Can Richmond win 2017 premiership? 1980 flag class rates the Tigers’ chanceJON ANDERSON,
Herald Sun
3 September 2017THIRTY-seven years ago Richmond smashed Collingwood by a then-record 81 points in front of 113,461 people at the MCG to set up what looked like a dominant era.
But the Tigers have won just three finals since, making them the least successful team since 1980 — including Fitzroy.
We speak to those 1980 premiership heroes about their unforgettable year, and what they think of the 2017 Tigers.
(Statistics refer to Richmond careers only)
MICK ‘BUSHY’ MALTHOUSE, 64
1976-83, 121 games, media commentator
THEN: “We lost our last-round game at South Melbourne, which was self-preservation like you couldn’t believe. I didn’t think anyone could beat us. Geoff Raines was our best player in 1980 and went in as Brownlow favourite. Didn’t poll a vote. Work that out?”
NOW: “I like what I have seen of them. Of all the sides, I think Sydney is the most complete, but there’s no reason Richmond can’t beat the rest.”
FRANCIS BOURKE, 70
1967-81, 300 games, semi-retired/part-time truck driver
THEN: “1980 was very special for me because Kevin (Bartlett) and I were playing with the next generation of players coming through and I was hanging on by my fingernails to hold down a place in the team.”
NOW: “After last year had you told me we were going to finish third I wouldn’t have believed you. We can win these games. Just focus on the process and not the results.”
EMMETT ‘PLOD’ DUNNE, 61
1976-83, 115 games, 56 goals, retired, on Richmond board
THEN: “The older I get, the more I think about it. You look back on your life and think, ‘hey, that was all right’. My contribution was only a small one but I believe I have the right to be very proud of it. I played on a bloke called (Ian) Low. Never heard of him or seen him before, or since.”
NOW: “All praise to ‘Dimma’ (Damien Hardwick), Peggy (O’Neal) and everyone at the club. The Ernst and Young review was extremely beneficial. Dimma, to his great credit, took it on board. But the real job is still ahead.”
TERRY ‘BRUTUS’ SMITH
Richmond 1980-82 & 1986, 56 games
Recruited from Tyntynder in the Mallee, Smith was a rugged defender/on baller who died from cancer aged 47 in 2006.
STEPHEN ‘CRAZY’ MOUNT, 57
1979-82, 31 games, phys Ed teacher at St Kevin’s College
THEN: “The game was almost over in the first 15-20 minutes ... there wasn’t much coming out of Collingwood. Billy Picken was concussed. He kept asking me, ‘Is
this the Grand Final?’. In the end I said, ‘Yes, Billy, it is, and you are losing’.”
NOW: “We have the small forwards, we have the passion from our supporters. We have a chance.”
GREG ‘LOG’ STRACHAN, 58
1978-88, 154 games, optometrist with practices in Balwyn and Blackburn
Strachan preferred not to comment.
BRYAN ‘PRINCESS’ WOOD, 63
1972-82, 209 games, 85 goals, works with a funds management group in Melbourne
THEN: “It was different from 1973-74. I appreciated it more than when I was young. The 1980 team mightn’t have had the superstars of 1973-74, but it was a very even blend.”
NOW: “The game style is different than the previous five years. It’s not rocket science, they aren’t over-possessing the ball. The players fully understand anything is achievable.”
GEOFF ‘PRETTY BOY’ RAINES, 61
1976-82, 134 games
THEN: “TJ (Tony Jewell) just put that hard edge on us. What a joke he was gone a year later. That year our psychologist Rudi Webster, the witch doctor, was really good for us. He did a group session on the Tuesday before the Grand Final. We went out like caged lions.”
NOW: “I like their game plan, pressure, locking the ball in, spreading and running. I’m just not sure about the lack of a second tall forward.”
ROBBIE ‘RADAR’ OR ‘ROSS D’ WILEY, 62
1979-83, 127 games, 62 goals, coach of East Fremantle
THEN: “I’d had a pretty disappointing first year in 1979 through injury and we didn’t make the finals. So there was a lot of us wanting to redeem ourselves. When we got whipped by South Melbourne in the last game it was the kick in the pants we needed.”
NOW: “I saw them beat Fremantle in Perth. This is a year where a number of sides have a genuine chance and the Tigers have pace.”
PETER ‘WOOSHER’ WELSH
1980-84, 46 games
From Yinnar in Gippsland, Welsh played 79 games with Hawthorn as a back pocket between 1973-78 before joining Richmond in 1980. He died from cancer aged 54 in 2008.
JIM ‘GHOST’ JESS, 62
1976-88, 223 games, 175 goals, cray fisherman in Robe, SA
THEN: “You finally get to a Grand Final and you are expecting an absolutely brutal contest, but Collingwood was spent before they got to the game. We had a coach in Tony Jewell who I loved. He said whatever he thought. If you liked it, fine, if you didn’t, bad luck.”
