“It was
That’s what Tommy Hafey told a jubilant crowd of
Going into that last Saturday in September ’74, there was an enormous groundswell of support for the Kangaroos, who had been ‘cellar-dwellars’ for many years until Barassi took over their coaching reins in 1973. Barassi immediately lifted the Roos to the fringes of the finals, before taking them all the way into the ‘big one’ the following year.
Seemingly, everyone in the football world, bar those of the Yellow and Black persuasion, was hoping for an historic
The Tigers were the villains of the piece, having ruthlessly disposed of
Then, in May 1974,
The upshot of this was that Richmond (the club) used the harsh penalty on Richmond (the official) as an added spur in its quest for back-to-back premierships and, by the time Grand Final day came around, the Tigers were, indeed, ready to take on the world.
Two weeks earlier, Hafey’s Heroes had disposed of Barassi’s boys by 21 points in a low-scoring encounter out at
Here’s how the newspapers of the day recorded the glorious Tiger triumph of ’74 . . .
In ‘The Herald’, doyen of football writers, Alf Brown, reported:
“
Richmond were too strong in the ruck, won in the air and had matchwinners in Royce Hart and Kevin Sheedy.
They would have won by a greater margin, but for poor kicking early in the match.
The premiership was a triumph for
Another man who shares the triumph is former
After last year’s Grand Final, he operated on the knees of Hart, Balme, Richardson and Bourke and today the four were in my best players.
North tried hard, but did not have enough talent or big men to tame the tough, talented, never-stop-bumping and running Tigers.
‘Sunday Observer’ sports editor, Mike Worner, wrote:
“The
It was symbolic. Champagne footballers delivering the goods for the second year in a row to supporters who have dug deep into their pockets.
“We earned this bastard, I reckon,” president Ian Wilson shouted to a beaming supporter.
And Graeme Richmond, the man they call the Tiger martyr, agreed that it was the most satisfying flag of all.
“We played on the field as we have fought off the field – for a premiership this year,” he said.
And they did everything right for a Grand Final crowd of 113,839.
They had to do it with almost all of those people against them. They kicked with the sound of “boos” ringing in their ears.
They missed many early goals with the sound of cheers and jeers ringing in their ears.
Eventually – except for support from their own kind – they kicked their goals, took their marks, gave their handpasses . . . and cut the Kangaroos to pieces almost in silence.
Such was the feeling for North – the underdog – that great players like Kevin Bartlett, Royce Hart and Francis Bourke found themselves being heckled.
And the arch “villain” of the piece, utility player Kevin Sheedy, snarled louder, played better, tore more fiercely into the packs the more they cried for his blood.
Perhaps there is hate in their hearts on the field, but it is love for their club,
Geoff Poulter, writing in ‘Inside Football’, had this to say about
“There was a touch of irony in the way Kevin Sheedy went about shattering the impossible dream of Ron Barassi, the coach.
The “modern-day Barassi” did to North Melbourne what Ron Barassi the player, had inflicted upon his rivals in
No one would suggest that every
And he got things moving the way Barassi used to do in his heyday.
Irrespective of any comparisons between Barassi the player and Sheedy the player, the Richmond trouble-shooter possesses all those intangible qualities that go together to make a thorough all-round “pressure” player.
Sheedy’s reputation is built round the fact that he’s always there when things are tight.
And he was in Saturday’s Grand Final – there with his strength, his courage, his professional football know-how, his fitness. Inspiring, tormenting, stirring, driving, wanting to win.
These are all the ingredients that make Sheedy (and made Barassi) a ruthless, irresistible football force.
When North were at the peak of their momentum, and had raced to an 11-point lead 10 minutes into the second quarter, it was time for Kevin Sheedy to come to the rescue.
He called upon the much under-rated Paul Sproule – switched to the centre – and the mercurial Royce Hart to help him put an end to the rot.
And 15 minutes and six goals later, the North defence had become rattled, and the Tigers were marching triumphantly to another flag.
The Roos were suddenly out of business for 1974 – stunned by a great Tiger football machine, and probably one of the greatest teams of all time.
Sheedy, Sproule, and Hart led the charge; Gareth Andrews, Kevin Morris, Francis Bourke, Robert McGhie, and Dick Clay kept the rear intact.
And further afield Neil Balme, Michael Green, Wayne Walsh, Kevin Bartlett and later Barry Richardson (5.1) stood tall.
