To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Tigers’ 1973 premiership, we have been transporting Yellow and Black barrackers back in time throughout 2023 to follow the Punt Road path to that fabulous flag triumph. Today, Tony Greenberg transports the ‘Tiger Time Machine” back to Richmond’s 1973 Grand Final glory.
Saturday, September 29, 1973 . . . the day a massive score was settled by 20 men proudly wearing the famous Yellow and Black colours of the Richmond Football Club.
A year earlier, the Tigers had entered the Grand Final encounter with traditional rival Carlton as the hottest premiership favourites in years. They had belted the Blues three times during the 1972 season and were considered “the very best of good things” to repeat the dose in that year’s premiership-decider.
Sadly, not even a huge score of 22.18 (150) was enough for Richmond to take home the '72 premiership cup, with Carlton kicking an amazing 28.9 (177), and laughing all the way back to Princes Park at the massive upset it had managed to pull off against the arch enemy.
Tigers coach Tommy Hafey reflected the mood in the Punt Road camp following that shock loss.
“It was embarrassing . . . it was probably the worst defeat that I've ever been connected with because we were the better team – but we didn't win,” Hafey said.
“And, that's the one that really, really hurts you. I know sometimes you get beaten and you are disappointed because you probably could have won the game. But this is a side that no doubt should have won the premiership.”
Out of the ashes of the 1972 Grand Final disaster grew the steeliest resolve imaginable within the Punt Road playing group.
There was, however, only one way for Richmond to wipe the slate clean – by winning the 1973 flag. Anything less would have been deemed totally unacceptable at Punt Road.
As fate would decree, the Tigers were handed a golden opportunity of exacting maximum retribution for their ‘72 failure when they came from 45 points down during the second quarter of their preliminary final clash with Collingwood to win and advance to another epic showdown with the Blues.
This time it was Carlton who went into the game as the favourite, courtesy of its 20-point victory over Richmond three weeks earlier in the qualifying final.
The Blues had seven changes to the team that so convincingly accounted for the Tigers in the ‘72 Grand Final, with Ray Byrne, Phillip Pinnell, Craig Davis, Vin Catoggio, Brent Crosswell, Brian Walsh and Bryan Quirk replacing Paul Hurst, Ian Robertson, Barry Armstrong, Syd Jackson, Trevor Keogh, Adrian Gallagher and Andrew Lukas.
For Richmond, Laurie Fowler, Robert McGhie, Merv Keane, Bryan Wood, Stephen Rae, Noel Carter and Michael Green came in for Ray Boyanich, Steve Hywood, Graeme Bond, Marty McMillan, Barry Richardson, Ricky McLean and Daryl Cumming.
Grand Final day 1973 was hot and dry, with a crowd of 116,956 filling the MCG to near capacity to watch Richmond's quest for revenge against Carlton.
The Grand Final was only three minutes old when a sensational incident occurred that was to set the tone for the entire match.
Nuggety little Richmond back pocket Laurie Fowler became ‘David’, slaying Carlton's ‘Goliath’ John Nicholls. An airborne Fowler collided head-on with Nicholls, who had led out from goal to a kick by Blues star Alex Jesaulenko.
The football world looked on in shock as ‘Big Nick’ was felled and, although he goaled from the resultant free kick, he was to have no further influence on this Grand Final, unlike the previous year when he had carved up the Tigers with a match-winning six-goal performance.
Richmond seized the early initiative in the '73 GF, thanks to Fowler's huge hit on Nicholls and Kevin Sheedy's sizzling form in his ruck-rover role. ‘Sheeds’ kicked all three of the Tigers' opening quarter goals through a potent mixture of rat-cunning, toughness and silky skills.
Midway through the second quarter, it was big forward Neil Balme's turn to impose himself on the contest and tip the scales further in Richmond's favor. Balme clashed heavily with champion Carlton full-back Geoff Southby and rugged Blue backman Vin Waite in the space of a few minutes. A groggy Southby did not appear on the ground after half-time.
As the match headed into the time-on period of the second term, the Tigers’ lead was a mere one point, but by half-time the margin had blown out to 26 points, with the brilliant Royce Hart yet again providing the inspiration up forward for “Hafey’s Heroes”.
A four-goal to two third quarter all but put the ‘73 premiership cup beyond Carlton's reach, as it trailed by 35 points at the last change. The Blues did stage a brief rally in the final term, cutting the deficit to 18 points, but there was not a snowball's hope in hell that Richmond was going to allow the precious silverware to slip from its grasp this time. Although the Tigers were frustratingly inaccurate in the last quarter, kicking 1.9, they were an extremely comfortable 30 points in front when the final siren sounded.
