To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Tigers’ 1974 premiership, Richmond Media has been transporting Yellow and Black barrackers back in time throughout 2024 to follow the Punt Road path to that tremendous triumph. In the aftermath of Richmond’s 1974 Grand Final glory, here is a selection of tributes from highly-respected football people to the all-conquering Tigers.
The Age chief football writer Percy Beames
“It is just as well for the 11 other clubs and the League premiership that a few knees are wearing out at Richmond.
Otherwise the talented Tigers – the first team for 14 years to win successive premierships – might monopolise the flag for years to come.
Indisputably, the Tigers stand head and shoulders above the opposition after their 41-point victory over North Melbourne in Saturday’s Grand Final at the MCG.
Their ability, classy teamwork, balanced power and fierce comradeship could win them at least two more premierships.
That is if the “dicky” knees of Royce Hart, Barry Richardson, Francis Bourke and Kevin Sheedy do not wear out first.
Hart, Sheedy, Bourke and Richardson are the class of players who turn good sides into great sides.
Money cannot buy what they mean to a team . . .
The Tigers killed most North players with ruthlessly applied pressure . . .
The Tigers were too fast and too desperate.
They showed it in the way the ball was for ever being knocked, tapped, pushed or handballed forward and the way that players almost uncannily backed one another up.
The lesson for every club next year is simple – they must copy the Tigers’ style.
Richmond has proved that players cannot shepherd, back up or tap on too much, and that there is no adequate substitute for the long kick and the direct approach to goal.
The win also vindicated coach Tom Hafey’s insistence on a gruelling fitness programme.
No team devoted more hours to training this season than the Tigers and they proved themselves the fittest side in the League.
Hafey has now coached Richmond to four premierships in the past eight years – a most imposing record for someone who half-way through 1969 was on thin ice with the club committee.”
Footscray coach Bob Rose, The Age
“They’re fitter, more disciplined and they have talent. We saw all that in the Grand Final . . .
“It’s no good fooling ourselves. Richmond is way, way out in front of all the other clubs. And unless the rest of us get down to a lot of hard work, that gap is going to get even wider.
“Richmond is the yardstick all right. All the other sides must either match it or go under . . .
“You must have players like Richmond’s – players who are willing to listen and learn.”
Essendon great Jack Clarke, Inside Football
“I went away from the MCG on Saturday firmly believing I had just seen the most complete grand final side in my memory,
And that period as a player, coach, and more recently as a spectator and now a newspaper columnist, spans 25 years.
I played in five grand finals with Essendon (we won two – in 1962 and 1965) and the superbly disciplined and conditioned Richmond engine I saw rip North apart on Saturday would have torn through the teams I played in, too.
It’s doubtful if a grand final side has ever produced a more concentrated team effort for the full period of a game.
They didn’t stop contesting for the full 120 minutes, and this rare ability, plus their super fitness (a tribute to Tommy Hafey) was their trump.
Pace, pressure, tackling, backing up, determination, concentration, and many other factors – they were all features of the Tiger victory recipe.
The great Melbourne sides of the 1950’s and early 1960’s might have held their own in the skill department, but that’s all.
In these other qualities, which are essential for a perfect all-round performance, this Richmond side would prove superior . . .
Another factor about Richmond is their emphasis on strong players – versatile, adaptable and durable.
They hand-pick players who they know will be suited to the different finals’ tempo . . .
There is no substitute for physical strength.
It’s not easy to get 18 players to go non-stop throughout – you can tell them, but that often isn’t enough.
That’s why great praise must be heaped on Tom Hafey, who has them on the move as if it were second nature to them.
Richmond’s performance is a blatant example to all clubs – a professional executive group, a progressive attitude, and fit, closely-knit players.
I thought Kevin Sheedy’s inspirational value was inestimable – he typifies Richmond down to a tee.”
Carlton superstar Alex Jesaulenko, Inside Football
“As a team it must have been one of the best of all time to win a grand final. At Richmond every player seems to know what the other player will do. They’re all unselfish and they help others.
“They have players prepared to sacrifice their own game for the side . . .
“Richmond buy proven League players who don’t have to go through any settling in period. Even the biggest names from interstate have this to worry about.
“They’ve always been forward-looking at Richmond. If they have a weakness they go out and buy someone to do the job. Take (Gareth) Andrews for example. They’ve been priming him for the back pocket all along, and look what he’s done.
“The Hafey style has taken over as the standard for all other teams to follow.
“I think he makes players believe they’re better players than they are, too . . .
“Other sides will have to copy Richmond if they want to stay in the race.”
