Pies always the most hated: Hafey
richmondfc.com.au
By Catherine Murphy
April 10, 2007
THIS Friday night one of the greatest football rivalries of all will be renewed when Richmond takes on Collingwood under lights at the MCG. One man who’s spent time in both camps is former Tigers player and coach Tom Hafey.
Hafey played 57 games for Richmond between 1953 and 1958 and then went on to coach the team to four premierships. However, he says that beating arch rivals Collingwood was always top priority at the Tigers.
“I can remember Richmond people would always say, 'I don’t care where we finish on the ladder as long as we beat Collingwood',” Hafey says.
“I even had people on the board saying that to me when I was coach. I can remember people saying ‘as long as we beat those mongrels that’s all we care about’.
“That’s how they viewed it at the club. And particularly the demented supporters. They just hated Collingwood with a passion.”
Following his resignation at Richmond in 1977, the opportunity to coach the Tigers' hated rivals was one Hafey relished. He took over at the helm at the Magpies at one of their darkest times. The club had just collected the wooden spoon for the first time. “I think people understood that it was a good coaching opportunity. I was lucky in that they were at the bottom of the ladder when I went there, so things could only get better,” Hafey says.
Hafey became the first non-Collingwood man to coach the club.
“The thing in my favour was that they could only go up and they probably felt that they needed someone from outside because they weren’t experiencing good times,” Hafey said.
“It was the first time ever that this great club had been bottom. So it was an opportune time to go there.”
Hafey says that some questioned his loyalty, particularly when his new club was taking on his former charges.
“I had people saying, well he’s Richmond. That was so far from the truth it’s a joke. It might have been where I’d come from, but really to beat the side that you’ve come from is your big target,” he said.
For that reason, Hafey’s first victory as a Collingwood coach against the Tigers was one he’ll never forget. It was Round 4 in 1977 and they won by 26 points.
“The game was on Anzac Day," Hafey says.
"I think there was about 93,000 at the MCG and we beat them convincingly. I’ll never forget the huge crowd that were there to see it.”
However, Hafey’s Collingwood side wasn't always the winner against their great rivals. One of the most bitter defeats Hafey suffered was the 1980 grand final loss to the Tigers. On this occasion Richmond won by what was then a record winning margin, 81 points. “We got absolutely annihilated in every way, shape and form," he says. "I was such good friends with the likes of Kevin Bartlett who was now playing on the opposition. I remember Kevin coming up to me and putting his arms around me at the end and saying ‘I’m sorry that there can be only one winner’. The whole thing was quite ironical.” These days Hafey has no qualms about who he’ll be supporting this weekend. “The Tigers will always be my team. I have a soft spot for Collingwood. But I was born in Richmond as were my parents and grand parents. Two of my three daughters were born in Richmond. I spent 11 years there so they’ll always be my team.”
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