“The boys were like men on a mission and they certainly proved it on the day,” Hafey said post-match.
“I can remember Paul Sproule saying to me after the game, ‘That was the easiest game you've ever been connected with. There's no way known that mob was ever going to get anywhere near us today’.
“That was exactly the way I felt, as well.”
It was a truly memorable day in the history of the Richmond Football Club because, not only did the senior side gain sweet revenge by taking out the premiership, but the Tiger reserves, under 19s and under 17s all won their grand finals.
Here is a cross-section of media reports covering Richmond's glorious 1973 premiership triumph . . .
Sunday Press leading football reporter Scot Palmer:
“If it is possible to be ugly yet beautiful, Richmond were yesterday.
They got even with Carlton for the humiliation of 1972. And they did it beautifully.
Not content to beat the Blues for the League premiership, Richmond went out to devastate them.
Carlton knew what was coming in the first three minutes when the heat at the MCG had just started to get to the 116,956 spectators.
Heavyweight hero John Nicholls was collected by back pocket Laurie Fowler and didn’t bounce back.
Normally this would have been a no-contest, but big and small Tigers seemed hell bent on getting to work on the “softeners” they hoped would tell in the end.
It did to the tune of 16.20 (116) to 12.14 (86) to give Richmond their third flag in seven years.
The sweet science of football went out of the game after Big Nick came up wobbling. Later full-back Geoff Southby was concussed and Vin Waite of all people and Kevin Hall were crunched.
I suppose football shouldn’t be involved in such a simile but it was kind of like watching Marciano at work during his heyday.
And what about the way Richmond’s three “crocks” – Royce Hart, Francis Bourke and Ian Stewart – kept on their feet for four quarters.
And Kevin Bartlett, socks down, worn to a frazzle in the second half, was beautiful, just beautiful.
Carlton never headed Richmond, but with 15 minutes of the last quarter gone showed the stuff they are really made of by fighting back.
Down 38 points at the last change and with the whole side disorganised, the Blues found their second wind and moved to within three goals.
Centre half-forward Robert Walls, who had been nursing – and hiding – an injured hand all week, and winger Garry Crane led the revival.
Everyone sensed that Carlton still had a chance.
From high in the stands, then from everywhere the chant “Carlton – Carlton” started.
But the Blues luck had run out.
Phil Pinnell, who was hobbling, got a point; Alex Jesaulenko, only a shadow of himself through illness, hit the post . . . then the impossible happened – Nicholls missed a snap from just outside the goal square.
The Blues knew then Richmond had it won.
The man who sealed it was Tiger full-forward Neil Balme, who with his third try at goal for the quarter brought up his side’s 16th goal.
Balme had not exactly set the world on fire with his goal-kicking efforts, but probably no player other than Bartlett and Kevin Sheedy had exerted as much influence over the game.
With Southby distressed 12 minutes into the second quarter and off at half-time, Carlton had to move damaging Kevin Hall from ruck-roving to defence.
The Blues did not have a rover going and the loss of Hall’s pace from the division was shattering.
That quarter, the second, the Tigers kicked 8.3 to better the second-quarter (Grand Final) record.
The Blues, the pre-match favourites, were completely unprepared for the Richmond plan of attack.
Richmond were meeting everything head-on and went in head-down. It was the way it had to be.
The defence of Dick Clay, Laurie Fowler Mervyn Keane and Bourke, who had got his leg mobile again, was not being bluffed this time by the inactive Nicholls.
Richmond ruck-rover Kevin Sheedy was the man doing the early damage.
While the Blues became pre-occupied with his dare-devil play, Sheedy kicked the three opening goals for the side.
Sheedy had been waiting a full year to do it.
He had booted three goals in the last quarter of last year’s Grand Final and knew he had to do it again.
The gallant Sheedy also found something extra in the second half. While many of his team-mates were feeling the effect of dehydration he was throwing himself into the fray.
Richmond made few changes – Stewart went to a half-forward flank after half-time and gave Wayne Walsh the chance to show his abundant ability as a centreman.
But one sparsely-covered head kept bobbing up – Bartlett’s.
He just couldn’t be caught, tagged, or slowed down.
On a day where every kick had to be paid for with sweat or a swipe, Bartlett’s 27 speak for themselves.
The post-mortems will reveal that Carlton probably lost ground in this premiership hunt on Thursday night by picking Vin Catoggio and John O’Connell to replace injured men Trevor Keogh and Barry Armstrong.
There will be suggestions, too, that the Blues tried too hard to cover up injuries in their line-up.
The Carlton camp were also banking on big Peter Jones dominating the ruck division as he has in most games this year.