NOW: “They look OK and have had a ripping year. I saw the Hawthorn game and it really surprised me. They used the ball so well. Maybe they lack another tall forward.”
KEVIN ‘KB’ OR ‘HUNGRY’ BARTLETT, 70
1965-83, 403 games, 778 goals, media commentator
THEN: “It was a great thrill for me and Francis because we didn’t know if we would play in another premiership. When we missed the finals in 1979 there was even talk Tony Jewell wouldn’t survive. Thankfully he did and he got us very fit.”
NOW: “The Tigers are playing for each other, like the Bulldogs last year. It’s been such a revelation since last year when they were insipid. An extraordinary turnaround.”
BARRY ‘BAZZA’ ROWLINGS, 67
1979-86, 152 games, 117 goals, works for Kardinia Environmental and Caulfield Grammar
THEN: “The skill level really improved in 1980 under an ex-player named Kevin Sheedy. We all had to have our own footballs with our name on them. A whistle would blow and we’d do 30 handballs with our right, 30 with your left. If someone dropped one, we’d have to do a hard 400m.”
NOW: “I love watching them play, their running game. I believe their foot skills have improved enormously and in a very even year why wouldn’t we have a chance?”
MICHAEL ‘DISCO’ ROACH, 58
1977-89, 200 games, 607 goals, runs Michael Roach Financial Solutions
THEN: “We had those blokes who had played in premierships, whereas we young blokes didn’t know if we were good enough, but TJ convinced us. In 1979 he was just mad, training us so hard. In 1980 he eased off a bit.”
NOW: “I’ve been very impressed with the game style. moving the ball quickly. Jack Riewoldt has been fantastic. He would have kicked 100 in my era.”
DAVID ‘SCOTCH’ CLOKE, 62
1974-82, 90-91, 219 games, 272 goals, works in renovation
THEN: “We had a size advantage with our full forward Michael Roach (193cm) on Peter McCormack (188cm) and me in a pocket at 196cm on Andrew Ireland (191cm). We probably should have won another flag or two.”
NOW: “They play a good style of football, obviously with a very different style of forward line than we had. It will be interesting to see how that smaller forward line holds up.
MARK ‘GENERAL’ LEE, 58
1977-91, 233 games, 94 goals, policeman in Mildura
Preferred not to comment.
MERVYN ‘CHUNKY’ KEANE, 64
1972-84, 238 games, works in recruiting with Essendon
THEN: “TJ (Tony Jewell). What a coach, what an inspiration. He got the absolute best out of us. Psychologist Rudi Webster got inside our brains. He was from the West Indies cricket background and used to tell us, ‘Concentrate on the one and twos, the fours and sixes will look after themselves’.”
NOW: “They can seriously win it. They are on a roll and when that happens at this time of the year, big things can happen.”
DALE ‘FLEA’ WEIGHTMAN, 57
1978-93, 274 games, 344 goals, works for Richmond
THEN: “It was a game style of moving it quickly to the big blokes in the forward line. The last game of 1979 we beat the Bombers easily, which made me think we could build. Mick Malthouse took over the backline as coach, which worked well.”
NOW: “The footy they are playing means they will be in most games. I love watching the ball movement.”
BRUCE MONTEATH (C), 61
1975-80, 118 games, 198 goals, property developer, Melbourne
THEN: “We loved our coach and we had the belief in ourselves. I tore my ankle ligaments just before the season started. In the end I went to Tony Jewell and said I was keeping out a fit player. Then we had some injuries (Bruce Tempany, Paul Sarah, Graeme Landy suspended). ”
NOW: “I watch them as much as I can. There is such obvious self-belief and they run in the knowledge the ball won’t be spilt.
DARYL FREAME, 59
1977-81, 17 games, semi-retired, living in Perth
THEN: “I didn’t know I was in the team until three hours before the game. Tony Jewell walked towards me and said, ‘You’d better get ready’. So I sat on the bench for over three quarters. I just wanted to get a kick. And these days people see me kick it to KB for his seventh goal, which my mates love.”
NOW: “I saw the Freo game, and if they put the same pressure on Geelong they will be in the game. Their tackling is very impressive.
TONY ‘TJ’ JEWELL, 73 (COACH)
1967 Richmond premiership player, 1980 premiership coach, retired in Sorrento
THEN: “Woosher Welsh was on the bench for the seconds, and after we lost to South Melbourne in the last round, Graeme Richmond rang me and said, ‘By Geez Cocko, what are you going to do?’ I said I was bringing Peter Welsh back to play on quick blokes like Mick Turner and Rick Barham. Woosher was terrific. Just as well, otherwise Graeme Richmond would have cut my head off. Actually he did, a year later (laughter).”
NOW: “For the first time we are playing a brand that can win premierships. Getting Geelong at the MCG means the planets have aligned.”
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