1974 VFL Grand Final

Richmond	North Melbourne
18.20 (128)	13.9 (87)

Date

28 September 1974

Stadium

Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia

Attendance

113,839

← 1973

VFL Grand Final

1975 →

The 1974 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Richmond Football Club and North Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 28 September 1974. It was the 78th annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1974 VFL season. The match, attended 113,839 spectators, was won by Richmond by a margin of 41 points, marking that club's ninth premiership victory. The game itself is also notable for being the first grand final to be videotaped in colour (test colour broadcasts however did not commence until mid-October of that same year).

Background

Richmond, the reigning premiers, were making their third consecutive appearance in a Grand Final. Conversely, this was only North Melbourne's second appearance in a Grand Final in their long history, their sole previous appearance having been in the 1950 VFL Grand Final, and they were the only club who were yet to win a flag.

The Kangaroos were coached by three-time Premiership coach Ron Barassi in his second year as coach of the Kangaroos, and he had managed to reverse the club's fortunes after it had finished last with one win in the 1972 season. The addition through the 10-year rule of experienced players from other clubs such as Doug Wade (Geelong), Barry Davis (Essendon) and John Rantall (South Melbourne) added great strength to the North Melbourne side.

At the conclusion of the regular home-and-away season, Richmond had finished first on the ladder with 17 wins and 5 losses. North Melbourne had finished second with 16 wins and 6 losses.

In the finals series leading up to the Grand Final, North Melbourne defeated Hawthorn by 38 points in the Qualifying Final before losing to Richmond by 21 points in the Second Semi-Final. They then met Hawthorn again in the Preliminary Final, which they won by just four points to advance to the Grand Final. Richmond advanced straight to the Grand Final on the back of their win in the Second Semi-Final.

In the week leading up to the Grand Final, North Melbourne wingman Keith Greig won his second consecutive Brownlow Medal.

Match summary

Team	1	2	3	Final
Richmond	3.8	10.11	12.17	18.20 (128)
North Melbourne	3.2	8.3	11.4	13.9 (87)

First quarter

The match was played on a dry surface in overcast conditions. The game developed into a battle of defences in the early part of the opening quarter, before North’s Sam Kekovich marked strongly and kicked the first goal of the game. North had the majority of the crowd support due to the fact it was striving for its first VFL premiership. Wayne Walsh kicked Richmond’s first goal after receiving a free kick in the forward pocket. Inspirational Tigers captain Royce Hart was right on top at centre half-forward, marking strongly on several occasions. Daryl Cumming handpassed to tall youngster David Cloke and he registered the Tigers’ second goal with an excellent left-foot snap under extreme pressure from several North defenders. Both sides were applying intense physical pressure, and this resulted in several basic errors in general play. Misses to Hart, Kevin Bartlett and Paul Sproule saw Richmond move to 2 goals 7 behinds (19 points), before Barry Richardson goaled after a strong mark to give the Tigers a comfortable lead near quarter-time. The Kangaroos, however, fought back with a fine snap from full-forward Doug Wade, which chalked up his 100th goal for the season. Veteran rover Barry Cable kicked a goal right on the siren after receiving a free kick, to bring North to within ten points.

Second quarter

After their late rush in the first quarter, the Kangaroos started strongly in the second term. Early goals to captain Barry Davis and two from Wade saw them open up a 12-point lead. Then, a major turning point in the game occurred when Kevin Sheedy took a clever one-handed mark in the forward pocket for the Tigers. He went back to take his shot for goal from a very acute angle, ran in as if to kick, but then handballed over the man on the mark (North’s) Brad Smith to the unguarded Michael Green, who dribbled through the easiest of goals. North seemed to falter after this as Richmond lifted dramatically. Shortly after, Sheedy passed to an unchecked Hart, who marked and goaled from the forward pocket. The Tigers’ charge continued as Green took a strong mark and converted from the goal square. Then North's Keith Greig won the ball in fine style on the Members’ wing, dodged two Tiger opponents, took a bounce and passed to Wayne Schimmelbusch, who dished off to Cable. But Cable, who was on his own, somehow fumbled the mark and the ball rolled through for a behind. Richmond then went forward, where Neil Balme was given a free kick for a trip. He subsequently sent a towering torpedo punt right through the middle from the outer half-forward flank. Hart continued to dominate, kicking two goals – one from a top mark, where he threw himself sideways, and the other from a snap after gathering a loose ball from a ball-up. Robert Peterson replied with a good snap-shot goal for North, to reduce Richmond’s lead to 20 points at the long break.

Third quarter

North Melbourne appeared after half-time without its skipper Davis, who had an injured leg. After just two minutes of play, Sheedy goaled for the Tigers after taking a mark. Then David Thorpe’s shot for goal narrowly missed, before Wade got one back for North. Richmond, however, quickly replied when Thorpe converted from a free kick. The standard of play was excellent, as the Kangaroos’ 19th man Arnold Briedis goaled with a fine kick on the run. Richmond’s teamwork was the major difference between the sides. Kevin Morris was felled on the outer wing and shortly afterwards a fight broke out involving a large group of players. Wade charged from full-forward at Tiger defender Robert McGhie, but McGhie ducked and Wade was sent sprawling to the turf. Bryan Wood and Paul Feltham tangled, along with Morris and Kekovich. The Tigers added points to Sheedy, from a free kick, Sproule, from a mark, and Cumming, from a snap. With McGhie limping noticeably, Kekovich slammed through his second goal. North threw everything at Richmond, but the Tigers’ defence stood firm. Morris missed after a kick on the run. From the kick-in, however, Sheedy took a superb high mark and goaled from the outer pocket. Following a high-standard third quarter, the Kangaroos had reduced Richmond’s half-time lead by only one point.

