond’s final playing list for the 1973 season was an 18-year-old rover from Tasmanian club Ulverstone, Noel Carter.

The Tigers had been hot on Carter’s trail for several years. They had, in fact, signed him when he was just a 14-year-old – two years before he made his senior debut with Ulverstone!

While playing for Ulverstone, Carter’s school holidays were spent in Melbourne, training at Richmond’s Punt Road headquarters.

A skilful and fiercely determined competitor, Carter had made a seamless step up to senior level football, winning Ulverstone’s best and fairest award in 1972.

Early the following year, Carter made the trip across Bass Strait to start pre-season training with Richmond, and he performed impressively in the intra-club practice matches.

But the Tigers and Ulverstone could not agree on terms for his clearance, so he missed the first seven games of the 1973 season.

Carter even went back to Ulverstone and played a couple of games while waiting for the clearance to go through, which eventually it did.

Upon returning to Richmond to officially start his VFL career, the then 18-year-old was hell-bent on making up for lost time.

Carter made his senior debut with the Tigers in Round 10 of the ’73 season against South Melbourne at the Lake Oval.

He kicked a goal in the team’s 30-point win that day but was omitted from the senior side the following week.

It wasn’t until the return game against South in Round 21 at the MCG that Carter got another senior opportunity, as one of the two reserves on the bench.

Carter didn’t get a run until late in the game and it was the same story the following week for him, a reserve in the final home-and-away round clash with Footscray at the MCG.

Richmond made several changes for its qualifying final against Carlton, with Carter losing his place in the line-up.

That, however, was far from the end of his season at senior level.

The Tigers lost the qualifying final, then defeated St Kilda in the first semi-final, to earn a crack at Collingwood in the preliminary final.

Carter was recalled to the line-up in place of fellow rover Daryl Cumming.

Richmond produced one of the greatest comebacks in its history to beat the Magpies by seven points after trailing by six goals at half-time. Carter, playing predominantly as a permanent forward pocket (small forward) was a handy contributor with four shots at goal (1.3) in his 10 disposals.

That performance was enough for the teenager to keep his place in the Tigers team for the ’73 Grand Final against Carlton.

He didn’t let Richmond down in the premiership-decider, picking up 11 disposals and kicking a crucial goal as the Tigers avenged their 1972 Grand Final loss to the Blues, scoring a decisive 30-point victory.

Carter, in just his fifth game of VFL football, had become a Richmond premiership player . . . a Tigerland hero forever.