It was 20 years ago today . . .
Richmond vs Carlton 1988
It was 20 years ago today – June 17, 1988 – that Richmond pulled off one of the biggest upsets in its proud century of VFL/AFL football.
A cold, foggy Friday night at the MCG was the scene for the Tigers to stage an amazing giant-killing performance, against arch rival and reigning premier at the time, Carlton.
The Blues, under the coaching guidance of Robert Walls, had comfortably beaten Hawthorn in the 1987 Grand Final to take the league’s championship crown.
In stark contrast, Richmond had slumped to the wooden spoon in ’87, with 1980 premiership coach Tony Jewell being replaced at the end of the season by five-time premiership hero Kevin Bartlett.
On a balmy summer’s evening in mid-February 1988, Bartlett’s boys had stunned the Blues with a convincing victory in their Panasonic Cup encounter.
Carlton supporters and the football experts quickly dismissed the result, claiming that it was only a pre-season night game with no real importance attached to it.
The Blues weren’t exactly shell-shocked by the hefty loss to the 1987 wooden-spooners, reaching the halfway mark of the ’88 season with nine wins out of 11 and equal top position on the ladder (very narrowly behind Hawthorn on percentage).
They confidently expected to start the second half of the season with a percentage-booster over Richmond to avenge that embarrassing loss to the Tigers four months earlier.
Given the bottom-placed Tigers were going into the game minus nine players with more than 900 games experience between them, it was no wonder the ‘Bluebaggers’ were so confident.
Richmond had Jim Jess, Michael Thomson, Mark Eustice and Chris Burton in the reserves, while Michael Roach, John Manton, Trevor Poole, Phil Egan and Gary Frangalas were all out injured. Eight of those nine played in Richmond’s opening round match that season against Melbourne.
Only four of the Tiger team that lined up against the Blues in the Round 12, 1988 encounter, had played more than 50 games – Dale Weightman, Mark Lee, Michael Pickering and David Palm.
When the reigning premiers skipped nearly five goals clear of the struggling Tigers at quarter-time, an all-too-familiar (at the time) hiding dished out by Carlton seemed a mere formality.
But in the eerie MCG light that Friday night, a strange thing happened – the Blues were unable to put their hapless opponents to the sword.
Richmond refused to concede defeat and kept coming at Carlton. Through sheer persistence, the Tigers managed to take a narrow lead into the last change. But could they hang on?
Well, a couple of quick goals by Carlton strongly suggested the last quarter would become something of a one-way street.
That’s how it turned out in the final analysis – only it was all Richmond’s way!
The Tigers clawed their way back from a 10-point deficit early in the last quarter and, when they eventually regained the lead, they went right on with the job in a thoroughly professional, mature manner to pull off the massive upset – 15.20 (110) to 12.21 (93).
It’s interesting to note that Richmond’s two best players that night were 29-year-old skipper Dale Weightman, playing his 197th game of league football, and an 18-year-old, in just his 12th senior game – Tony Free.
Weightman had 21 kicks, 12 handballs, took five marks and booted a goal, while Free, who has just been appointed to the Tigers’ Board of Directors, had 21 kicks, 6 handballs and took four marks.
The scenes in the Richmond rooms post-game were reminiscent of the Tigers’ premiership years.
It had been five years since Richmond had last beaten Carlton in a premiership match, and since then the Tigers had been regularly belted by the Blues.
Those bitter memories were all erased on this Friday night, as the Yellow and Black faithful revelled in the superb victory.
In “The Sun” newspaper the next morning, under the headline “Mighty Tiges”, Michael Davis wrote:
“RICHMOND last night caused the season’s major upset, downing top team Carlton by 17 points in a thriller at the MCG.
The Tigers trailed by 20 points at half-time, but put in a great third quarter to overcome the sluggish Blues.
Carlton kicked the first two goals of the last quarter, but the Tigers seemed to sniff a possible boilover and attacked desperately, wresting back a narrow lead time and again.
A great third quarter by Richmond put it two points clear of Carlton at three-quarter time.
The Blues were placed under a lot of pressure and were knocked off balance by their inexperienced opponents, who were playing on enthusiasm and persistence.
It obviously upset the Blues, including their most wayward son, David Rhys-Jones, who clashed with a Richmond opponent in the centre of the ground after the three-quarter time siren and was spoken to by the emergency umpire.
Richmond coach Kevin Bartlett implored his young charges to keep up the good work in the last quarter.
They rallied around him, urging each other on.
Carlton momentarily regained its composure when Bernie Evans goaled at the 23-minute mark to put the Blues back in control by three points.
But a shocking error in defence by Steve Silvagni allowed talented Richmond winger Michael Pickering to goal for the second time in the quarter and the Tigers led by two points.
Robert Walls was a worried man as he left the arena – and not without cause.
Weightman kicked his side’s eighth goal at the 17-minute mark of the third term and the club everyone expects to collect the wooden spoon hit the lead.
It was an unbelievable contest in the cold night dew.
Unknown Tigers seemed to rise to the occasion.
Had the Tigers kicked accurately early in the third term (they added 1.6 in the first 12 minutes) they could have raced away with the game.
Weightman was leading by example and David Honybun was a star at centre half-forward.
Even the experience of Victorian State squad member Jim Buckley in defence could not save Carlton.
Richmond ruckman Mark Lee was shadowing Carlton’s Justin Madden wherever he went and playing probably his best game for the year.
In the first half Rhys-Jones looked like turning the game into a slaughter with some brilliant play at full-forward, capped off with three goals.
Brian Leys in particular took over the task of minding Rhys-Jones late in the first quarter and did it admirably.”
Richmond’s injured spearhead superstar, Michael Roach, in his “Inside Football” column the following week, wrote:
“FANTASTIC! How else can you describe Richmond’s victory over League titleholder Carlton at the MCG last Friday night?
The boys simply refused to be beaten by their opponents and they recorded one of the best wins I can ever remember from a Tiger side since I’ve been at the club.
Those scenes in the Richmond rooms after the game were something I won’t forget for a long time.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many supporters piled into the rooms – and that goes for finals games, including Grand Finals.
Supporters seemed to come from everywhere and it was almost as if a few of them made their way to the ground when they heard we’d hit the front late in the game . . .”
Match details
Richmond 1.4 4.10 9.18 15.20 (110)
Carlton 5.6 7.12 9.16 12.21 (93)
Goals – Richmond: Hogg 3, Pym 3, Mitchell 2, Nichols 2, M. Pickering 2, McKellar, D. Ryan, Weightman.
Best – Richmond: Weightman, Free, Palm, Honybun, McKellar, Leys, Pym.
Brownlow votes
3 – D. Weightman (Richmond)
2 – T. Free (Richmond)
1 – C. Bradley (Carlton)