Jones was by no means an over-riding influence in this final clash and for the most part was over-shadowed by Brian Roberts.
Roberts is often criticised for his cumbersome style but deserves credit for chasing smaller players, his clever handball and ruck generalship.”
League football legend Ron Barassi in his column for the Sunday Observer:
“Richmond won the 1973 Grand Final yesterday because they adopted a shattering principle – attack at all costs regardless of who gets in the way.
The Tigers crashed their way to a brutal opening when Carlton colossus John Nicholls was downed soon after the first bounce. The scene was set for a pitiless day for the hungry Tigers. Carlton were no match.
It took them until the final quarter to show anywhere near the desperation that Richmond had shown throughout.Richmond won the flag 16.20 (116) to 12.14 (86).
Yesterday's action lacked the skills of last year's unique final between these two teams. But this was more than made up by the crunch of bodies in desperate physical contact . . .
Richmond played a perfect pressure game, throwing themselves into the fray at any cost. They deservedly drank champagne as a reward for their third flag in seven years.
The battle of the coaches was most interesting with Tom Hafey deserving a pat on the back.
He put his team onto the field in superb physical condition and in an excellent frame of mind to win such a game.
Richmond's ruthless approach was understandable. After all, this match is the equivalent of a world championship, and much more is allowed – and should be allowed – to go on in the Grand Final than is allowed in a normal match.
Richmond threw down the gauntlet in the opening minutes. From then on they bullocked their way to a well-deserved win.
Their pressure football was excellent . . . A most impressive example of the Tigers' non-stop relentless football was seen when they kicked five goals in the time-on period of the second quarter.
The Tigers won handsomely in the ruck and around the packs where Kevin Bartlett was especially damaging. With Mike Green blanketing big Peter Jones and, in fact, taking the honours, Richmond repeatedly shot the ball forward, flooding their forwards with opportunities . . .”
Leading football media personality and former Collingwood star Lou Richards in 'The Sun':
“Richmond took more than a premiership from Carlton at the MCG on Saturday.
Tommy Hafey's tearaway Tigers shattered for ever the legend of John Nicholls' invincible Blues.
The Blues weren't just beaten on the scoreboard.
They were mauled, physically and mentally, and I predict it will take years – that's right, years – for them to recover.
Big Nick has been cut down to size as a player at last (and a comparatively little fellow did it) and there's no one to replace him.
When Nick fell unconscious, face-first into the turf on Saturday, Carlton's present and future prospects nose-dived with him . . .
Richmond had a lot of matchwinners, but my pick for best of the bunch was tiger-hearted Kevin Sheedy.
‘Killer’ Kev kicked three magnificent goals in the first quarter to put Richmond on the way and kept on going from there.
He blocked and shepherded ferociously and had practically every one of the battered Blues wondering what he would do next.
Hart tottered back from the infirmary to take a succession of great marks and Stewart limped up forward to kick two decisive goals.
Bourke the magnificent simply stayed on the ground when lesser men would have been under it and inspired not only his own team, but the 116,000 people watching the match.
There's nothing much wrong with Australian Football when fellows like Francis Bourke are playing it.
Mike Green's great work in the ruck was generally overlooked, but, by golly, he was one of the Tigers who really won the game . . .”
The Herald Sports Editor Terry Vine:
“It was the day Nick Power gave way to solar energy and 18 superbly fit Tigers.
Big Nick won the toss, a free kick in the first minutes of the game, and the first goal.
But by the end of the day he took his bruised and battered Blues off the ground after 100 hard, gory minutes knowing that he'd been in the Tigers' den.
For the Tigers, it was sweet revenge.
This was what they had planned to do last year, but something then went horribly wrong -- wrong in the name of Nick Power.
This was different. This was glory, reward, the end of 12 months of having last year thrown into their faces.
There were yellow and black stripes all over the ground.
The Blues tried until they nearly burst. But all the time the hot sun – and the Tigers – bore down on them.
The perspiration rolled down their faces and necks, arms and legs, and into their hands and eyes, making the ball slippery and hard to see.
And there was one other thing that bothered the Blues – the mercurial Bartlett.
Almost everywhere there seemed to be a Bartlett to plague them and if it wasn't a Bartlett, it was a Stewart.
Then in the last quarter the Blues gave their fans their first real hope when they scored quick goals and whittled away the commanding Tiger lead.
The ground echoed to the cries of “Carl-ton!” as the Blues fought back. But like the Tigers of old, so young and bold, the Tigers fought on too.
1973 is the year of the Tiger.”
