In the countdown to the start of Richmond’s 2013 premiership season campaign, Tony Greenberg takes off in the ‘Tiger Time Machine’ and rockets back to 1967.

The opening round of the 1967 season, from a Yellow and Black perspective, was memorable for a couple of key reasons.

Firstly, Richmond scored a decisive 35-point victory over an Essendon side that was a powerhouse of the day, having won the premiership in 1965 and finished third in 1966.

Secondly, a teenager from Tasmania, by the name of Royce Desmond Hart, made his senior league debut with the Tigers.

Just over six months earlier, young Hart had kicked the winning goal (with just seconds to go) for the Richmond reserves in the grand final against Collingwood.

After a big pre-season Hart was selected to line up at full-forward against the Bombers in Round 1 of the ’67 season.

All Tiger eyes were on the high-flying 19-year-old – and he certainly didn’t disappoint.

Hart took a swag of eye-catching marks and had 10 shots for goal, although he managed to steer just three between the big sticks.

Interestingly, after scoring 3.7 in his debut performance, Hart was taken aside by senior coach Tommy Hafey and leading Club official Graeme Richmond and advised to scrap kicking torpedo punts for set shots at goal.

He subsequently taught himself to kick a drop punt, and became one of the most deadly accurate kicks for goal in the game.

Here’s how Hart viewed his first-up performance, through a special column he wrote in ‘The Herald’ newspaper on the Monday after the game . . .

“ALL the old heads of Richmond kept warning me to watch for the rough stuff.  “This mob will get into you right from the first whistle and you’re going to get the full treatment, son.  So be ready for it,” they said.

But my first League game, my life’s ambition, came as a pleasant surprise.

I didn’t get hammered as much as I expected, although there was one clash in the last quarter.

I finished up with a sore head.  Did I run into something?  I’ll say I did . . . definitely.

I wasn’t happy with my goalkicking.  I should have kicked seven or eight on my practice form.

I don’t know what went wrong.  I lost concentration a few times, probably because we were so far in front.

I can’t work it out.  I missed some easy shots.  It was tricky shooting for goal where the old concrete stand was.

My marking was not too hot, either.  

Some of the marks I took were easy, but I missed the difficult ones, after getting my hands on the ball.

I was confident Richmond would beat Essendon, and I didn’t let myself think I would be a failure.

I was a bit toey before the game.  I watched some of the Reserves match, and then we had a talk about the Essendon team.

Len Smith told me how to play Essendon full-back Greg Brown . . . Neville Crowe gave me a few words of advice and calmed me down.

I settled down when we were handballing to each other and having short kicks in the dressing room.

But I was still feeling jittery, wondering how I would go.

I received 30 good-luck telegrams from friends back in Tasmania, but I didn’t read them until after the game.

When I ran on the ground and the Tigers were greeted by the explosive roar of the crowd, I felt like a million dollars.

That was when I began to notice things.

Last year I watched the seniors playing and I thought I would never be with them.

But there I was and I wanted the ball to come to me quickly.

Once the game started, I forgot the crowd, and it was just another match.

I had my first kick after five minutes for a point, and 10 minutes later scored my first goal.

I had proved I could get a kick in League football.  That was the main thing.

I had confidence in my own ability for two reasons, experience with Richmond Under 19s and Reserves and body-building exercises.

Playing with the Under 19s and Reserves gave me good experience and the body-building increased my weight boy about one and a half stone.

I can hardly wait until next Saturday, when I won’t be suffering so much from stage fright.”

Richmond went on to break a 24-year premiership drought in ’67, defeating Geelong by nine points in a classic Grand Final encounter.

Hart, for his part that season, earned Victorian State representation, was named the VFL’s Best First Year Player, won the Tigers’ Leading Goalkicker award, and was one of the team’s best in the Grand Final triumph.

It was the start of an outstanding career at the game’s highest level by the brilliant left-footer.