Brilliance and Brutality

ABOUT THE TITLE: There was no fiercer rivalry in the late 1960s and early 1970s than that between Carlton and Richmond. It switched between brilliant and brutal, but above all it was memorable, as two teams stacked with extraordinary talent strove to become the best team and club in the VFL. The two sides contained legendary names: John Nicholls, Royce Hart, Alex Jesaulenko, Kevin Bartlett, Brent Crosswell, Francis Bourke, Geoff Southby and Neil Balme, to name just a few!

Between 1967 and 1974, those Blues and Tigers played in seven Grand Finals, with Richmond winning four, Carlton three. Carlton lost the 1969 decider to the Tigers, but in 1972 Nicholls masterminded a plan of all-out attack which stunned Tom Hafey’s team and secured a famous premiership in the game’s greatest shootout. Ron Barassi said of that game: “This will go down as one of the great Grand Finals. They’ll be talking and writing about it for years.” The following year, Richmond, led by Balme, were hellbent on revenge, in one of the most violent of Grand Finals. Through one-on-one interviews with all the key figures, and extensive archival research, storyteller Dan Eddy (Larrikins & Legends) has presented another warts-and-all account of a memorable era.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dan Eddy is the author of acclaimed biographies on Australian football Legends Dick Reynolds (King Richard) and Peter Hudson (A Football Genius), and Hawthorn’s iconic leader, Peter Crimmins (Crimmo), and is the author and co-author of numerous other non-fiction works, including Larrikins & Legends, the untold story of Carlton’s 1979-82 era. He has a Master’s degree (Victoria University) and PhD (Federation University), and is on the committee of the AFL Premiership Players Club. He lives with son, Ernie, in Leongatha, Victoria.