We continue our series on Punt Road Oval’s wonderful journey from 1885 to the present day at the ME Bank Centre, with a flashback to Richmond playing a unique Wednesday morning fixture against an arch foe, at the famous ground . . .
Richmond had a roaring start to the 1920 season, scoring consecutive wins against Fitzroy (Round 1), Carlton (Round 2) and Geelong (Round 4) with a bye in between (Round 3).
This set up a tantalising clash between the Tigers and their 1919 Grand Final conqueror and fierce rival, Collingwood.
Adding an altogether different dimension to this Round 5, 1920 match, was the fact it was to take place on a Wednesday morning, in order to accommodate the itinerary of the visiting Prince of Wales.
Prince Edward V111 was the eldest son of King George V and Queen Mary.
He was touring Australia to thank the nation’s people, on behalf of the King, for their participation in World War One, which had finished in 1918.
All VFL games for Round 4 of that 1920 season were scheduled for the Wednesday, due to the fact the Prince of Wales would be attending a Victoria v South Australia State match at the MCG on the Saturday.
Richmond v Collingwood at Punt Road, along with Fitzroy v Geelong at Brunswick Street, kicked off at 10.45 on the morning of May 26, 1920, while South Melbourne v Carlton at the Lake Oval and St Kilda v Essendon at the Junction Oval, had 3pm starts that day (Melbourne had the bye that round).
Despite the extra early start, fans of both the Tigers and Magpies flocked to the ground in high anticipation of the battle between the 1919 Grand Finalists.
The clash lived up to all the hype, too, with Richmond getting home by a slender seven points in an epic encounter.
Here’s ‘The Argus’ football reporter’s review of the match . . .
“The contest between Collingwood (premiers of last season) and Richmond (runners-up last year) on the Richmond ground yesterday morning drew a record crowd of 30,000 people . . . It was a stirring battle, full of vigour and dash, in which strength, pace, skill, courage, and determination were displayed by powerful athletes in the pink of condition. The pace was on from beginning to end, and while no-one asked for or gave no quarter, there was singularly little that could be called unfair, still less that could be called cowardly. It was evenly contested throughout, fortunes swung first one way then the other, there was never a time when either side had any marked advantage, yet Richmond always seemed to have just that little in hand which meant success. They were the more consistent, while Collingwood were spasmodic . . .
The final term was see-saw, up and down, Richmond’s lead being decreased, then restored. Sheehy gave Collingwood first look in, and as Lumsden ran on he was fouled, the whistle blew, but Lumsden fired, and as he got the goal the umpire let him have it. As a matter of course Bayliss (Richmond), with a beautiful left foot shot, provided the answer. It was goal for goal, then Wilson (Collingwood), Bayliss (Richmond) goaled and there was only four points between them. The Magpies were swooping, and the pace and go of it all were amazing. Then Hughes had a snapshot for Collingwood, but to the dismay of his side his shot hit the post. Another behind brought Collingwood within two points, and it looked as though they must win. Another behind . . . one point and three minutes to go. Could Richmond hang out? They were there to do more, and up the Punt Road wing Hede and Hall worked it, but Laxton drove them off. Hede intercepted him, and sent the ball to James in range. The stands rocked, the roof of the verandah of the cricket pavilion, crowded with spectators, gave way, and crashed to the ground, fortunately without causing serious injury to anyone, and during the confusion James kicked the goal which made the game safe. They had lost a verandah but won a match. A last depairing rush by Collingwood failed because Thorp was in the way, and amid a scene of tremendous enthusiasm the bell rang, leaving Richmond winners . . .
In such a game there was hardly a man who failed, and so I propose to limit the naming of best players to very few. For the winners, Smith (centre) in the first half, Thorp (in the final stages in goal), Hede (on the wing all day), Hall (roving), Hughes and Bayliss, with his wonderful kicking (he got five goals), were the best half dozen, and it would be hard to separate them . . .”
Match details
Richmond 3.2 5.9 8.12 11.12 (78)
Collingwood 2.3 4.4 7.7 10.11 (71)
Goals – Richmond: Bayliss 5, Don 2, Hall, Hughes, James, Minogue.
Best – Richmond: Hede, Hall, Hughes, Bayliss, Smith, Thorp.
It was a significant, morale-boosting win for Richmond, in the wake of that 1919 Grand Final loss to Collingwood.
Just over four months later, the Tigers repeated the dose, downing the Magpies in a hard-fought Grand Final, to claim their first league premiership.
