To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Tigers’ 1980 premiership, Richmond Media is transporting Yellow and Black barrackers back in time throughout 2020 to follow the Punt Road path to that fantastic flag triumph. Today we take a look at ‘The Age’ newspaper’s review of Richmond’s Round 8 match of the ’80 season against Carlton at the MCG, which took place on Saturday, May 17 before a huge crowd of 85,459.
“When a giant computer crumbles into a non-functioning heap, the process in the computer industry is called graceful degradation.
The term would be appropriate to describe Carlton’s humiliating defeat to Richmond in front of 85,459 spectators at the MCG Saturday were it not for the distinct lack of grace displayed by the lads from Princes Park.
Richmond (a more humble version of the arrogantly talented Tigers who terrorised the League in the late 60s and early 70s, coach Tony Jewell hopes), dismantled the high credentialed Carlton machine by 53 points with an artful display of persistent football.
People say and Jewell concedes that Richmond has fashioned its game from the Carlton blueprint but this is true only as far as tactics are concerned. Richmond’s style of play is its own and was indelibly marked on the team’s psyche back in the days of Tommy Hafey.
So, like Carlton, Richmond has found the successful balance of big men surrounded by smaller, quicker men and like Carlton, Richmond uses its tall forwards, Michael Roach at full-forward and David Cloke at centre half-forward particularly, as focal points rather than the ultimate aim of attack.
So when the ball is kicked down the centre of Richmond’s forward line, the taller men leap and the smaller sweep.
The Blues developed their strategy to cover up weakness. Since Greg Kennedy left in the early 70s the team has been without a real full forward and since Robert Walls went to Fitzroy a real centre half forward.
That Michael Roach was able to hold onto many of these range-finding Richmond kicks and himself kick six goals provided Richmond with much of its winning margin. But that he and Cloke slapped the ball to ground and, inevitably, into Bartlett’s hands, was the reason for the victory.
Bartlett (undoubtedly with his grandchildren cheering him from the outer) kicked seven goals and wanted more. His performance was the best on the day and would have been so by a country kilometre were it not for the stunning performance turned in by Robert Wiley who held the ball and, most times, disposed of it well, a total of 46 times.
In the centre of the ground, where Richmond players sometimes looked positively lonely, Geoff Raines, Dale Weightman and recent Carlton player Denis Collins took turns playing Jack to Mark Lee’s elegant beanstalk.
And of the backs, the vastly under-rated James Jess and Francis Bourke were the main ammunition suppliers for the Richmond thrust.
The styles of the two clubs, however, are rich in contrast and would have provided a sumptuous entertainment for the big crowd were it not for the poisonous lack of discipline in Carlton’s play.
Normally, the game played by the Blues is full of finesse and even wit (witness Wayne Johnston shooting his arms into the air in total surrender to the joys of scoring or the now injured Alex Marcou embarking on a cheeky 80-metre end run around the back line) whereas the Richmond flair is born of a relentless momentum.
To be sure there were good players. David McKay kept the Blues close early in the game when they should have been gone. James Buckley was singularly responsible for a third quarter Carlton revival and Curly Austin, believe it or not, made Michael Roach fight damn hard for every mark he took. Wayne Harmes and Geoff Southby, back in the seniors for the first time this year after injury, held out promise for future campaigns.
At no time on Saturday did the Blues ever threaten to play like a unit. Individuals kept them in the game up until the end of the third quarter.
In the dressing room after the game Percy Jones began discovering what a coach’s job really entails. He spoke of being tougher with his players who are also his mates and, indeed, divorcing himself from their social lives which will be extremely tough for the amiable publican."
Match details
Richmond 4.4 7.10 12.16 19.24 (138)
Carlton 2.4 5.5 10.7 12.13 (85)
Goals – Richmond: Bartlett 7, Roach 6, Cloke 2, Weightman 2, Landy, Smith.
Best – Richmond: Bartlett, Wiley, Raines, Rowlings, Bourke, Lee, Jess.
Goals – Carlton: Buckley 3, McKay 3, Doull, Fitzpatrick, Harmes, Johnston, Jones, Maclure.
Best – Carlton: Buckley, Austin, McKay, Harmes