Richmond star Francis Bourke in his column for The Age:
“They tell me that Tommy Hafey is disappointed that the SSB Little League Tigers and the Richmond Tramways didn’t win a premiership on Saturday.
Seriously, four flags in one day, it’s still hard to believe. But you know, it just had to be a day for Tigers, young and old.
By the time we ran on to the MCG, the young Tigers – the fourths, the under-19s and the Reserves – had done their part and the club had three flags.
Imagine how we would have felt if we hadn’t won the big one. We couldn’t have looked them in the eye – it’s not often a club gets the chance to set such a record.
How do we feel now? Bloody terrific, that’s how. I never released how sweet revenge could be, especially when it is for such a humiliating defeat as ours 12 months ago.
Twelve months is a long time to live with the memory of last year’s Grand Final disaster. But now we have something much better to live with.
Four flags and the reputation of the strongest and most successful club in League history, that’s what.
But let’s settle down, organise the brains and have a look at the game itself.
I think Richmond got its message across very early in the day – the message that we meant business.
It was a great team effort by a team which was completely fanatical and desperate to wipe out a bad dream and set the record straight.
We were determined to show the word that Richmond, not Carlton, was the best club in the League.
It just gives you some idea what dedication can do. And there was dedication on every line and in every position.
All the experts for instance predicted that Peter Jones would wipe the ground with our rucks. Take a bow Whale Roberts and Michael Green. You showed those critics.
Poor old Whale has been maligned throughout the season but on Saturday against Jones and David McKay he showed just how great his heart is. And it wasn’t just in the hit-outs that he did so well but everywhere.
And don’t forget he did all this in conditions which should have suited him – the biggest man on the field – less than anybody else.
Michael Green, too, was superb in the ruck and with his marking and kicking all over the ground.
I’m sure I’m not taking anything from the little men when I say that a lot of their work was made easier by our two big fellows.
Mind you, weren’t the little blokes superb, too? Kevin Bartlett is incredible: fast, elusive, indestructible (and he did cop a few). What can you say about him that hasn’t been said already, at least a thousand times.
The way he just keeps on running and running and running, especially in the last quarter when everybody had had it.
Paul Sproule was another – a fine performance indeed.
And Kevin Sheedy. Now there’s a man with guts. He was magnificent. He really set us on the road to victory in the first quarter with creative handball, shepherding, plain hard, slogging work and, of course, those invaluable three goals.
And when the going got tough there was Kevin, stirring us up and doing a little stirring of a different kind in other quarters.
And what has happened to that so-called loose defence they said would always be a big trouble for Richmond? It was superb against a really tough forward line.
Dick Clay, Laurie Fowler, Rex Hunt, Robert McGhie and Mervyn Keane – what a lionhearted effort from these Tigers.
They were under extreme pressure all day, especially in the last quarter when the Blues appeared as if they would get a run on.
I’m not saying that we were really worried in that last quarter, but they did give us (me at least) a bit of a fright. You never know what can happen when a team gets such a run.
But it was good to know that our last line of defence would stand firm. And stand firm it did.
The Blues battled their hearts out all day and despite the hiding they copped through injuries they still managed to stage that last-quarter fight-back.
It was a credit to their fighting qualities. Blokes like Robert Walls, Gary Crane, Vin Waite, David McKay – and Neil Chandler and Bryan Quirk when they came on – never stopped trying.
But they just happened to be playing a side that was more determined and fanatical, despite its own injury problems (just look at how courageously Ian Stewart battled on, and on one leg, too).”
Match details
Richmond 3.5 11.8 15.11 16.20 (116)
Carlton 2.2 7.6 9.9 12.14 (86)
Goals – Richmond: Stewart 3, Hart 3, Sheedy 3, Balme 2, Walsh, Roberts, Carter, Bartlett, Green.
Leading disposal-winners – Richmond: Bartlett 26, Sheedy 24, Sproule 21, Hart 19, Rae 19, Walsh 19.
Best – Richmond: Bartlett, Sheedy, Stewart, Hart, Sproule, Walsh, Clay, Green.
Goals – Carlton: K. Hall 2, Crane 2, Dickson 2, Walls 2, McKay 2, Nicholls, Chandler.
Leading disposal-winners – Carlton: Crane 27, Walls 20, Jesaulenko 19, Doull 17, Jones 16, McKay 16.
Best – Carlton: Crane, Walls, McKay, Hall, Pinnell, Jesaulenko, Byrne.
Replacements – Richmond: Carter by Morris in final quarter, Balme by McKellar in final quarter. Carlton: Southby, concussion, by Chandler at half-time; Catoggio by Quirk in third quarter.
Attendance: 116,956
