Best Tiger side in your lifetime.

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Yeah. 1973 stands out for me too.

A little too young to appreciate the significance of 1967 & 1969 and after the heartbreak of 1972 when we expected to witness the first premiership we could celebrate; 1973 will never be topped for me.

I love every single one of those premiership players. Amazing how my whole life changed in the space of 6 quarters of football from half time in the '73 prelim. And to beat the scum that inflicted the pain in 1972!! God bless them all.

Great post


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As an individual side, 1980 was the best for me. When we were on, we were so far ahead of anyone, it wasn't funny. Ok, we had a couple of laughable slip-ups through the year (we got beaten by the team that finished last and drew with the team that finished second-last). The finals were a stroll. And check this out:
Mark Lee - age 21
Geoff Raines - Age 24
Michael Roach - age 21
Dale Weightman - 20
Robert Wiley - 25
David Cloke - 25
Jim Jess - 25
Kevin Bartlett - 147 (but he still kicked 84 goals for the year).

That's first ruck, rover, centreman, centre-half back, centre-half forward and full-forward of the premiership team (that just won the flag by a record margin), all 25 and under.

How we didn't win 3 or 4 more flags is a testament to how disastrously we failed to manage the switch to full-time professionalism that really ramped up in the early 80s.
 

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I would have Bourke and Rance as the best two backs I have seen at Richmond, probably our best wingman as well. Top half dozen tigers I can remember I would think. Lucky to be an old bastard sometimes, not often.
Hold my beer...

Grimes...Rance....Balme
Keane....Jess.......Bourke
Pickett...Stewart..Richo
MRioli....Lynch.....Martin
Bartlett..JR8........Sheds

Green...Tucky...Chimp

Raines...Lids...Flea...Meatball
 
Hold my beer...

Grimes...Rance....Balme
Keane....Jess.......Bourke
Pickett...Stewart..Richo
MRioli....Lynch.....Martin
Bartlett..JR8........Sheds

Green...Tucky...Chimp

Raines...Lids...Flea...Meatball
Good side, reckon Pickett over Wood is a little lucky.
Rucks changing in the back pocket is one for the old timers.
 
I wasn't following footy closely enough in the 1980s or prior.
Just reckon the mid 90's there was a lot of personality in the team even if they were generally shithouse.
So, not the best team - but reminisce about some of these names:

D Kellaway S Turner J Bowden
J Torney P Bulluss M Gale
N Bower M Knights A Prescott
M Rogers M Richardson N Daffy
C Naish B Holland M Merenda
B Gale P Broderick W Campbell
C Bond J Tape J Charles B Harrison
 
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Hold my beer...

Grimes...Rance....Balme
Keane....Jess.......Bourke
Pickett...Stewart..Richo
MRioli....Lynch.....Martin
Bartlett..JR8........Sheds

Green...Tucky...Chimp

Raines...Lids...Flea...Meatball
Royce must have been close to getting a spot.
 
B: A.Kellaway Turner Grimes

HB: Newman Rance Houli

C: Bowden Campbell Maxfield

HF: Martin Ottens Deledio

FF: Krakouer Richardson Brown

Foll: Gale Cotchin Knights

Int: Coughlan Foley Riewoldt L.Cameron




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Do you guys reckon Delidio is even though he’s a traitor?

When fit he’s one of the best Richmond players I’ve seen. People don’t really have him in the team on here.


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As long as you rule out Gaspar Nathan Brown Geoff Raines David Cloke Stewart Maxfield Ian Stewart Billy Barrett ect who all played elsewhere.
The hating on lids is absurd.
 

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Very close...very...just lacked height compared to Cut Lunch! And Cut Lunch has a tad more mongrel plus just as good!
I think there's a spot for him. Lynch as good? Not sure about that but each to our own.
 
FB: Grimes Rance Gaspar
HB: Newman Kellaway Vlastuin
C: Knights Campbell Deledio
HF: Martin Richardson Edwards
FF: Brown Riewoldt Rogers
Foll: Gale Cotchin Prestia
Int: Bowden Coughlan Bolton Houli

And the worst

FB: Zantuck Thursfield Raines
HB: Nicholls Post McMahon
C: Oakley-Nicholls Meyer Fleming
HF: Morrison Hughes Polo
FF: Pattison Griffiths Aarts
Foll: Knobel Tambling Fiora
Int: Biddiscombe Marsh Vardy Hislop

Was tempted to put in castagna because of the games he cost us more recently!
 
I think there's a spot for him. Lynch as good? Not sure about that but each to our own.
Hart a champion in his day...just reckon the backmen of the modern era would be too tall and strong for him to handle...plus his degenerative knee, we never got to see his full value. Not saying Cut Lunch is as good as Hart's record just a harder match up. Plus I loved the way he mongreled dangerflop!
Big plus in my footy book!
 
Hart a champion in his day...just reckon the backmen of the modern era would be too tall and strong for him to handle.
That's a great example of how difficult it is to compare players from different eras. Over time the players get taller, bigger, faster and in general have better skills, although kicking accuracy has not improved at all. The only true comparisons are against players of the same era. I suppose to compare players from different eras you can only compare their performance and standing from when they played.

So the question might be, who was more influential in their era, Hart or Lynch?
 
