AFL Grand Final: Richmond fans cause Swan St, Punt Rd chaosAaron Langmaid, Monique Hore,
Sunday Herald Sun
October 1, 2017
A RAMPAGING Tiger Army launched an assault on Richmond overnight, jumping on cars and setting Adelaide merchandise on fire.
Police were forced to use capsicum spray to quell the crowd as the public celebration stretched into Sunday.
Thousands of fans packed Swan St immediately after the siren sounded and remained there until after 1am.
Fans ambushed random vehicles — even riding their bonnets and roofs — as their premiership celebrations seemingly showed no sign of slowing down.
A dozen or so fans surrounded one car at the intersection of Punt Rd and Swan St, jumping on the vehicle’s roof, in the back seat and opening its boot.
But the driver, Benji Miu, told the Herald Sun that he didn’t mind.
“As long as they don’t get in my boot,” he said.
“It’s an old car so I don’t really care.”
Police moved in to quell the celebrations shortly after midnight.
A line of officers pushed fans onto footpaths as police cars and street sweepers followed.
It sparked chants of “f*** off Vic Police”, in between those supporting Dusty Martin and captain Trent Cotchin.
Despite being moved from Swan St, the horde of fans headed right back.
Referring to a raucous celebrations, a man shouted “Dusty told us to do it”.
Ricky Dent said his friend had done nothing wrong but copped the spray in response to someone nearby knocking off an officer’s hat.
Despite the police twice sweeping the Richmond street — tossing fans onto footpaths and shoving them forward in a bid to disperse the crowd — the Tiger Army simply marched on.
It surged up Swan St with a fan lodging the bottom of a traffic cone into the window of Collingwood headquarters at the Holden Centre.
The Tiger tour then set it sights on the CBD and continued along Flinders St, closing roads as it went.
When they spotted an Adelaide supporter, the crowd chanted “f*** off back to Adelaide, f*** off back to Adelaide”.
Odes to Dusty Martin, Jason Castanga and captain Trent Cotchin regularly rung out, while the Army would spontaneously bust into the club’s theme song.
The tour took in Crown Ca-sino, where the 50-odd remaining supporters dispersed about 3am.
Earlier, police had struggled to keep the crowd calm as fans clambered onto second-storey awnings, ripped street signs from the ground and partied in the street.
One man — egged on by the crowd — set fire to an Adelaide Crows’ mascot but quickly regretted it.
He was cuffed and led away.
A Richmond supporter lights an Adelaide Crows effigy on a pole before the police intervene.Richmond fan arrested after burning Crows effigy
Another fan set an Adelaide Crows’ scarf on fire, again spurred on by the massive Tiger Army on Swan St.
Tigers fans are enjoying a massive party in Swan St and the Herald Sun's Aaron Langmaid is there with them.
THE heaving mass of yellow and black brought Swan St to a standstill as celebrations started to kick into full swing.
There were early predictions of a blockade of these proportions but perhaps nobody could really have foreseen something like this.
From Punt Rd to Church St the main arterial was jammed packed with jubilant supporters who hugged and heaved and pushed
Crowd favourite Mick Molloy made his way up the street but he might have wished for a more secure escort such was the demand from pun-ters for a picture.
Up one end a local barber offered free haircuts to anybody who wanted to look like cult hero Dustin Martin. And there were plenty.
Mick Molloy gets mobbed by Richmond fans while walking down Swan St. But he doesn't look too worried.
One bloke sounded a trumpet. Others screamed at the top of their lungs. Fans stood on bollards and craned their necks as the happy mob swelled.
Fans also celebrated at their London Tavern Hotel base, while tens of thousands of fans stayed at the MCG to catch another glimpse of the team with the premiership cup, where Jack Riewoldt belted out Mr Brightside with The Killers.
Swan St
Seamus O'Conell does a Dusty haircut to Jesse Vanderende from Nunawading. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin
http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/6dfe835d1414e7a24ee0160ded757ca8?width=650
A driver is not fazed as a supporter jumps on his roof in Swan St. Picture: Patrick Hervehttp://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/tigers-roar-richmond-fans-swarm-punt-rd-oval/news-story/8cc7872c77a1065b011f96fbc580e15f