Fourth quarter

From the first bounce, Hart drove the Tigers forward, where Cumming grabbed the loose ball and handballed to Richardson, who was alone in the goal square. The subsequent goal came after only 51 seconds of play in the term. Not long after, strong play by Thorpe led to the ball being forced towards Cumming, who tapped it to Sheedy for another goal. Richmond’s surge continued when Hart grabbed a loose ball on the centre wing and passed to Sheedy, who drove deep into the forward pocket with a drop kick. Richardson then gathered the crumbs and cleverly eluded an opponent, before snapping a terrific right-foot goal. Hart was flattened in an incident with North’s Phil Baker, who had his number taken as a result. Cumming increased the Tigers’ lead to 44 points when he goaled from a free kick. Richardson booted the next goal after taking a fine mark diving sideways. Greig replied for the Kangaroos with a good running goal. Richardson, using his body well to keep his opponent out, took another strong mark, and goaled. Cameron Clayton came on to the field to replace Wood, with Sheedy going off to allow Brian Roberts a run. Burns kicked North’s 13th goal, but it was all to no avail for the Kangaroos. Richmond finished the match full of running and scored a convincing 41-point victory.

Epilogue

This was Richmond's fourth VFL Premiership in eight years, all of them under the coaching of Tom Hafey. It was also the second time that the team had won back-to-back VFL flags. While this victory signaled the end of a very successful era for Richmond, for North Melbourne it was just the beginning. They would participate in the next four Grand Finals, eventually breaking through to win their first VFL Premiership in 1975. It would be another six years before Richmond appeared in another Premiership decider, when it contested the 1980 VFL Grand Final.

Teams

Richmond
B:	40 Mervyn Keane	8 Dick Clay	5 Gareth Andrews
HB:	30 Francis Bourke (dvc)	12 Robert McGhie	38 Kevin Morris
C:	7 Wayne Walsh	14 David Thorpe	16 Bryan Wood
HF:	33 David Cloke	4 Royce Hart (c)	6 Paul Sproule
F:	21 Neil Balme	17 Barry Richardson	1 Daryl Cumming
Foll:	37 Michael Green	10 Kevin Sheedy	29 Kevin Bartlett (vc)
Reserve(s):	15 Brian Roberts	43 Cameron Clayton
Coach:	Tom Hafey

North Melbourne
B:	17 Denis Pagan	23 David Dench (vc)	1 Brad Smith
HB:	5 John Rantall	28 Gary Farrant	12 Ken Montgomery
C:	27 Keith Greig	11 John Burns	20 Wayne Schimmelbusch
HF:	4 Sam Kekovich	29 Phil Baker	18 Paul Feltham
F:	19 Phil Ryan	2 Doug Wade	8 Robert Peterson
Foll:	10 Barry Goodingham (dvc)	32 Barry Davis (c)	9 Barry Cable
Reserve(s):	13 Gary Cowton	6 Arnold Briedis
Coach:	Ron Barassi

Goalkickers

Richmond:

Richardson 5
Hart 3
Green 2
Sheedy 2
Balme 2
Walsh 1
Cloke 1
Thorpe 1
Cumming 1

North Melbourne:

Wade 4
Kekovich 2
Cable 2
Davis 1
Peterson 1
Breidis 1
Greig 1
Burns 1

References

Report of the 1974 VFL Grand Final at richmondfc.com
AFL Tables: 1974 Grand Final
The Official statistical history of the AFL 2004
Ross, John (1996). One Hundred Years of Australian Football. Viking Canada. ISBN 978-0-670-86814-8.

Victorian/Australian Football League Grand Finals

VFL Grand Finals	1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989

AFL Grand Finals	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Richmond Football Club 1974 VFL premiers

Richmond 18.20 (128) defeated North Melbourne 13.9 (87), at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

1. Cumming 4. Hart (c) 5. Andrews 6. Sproule 7. Walsh 8. Clay 14. Thorpe 10. Sheedy 12. McGhie 15. Roberts 16. Wood 17. Richardson 21. Balme 29. Bartlett 30. Bourke 33. Cloke 37. Green 38. Morris 40. Keane 43. Clayton

Coach: Hafey

Richmond Football Club

History Seasons Records Current squad Players Captains Coaches Individual awards Jack Dyer Medal Michael Roach Medal Captain: Trent Cotchin Coach: Damien Hardwick Nickname: Tigers

Stadiums	Punt Road Oval (1908–64) Melbourne Cricket Ground (1964–present)

Premierships (10)	1920 1921 1932 1934 1943 1967 1969 1973 1974 1980

Seasons (110)	1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Related articles	VFL team Dreamtime at the 'G

North Melbourne Football Club

History Records Captains Coaches Players Current squad Syd Barker Medal Leading goalkickers Captain: TBD Coach: Brad Scott Nickname: Kangaroos

Home grounds	Arden Street Oval (1925–64; 1966–85) Coburg City Oval (1965) Sydney Cricket Ground (1979; 1999–2002) Melbourne Cricket Ground (1984–99) Manuka Oval (1998; 2001–06) Docklands Stadium (2000–present) Bellerive Oval (2012–present)

Premierships (4)	1975 1977 1996 1999

Seasons (89)	1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Related articles	Murray Kangaroos North Melbourne Grand Final Breakfast Proposed relocation Round 16, 2001 collapse against Essendon

known as Kangaroos Football Club from 1999–2007

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/19/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.