That's a great example of how difficult it is to compare players from different eras. Over time the players get taller, bigger, faster and in general have better skills, although kicking accuracy has not improved at all. The only true comparisons are against players of the same era. I suppose to compare players from different eras you can only compare their performance and standing from when they played.

So the question might be, who was more influential in their era, Hart or Lynch?
I loved that 1973 flag winning team. Hart's marking is amazing. 3 asterixes: Devo'd to lose Barrott, I don't rate KB (peaked in 67) & I knew the McLeans so sad to lose Rick.

I'd I rank the TEAM that won us a flag in 2017 as our greatest. 37 year drought. One KPF one ruck. Great backline & midfield.
 
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Yeah. 1973 stands out for me too.

A little too young to appreciate the significance of 1967 & 1969 and after the heartbreak of 1972 when we expected to witness the first premiership we could celebrate; 1973 will never be topped for me.

I love every single one of those premiership players. Amazing how my whole life changed in the space of 6 quarters of football from half time in the '73 prelim. And to beat the scum that inflicted the pain in 1972!! God bless them all.
I didn't go to 69 but I had the lucky job of decorating the classroom with yellow & black and cut out phots from the paper. I went to the G for the 72 ~74 GFs So the 72 loss was not that devastating. In fact there is some consolation with our high score. 73 great and 74 icing on the cake. My interest in footy waned in the 80s. Travelling and what not. Started to get back into it in mid 90s. Northey was a good player and good coach. To lose him was a shocker. It was GR like, Sheedy kept talking about coming back. Appointing coaches for 5 years was a start. Benny Gale & Peggy 10 year plans I took with a grain of salt. We always had big supporter numbers but getting smart financially behind the scenes felt like a first. Finals wins were hard to come by. I'd seen us lose finals in 95, 03 & 2015. Not sacking a senior coach ? dafuq what's going on. 2016 nadir. no sackings, smart reviews. Great INS Caddy, Prestia & Nank Balme back at the club, some good assistants, good game plan. Made 2017 the best, to get an era out of it has been incredible. Getting to Brizzy for the 2020 GF was a bonus. Night grand finals? love em.
 
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That's a great example of how difficult it is to compare players from different eras. Over time the players get taller, bigger, faster and in general have better skills, although kicking accuracy has not improved at all. The only true comparisons are against players of the same era. I suppose to compare players from different eras you can only compare their performance and standing from when they played.

So the question might be, who was more influential in their era, Hart or Lynch?
Agree with the sentiments of your post...
It's a tough question to answer...who was more influential in their era...yeah who?!?
Hart is on record with playing in some super talented GF winning sides, he had a lot of help and was a standout CHF...
Cut Lunch?!?...well the kindest thing to say about the talent in his GCS's sides,,,they were ordinary. Still he had some good games.
Coming to Richmond and playing with a more talented side Lynchy is a standout CHF!
Lnychy is still playing, his career is still ongoing...whilst Hart was cut short by his knee injury! In my book Lynchy has an edge in playing time and resilience!
Both can claim to have helped win a GF...Hart coming in after half time in 1973 against the Pies in the Prelim...helping to win the game.
Lynch..in 2019 Prelim against the cats kicks 5 to get the Tigers into the GF! And arguably carried the Tigers all Season with another standout game agin Port.
I canna choose between the two...I am biased towards the modern era players simply because they are bigger, faster, fitter, stronger, taller...
Cut Lunch for me in my best Tiger side in my lifetime.
 
I didn't go to 69 but I had the lucky job of decorating the classroom with yellow & black and cut out phots from the paper. I went to the G for the 72 ~74 GFs So the 72 loss was not that devastating. In fact there is some consolation with our high score. 73 great and 74 icing on the cake. My interest in footy waned in the 80s. Travelling and what not. Started to get back into it in mid 90s. Northey was a good player and good coach. To lose him was a shocker. It was GR like, Sheedy kept talking about coming back. Appointing coaches for 5 years was a start. Benny Gale & Peggy 10 year plans I took with a grain of salt. We always had big supporter numbers but getting smart financially behind the scenes felt like a first. Finals wins were hard to come by. I'd seen us lose finals in 95, 03 & 2015. Not sacking a senior coach ? dafuq what's going on. 2016 nadir. no sackings, smart reviews. Great INS Caddy, Prestia & Nank Balme back at the club, some good assistants, good game plan. Made 2017 the best, to get an era out of it has been incredible. Getting to Brizzy for the 2020 GF was a bonus. Night grand finals? love em.
Bro, you've raised many, many points of interest.

1. 1972 GF loss WAS devastating AT THE TIME. Winning the next 2 flags well and truly masked that pain.
2. Equaling the the previous highest GF score in the 1972 GF was of NO consolation when the opposition scored more.
3. Northey's loss set our club back 20 years. To not extend his contract for another year beyond 1996 was amateurish. Dumb run club!!
4. Mr Sheedy's main priority was Mr Sheedy. I love him for his commitment to our cause during his playing days, but the campaigner used his connection with the RFC and our ridiculous craving to have him back as leverage to extend his tenure at Essendon. In the end it came at a massive cost to Essendon who are yet to recover from extending his contract beyond 2004. F them!!
5. Where our club is now is not a result of the INS at the beginning of 2017. The roots lie a decade earlier with Gary March taking over a President. He is our unsung hero.
6. Put a few on ice, I've got a real good feeling we'll be celebrating at the end of September 2023.
 

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