In contrast to the superb teaming, handball, backing up and close understanding of the close-knit Tigers, the raw Roos looked a disjointed rabble.
They fought hard in a desperate third quarter to try to win back control
It was a total effort in this term, and North had their measure of success – but it was only partial . . . this supreme surge produced only 3.1 to 2.6, and reduced the deficit from 20 to 19 points.
Then in the last quarter they wilted while the Tigers forged on.
North had a few players who didn’t perform to their reputation, and others who were basically just not good enough.
They certainly didn’t play as well as they had in some other pressure games through the year, and 41 points was an unkind margin.
But remember
There were suggestions that North should have gambled more – knowing that the orthodox hadn’t been sufficient to beat
But overall, it is clear that the Roos were ill-equipped to handle the might of
They had performed an amazing feat just to be there, a mere two years after they had finished last with one win.
The rags-to-riches dream might have been shattered, but it will be repaired and improved upon in 1975 if the
Anything less than the previous impetus from the Roos’ movement will again be insufficient to challenge the Tiger Kings, which will certainly not slacken in their taste for more and more spoils.
The Tigers naturally have minor weaknesses, but far fewer than any other club.
They have recruited so strongly, their other sides will continue to provide them with ready-made League material.
And their “veterans” are no older than North’s experienced men.
Meanwhile, renowned Hawthorn coach, John
“
As Hawthorn coach, that was my outstanding impression of the game.
That handball and positional kicking are the two things that helped
The way Tom Hafey has his side playing makes
Before the game, I thought
By quarter-time, I felt it was obvious that
It was all to North’s credit that they came back at
But honestly, North never really looked like going on with it. That last quarter showed they just weren’t up to it.
Overall,
There were some outstanding individual achievements by
Kevin Sheedy’s display had everything – great skill, great courage and fanatical determination.
His handpass to Green in the goal square was a good example – cool, but daring. Had he been off-line with the handpass, the ball would have gone through for a point.
He fooled everyone. Every
Royce Hart was another. He played a great game at centre half-forward. His kicking was tremendous and North had no answer.
Even when North was attacking, Hart was dropping back to the centre picking up kicks. That’s not fair. No coach expects a centre half-forward to do that . . .”
Tommy Hafey, understandably, was ecstatic with the result . . .
“It’s a tremendous feeling to win two in-a-row and every
An equally-delighted Tiger captain and champion centre half-forward, Royce Hart, couldn’t resist looking ahead to the 1975 season . . . “Now we have the chance to go on and win three flags in-a-row. I was tremendously proud to be able to play in this one. I think this team is good enough to go on to another one. It was a great team effort.”
Match details
Goals –
Best –
Richmond
No. 1 – D. Cumming: 3 kicks, 11 handballs, 1 mark, 1 goal
No. 4 – R. Hart: 19 kicks, 4 handballs, 5 marks, 3 goals
No. 5 – G. Andrews: 11 kicks, 3 handballs, 7 marks
No. 6 – P. Sproule: 17 kicks, 7 handballs, 6 marks
No. 7 – W. Walsh: 16 kicks, 3 handballs, 5 marks, 1 goal
No. 8 – D. Clay: 9 kicks, 0 handballs, 2 marks
No. 10 – K. Sheedy: 18 kicks, 12 handballs, 7 marks, 2 goals
No. 12 – R. McGhie: 7 kicks, 3 handballs, 6 marks
No. 14 – D. Thorpe: 16 kicks, 6 handballs, 1 mark, 1 goal
No. 16 – B. Wood: 6 kicks, 3 handballs, 2 marks
No. 17 – B. Richardson: 8 kicks, 1 handball, 3 marks, 5 goals
No. 21 – N. Balme: 10 kicks, 2 handballs, 3 marks, 2 goals
No. 29 – K.
No. 30 – F. Bourke: 17 kicks, 2 handballs, 1 mark
No. 33 – D. Cloke: 4 kicks, 1 handball, 2 marks, 1 goal
No. 37 – M. Green: 8 kicks, 3 handballs, 6 marks, 2 goals
No. 38 – K. Morris: 14 kicks, 3 handballs, 0 marks
No. 40 – M. Keane: 9 kicks, 0 handballs, 1 mark
No. 43 – C. Clayton (19th man): 0 kicks, 1 handball, 0 marks
No. 15 – B. Roberts (20th man): 0 kicks, 0 handballs, 0 marks