It was 40 years ago this month that Richmond ‘Immortal’, Royce Hart, destroyed the Tigers out on the famous Punt Road Oval.
Allow me to explain . . .
Two weeks out from the start of the 1971 season, Richmond took on strong South Australian club Glenelg in a practice match at Punt Road.
So, it was the VFL Tigers versus the SANFL Tigers and, because both clubs’ guernseys were black with a yellow sash, they tossed to see who would have the right to wear their familiar colors.
Richmond lost the toss and wore an all-blue strip, while Glenelg was in the yellow and black.
Royce Hart was a 23-year-old veteran of just four league seasons at the time, but had already carved out an awesome reputation as one of the best key forwards going around.
He had spent the majority of his league career at centre half-forward, but this particular Saturday afternoon, in March ‘71, Royce lined up at full-forward, against the team he'd actually played one game for, in 1969.
Amazing as it seems nowadays, Hart, who was doing his National Service in SA during the ‘69 season, trained with Glenelg and was a member of its losing grand final team (against Sturt) that year - one week after playing in Richmond’s premiership triumph over Carlton.
Anyway, on March 20, 1971, Royce Desmond took on his former Glenelg teammates - and slaughtered them in a devastating 15-goal display.
Hart kicked 15.2 from 17 shots, as Richmond piled on 27.20 (182) to Glenelg's 17.12 (114). He scored three goals in the first quarter, six in the second, two in the third and four in the final term.
To this day, it's the most goals ever kicked by a Richmond player in a senior game for the Club (albeit a practice match).
Doug Strang, of course, holds the record for the most goals kicked by a Tiger in a premiership-season match, with 14 against North Melbourne way back in the 1931 season. And, Brian Taylor kicked 15 goals for Richmond in a reserves game, also against North Melbourne, in 1981.
When I spoke to Royce about his incredible 15-goal haul in that pre-season clash with Glenelg, he took a good-natured swipe at Ray Dunn, who was Richmond’s president at the time . . .
“Ray Dunn said he was going to put my name on a board at the Club for having kicked the most goals in a game, but he never did. I was a bit dirty on that,” Hart joked.
Not surprisingly, given this was a practice match that took place four decades ago, Royce’s recollection of exact on-field events that day was a little hazy.
“I do remember it was pretty hot and I kicked most of the goals from marks,” he said.
Although I was fortunate enough to have been at Punt Road on that day, my memory also was somewhat blurred, which is why I asked Royce if those marks were via his trademark spectacular leaps, or from out on the lead. I should have known better . . .
“They weren't from passes - we didn't play like that. It just wasn't our style,” he said.
To fill the gaps from the day Royce ran riot at Punt Road, I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a copy of the Sporting Globe’s practice match report (courtesy of noted football historian and ‘Inside Football’ editor Russell Holmesby), which was filed by former St Kilda champion and 1958 Brownlow Medallist, Neil Roberts.
Under the heading, “Tigers v Tigers”, Roberts reported that: “With Hart in dynamic form at full-forward, the Tigers raced away to an easy victory against Glenelg: 15.2 from 17 shots looked all gold in a bright game.
“Glenelg, with four top players missing, found the pressure hard, but they played well enough to show out some very glaring holes in Richmond's defence . . .
“The visitors took a while to adjust to the surface and Richmond showed the way with Dean, Brown, Clay and Bourke winning kicks.
“Rex Hunt and Neil Balme at centre half-back and centre half-forward were also sharp movers.
“Although the Tigers wasted many chances with silly handball, they bombarded Hart, who came up with five great goals for the (first) quarter.
“Glenelg threatened the Tigers a couple of times with good goals from Phillis, but Richmond were too much at home (this was Dennis or 'Fred' Phillis as he was popular known, a star left-foot full-forward, who had signed an agreement to play with Richmond, but never made the move to Victoria).
“Big Brian Roberts from East Fremantle, who took a while to find his feet, appeared a slow mover, but did some handy things.
“With 10 goals in the first quarter, Richmond looked like amassing a giant score. Hart continued on his brilliant way for his seventh and later lifted the roof off the stand with a great mark for his eighth . . .
“Richmond was not in top gear, but had no passengers, although Stewart was exceptionally quiet.
“It was a day for full-forwards with Glenelg's Fred Phillis catching the eye with snappy leads and fine marks . . .
“Richmond made third quarter changes. Centre half-back was their problem. They switched Boyanich there from the ruck.
“Balme and Hunt were now on the ball. Despite the changes, Richmond found it hard, as they did in the first and second quarters, to break away from the centre cleanly.
“But now, after being held to two kicks in the first half by Rosewarne, Ian Stewart began to break into the open.
