To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Tigers’ 1974 premiership, Richmond Media is transporting Yellow and Black barrackers back in time throughout 2024 to follow the Punt Road path to that tremendous triumph. We delve into The Age archives again today for a review by leading football writer Ron Carter of Richmond’s Round 9 match of the ’74 season against Collingwood at the MCG.

Everyone was talking about THE PLAN in the jubilant Collingwood rooms at the MCG on Saturday.

Stand-in coach Ron Richards mentioned it, so did captain Wayne Richardson and comeback player John Greening.

Unfortunately for other clubs, no-one was saying what THE PLAN was.

Unfortunate because the Magpies gave Richmond its biggest football hiding for years.

The 12-goal defeat will be a sore point with the Tigers for a long time.

Ron Richards said: “We worked out a plan during the week. It was the first time we had tried it today. We are not saying what it was because we will use it again.”

I believe the Magpies’ plan was to ensure they got first use of the ball at the centre bounces, and it succeeded.

Exactly how this was achieved must remain a Collingwood secret.

The Magpies whipped the ball away from the centre nine times out of 10 and they knew what to do with it – their 21 goals is ample proof.

Desperate players like Barry Price, Ray Shaw and George Bisset continually swooped on the ball and took it away.

Richmond sadly missed the 30 or so kicks which usually come Kevin Bartlett’s way.

But no-one could say Bartlett (absent due to Victorian state representation) was worth 12 goals to Richmond, even on his best day.

The Magpies set the pattern for their win from the start. Except for the third quarter, they did not let up.

They had a mobile and high-flying half-forward line in Bill Picken, Graeme Dunstan and John Greening.

Picken supplied the marking power and Greening and Dunstan the pace.

Nearer goals, Collingwood had two fine goal-getters in Peter McKenna and Ross Dunne. The other players looked for McKenna in the first quarter and gave him the ball beautifully.

McKenna looked a 150-goal-a-year forward as he kicked four and very nearly six in the first quarter.

Richmond’s defence had the horrors. Even Even full-back Robert McGhie, usually a sure ball handler, fumbled.

In the second quarter Dunne took over as the Magpies’ chief goal scorer. As cool and nonchalant as ever, he marked and kicked the Magpies to to an overwhelming lead by half-time.

By the end of the match Dunne had kicked six goals himself and had given three to McKenna.

The less said about Richmond the better. Even Royce Hart, who set the Tigers going against North Melbourne the previous week, was reduced to an ordinary player.

That’s why the Magpies gave one of their best player awards to John Williams. He did not get many kicks himself, but he stopped Hart.

Match details

Richmond            2.3           3.12        6.19        9.20 (74)                                 

Collingwood       7.5           13.7        14.12     21.17 (143)                                                                                                                                       

Goals – Richmond: Balme 3, Green 2, Cumming, Hart, Morris, Stewart.

Leading disposal-winners – Richmond: Nettlefold 28, Sproule 19, Andrews 17, Cloke 17, Morris 17, Balme 16.

Best players – Richmond: Morris, Green, Sproule, Balme, Nettlefold, Cloke.

Goals – Collingwood: Dunne 6, McKenna 6, Dunstan 3, Shaw 2, Greening, Holmes, Picken, W. Richardson.

Leading disposal-winners – Collingwood: W. Richardson 31, Cranage 27, Wearmouth 27, Bisset 25, Greening 24, Shaw 23, Dunstan 22, Picken 21.

Best players – Collingwood: Dunne (best on ground), W. Richardson, Picken, Dunstan, Price (until injured), Cranage, Shaw.

Attendance: 66,829.