Tiger Treasures winners announced
richmondfc.com.au
10:30 PM Fri 27 June, 2008
The 10 winners of the Tiger Treasures of the Century were announced tonight at Richmond’s Gala Centenary Dinner at Crown Palladium.
One hundred of the greatest moments in Richmond’s 100-year VFL/AFL history were selected in categories including best mark, goal, controversy, brave act, defining moment, servant, individual performance, premiership, class and strong and the bold.
Several thousand votes were received from Tiger members and fans, to help determine the winners of the various categories.
More than 1000 guests were present at the event, which paid tribute to Richmond’s proud century of VFL/AFL football.
The winners of the Tigerland Treasures categories are:
GOAL OF THE CENTURY - MICHAEL MITCHELL, Round 22, 1990
The little Tiger excitement machine decided to take off on a bit of a trot during the team’s final home-and-away match of the 1990 season, against Sydney at the SCG. After gathering the ball deep in defence, ‘Mitch’ took one bounce, then another, and then five more (seven in total), before calmly drilling home an incredibly inspirational goal.
[Runner-up in this category was Matthew Knights, 1995 semi-final v Essendon]
CONTROVERSY OF THE CENTURY - WINDY HILL BRAWL, May 18, 1974
On May 18, 1974, all hell broke loose at half-time of Richmond’s clash with Essendon at Windy Hill as the players were leaving the field . . . A massive brawl erupted, involving players and officials of both clubs. Following a league investigation, several players and officials received suspensions, the heaviest being for Graeme Richmond, who was rubbed out until December 31 and also fined $2000.
[Runner-up in this category was the Neville Crowe-John Nicholls incident in the 1967 second semi-final]
MARK OF THE CENTURY - MICHAEL ROACH, Round 5, 1979
The superstar full-forward was a noted high-flyer during his 200-game career at Tigerland, but the mark he took against Hawthorn at the MCG in 1979 was, almost literally, out of this world. ‘Roachy’ actually rose so high over a huge nest of Hawk players, he ended up making it a chest mark!
[Runner-up in this category was Royce Hart, 1967 Grand Final]
BRAVE ACT OF THE CENTURY - FRANCIS BOURKE, Round 21, 1980
Bourke collided with teammate Greg Strachan in a tense Round 21, 1980 clash with North Melbourne at Arden Street and had trouble seeing because of the blood streaming down his face. He was subsequently moved from stuff to the opposite end of the ground, where he immediately made his presence felt, taking a diving chest mark and slotting through a crucial goal.
[Runner-up in this category was Matthew Richardson, 2007 Dreamtime game]
DEFINING MOMENT OF THE CENTURY - SAVE OUR SKINS
On August 15, 1990, Richmond announced that it needed to raise $1 million by October 31 that year, or it would cease to exist. The Save Our Skins campaign was immediately established to keep the Tigers alive. With Club president Neville Crowe as the figurehead, the SOS campaign did exactly what it set out to achieve, raising the necessary funds to stave off the threat of extinction.
[Runner-up in this category was the introduction of the Tigerland theme song in the early 1960s]
