Why we hate the Blues
richmondfc.com.au
By Tony Greenberg
Wed 25 June, 2008
It is one of league football's most enduring rivalries . . .
It stretches back more than 80 years and it has fuelled some mighty tough, absorbing contests in that time.
It is Richmond v Carlton – and it'll be on again for young and old at the MCG this Saturday afternoon when the arch rivals do battle in what shapes as a ripper “100G at the G” clash to celebrate the Tigers’ VFL/AFL Centenary.
This intense Richmond-Carlton rivalry surfaced around the time the Tigers started to put their initial stamp on the competition, which was about a decade after leaving the VFA and entering the then VFL in 1908.
By 1920, Richmond, to coin a Jack Dyer phrase, had "arrived a little bit". The Yellow and Blacks took out their first VFL premiership when they knocked over another famous foe, Collingwood, in that season's Grand Final.
The following year Richmond made it back-to-back premierships by downing Carlton in a dour, low-scoring Grand Final – 5.6 (36) to 4.8 (32).
A fierce rivalry was born . . .
The likes of Bill Barrot, Kevin Sheedy, Francis Bourke, Dick Clay, Kevin Bartlett, Michael Green and Royce Hart seemed to save their best for the Navy Blues – and their best sure was something to behold!
'Bustling' Billy Barrot's eight-goal effort after being shifted to full-forward in a crucial late-season clash with Carlton in 1969 springs immediately to mind, as does K. Sheedy's three-goal first quarter blitz against the Blues in the 1973 Grand Final.
Mike Green dominated in the ruck against Carlton colossus John Nicholls in the 1969 Grand Final. Bourke and Clay were more than handy on the wings that day, Barrot strutted his stuff in inimitable fashion, and Royce was Royce – brilliant.
Fast-forward to 1980 and KB, in the twilight of his wonderful league career, bamboozled the Blues with a brilliant six-goal performance, which inspired the Tigers to an upset win in the qualifying final encounter out at Waverley.
Mind you, it's not just the dazzling displays against Carlton that are indelibly etched in my memory.
Fellow long-time Tiger devotees share my pain, caused by the bitter memories of our 1972 and 1982 Grand Final losses to the Blues.
We equalled the highest ever score kicked by a side in a Grand Final in '72 – but still lost by 27 points, after going into the match as red-hot favorites.
Ten years on, they did it to us again in the 1982 Grand Final, rebounding from a big second semi-final defeat that we'd inflicted on them, to topple us in the match that mattered most.
That's why we hate them.
And, rest assured, they hate us, which is why they’ll be hell-bent on raining on our parade at the ‘G’ this Saturday afternoon in front of a finals-type crowd.
With the two clubs boasting young, exciting playing groups, and both emerging from dark periods in their respective proud histories, this great rivalry has been reinvigorated. And, that’s why victory on Saturday would be even more special.
Eat 'em alive, Tigers!!!
My top 10 Richmond-Carlton momentsDelving deep into the reservoirs of my mind, I have listed my top 10 Tiger moments in the clashes I’ve seen against Carlton over the past four decades.
In no particular order, they are . . .
1. Laurie Fowler’s fabulous, flying shirtfront on John Nicholls in the 1973 Grand Final. ‘Big Nick’ eventually gets to his feet, but for the rest of the match is a shadow of the player who destroyed the Tigers with six goals in the previous year’s GF.
2. ‘Bustling’ Billy Barrot’s eight-goal blitz after being shifted to full-forward in the second last home-and-away round clash of the ’69 season at Princes Park. Richmond gets up in a must-win game after being five goals behind during the second quarter.
3. Queen’s Birthday round of the 1967 season . . . first-year player, Royce Hart, kicks the winning goal for the Tigers in a classic encounter at Princes Park, with a shot that rolls through from about 70 metres out.
4. Royce’s breathtaking six-goal display in his debut finals match (and Richmond’s first for 20 years) – the ’67 second semi-final – which lifts the Tigers to a resounding victory over the Blues.
5. Final round of the 1997 season . . . Richmond trails Carlton by about seven goals during the third quarter of the clash at Optus Oval, but stage a fantastic fightback to win the game and knock the Blues out of finals contention.
6. Eric Moore’s inspirational mark and goal right on three-quarter-time of the 1969 Grand Final, after being pole-axed by a band of Blues’ backmen.
7. Kevin Sheedy’s sizzling opening term against Carlton in the 1973 Grand Final. ‘Sheeds’ sets the scene early for Richmond’s ‘Day of Atonement’ with a three-goal barrage.
8. A curly-haired, speedy teenager by the name of Graeme Bond kicks the match-sealing goal for the Tigers in the ’69 Grand Final v the Blues, after coming on to the field in the last quarter as 19th man.
9. A 33-year-old, balding, little bloke by the name of Kevin Bartlett, bamboozles the Blues with a brilliant six-goal burst in the 1980 qualifying final at Waverley Park.
10. In a stunning upset, midway through the 1988 season, the bottom-placed Tigers knock off the reigning premier, Carlton, in foggy conditions on a Friday night under the MCG lights. Little-known left-footer, Chris Pym, bobs up as a match-winner for Richmond, kicking three goals.
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