Tony Shaw and Dale Weightman look back on Richmond and Collingwood’s historic rivalry
RICHMOND and Collingwood haven’t met in September since the 1980 Grand Final and two greats that played that day - Tony Shaw and Dale Weightman - look back on the historic rivalry.
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OLD rivals Tony Shaw and Dale Weightman have renewed their rivalry ahead of Collingwood and Richmond’s Friday night preliminary final blockbuster.
Not since the 1980 Grand Final have the Tigers and Magpies met in September with Shaw and Weightman adversaries on the day.
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Weightman - an Australian Football Hall of Famer - and Shaw - the 1990 Collingwood premiership captain and Norn Smith Medallist - opened up about the rivalry, including the 1980 decider and the hatred among the fan bases.
The pair both played 25 games rivalry games with Shaw coming away with a 15-10 winning record while Weightman retiring having won nine and lost 16.
What are your earliest memories of the rivalry?
Dale Weightman: My first experience was playing at Victoria Park in about 1978 when the changerooms were placed right in the middle of the Collingwood cheersquad. I’m thinking what’s happening here? They were about as big as a dunny out the back, nothing worked, the toilets wouldn’t flush and there was no hot water. I was scared shitless to walk down the race because they were all in your face and giving it to you. I still remember when we beat them at Victoria Park in 1980 and these blokes were spitting on us and carrying on. This bloke had his nose right up against the wire fence and The General (Mark Lee) has just gone whack. You look back and you think, “Christ Almighty”. It was scary.
Tony Shaw: We set that up beautifully. I don’t hate anybody really, I just dislike them (Richmond) immensely. I remember lining up for finals tickets at the MCG overnight with a family friend who was a Richmond supporter when I was about 12. Collingwood weren’t playing but I missed a bit of school and I just remember the feral supporters. There were a few blues and lot of drunks and we were having a kick and I thought, “This is fantastic”.
What are your memories of the 1980 Grand Final?
TS: That was my third year of footy. I was on the bench until half-time. We were 50-odd-points down, Tommy (Hafey) was quick at making a move in those days. The game was stuffed and he said to me, “I want you to take Geoff Raines out of the game”. And I’m sorting of nodding yes, but thinking, “I’m going nowhere near Geoff Raines”. He’d had 20 possessions at half-time. KB kicked seven. They were just a fantastic side.
DW: Tony Jewell made two changes, one was at the 25-minute mark of the last quarter and one was at the 27-minute mark. Bruce Monteath was our captain and the runner Peter Grant came up to me and said, “I’ve asked a few blokes if they will come off for Bruce, and none of them will come off”. So I said, “Oh shit OK”.
Can you believe Richmond and Collingwood haven’t met in a final since?
TS: It’s unbelievable.
DW: We just thought it was going to happen all the time.
TS: To think that it took us 32 years and then for Richmond not to have done it until last year - and looking like getting it done again this year - two super clubs and never happening, is amazing in history.
DW: I reckon it was a bit of bad management. We stuffed ourselves up losing (David) Cloke and Raines and Bryan Wood.
TS: We got Clokey, Rainesy and Brian Taylor but it got stupid. You see, Carlton and Collingwood had this unwritten law that we wouldn’t go for each others players, but not at Richmond. I don’t know who went first but it was just tit for tat. It was just crazy.
What were you thinking when it was clear the Tigers were going to play Collingwood in the prelim?
TS: I would have rathered it was a Grand Final, can you imagine this if we had been on the other side of the draw?
DW: I admire Collingwood with all of the injuries they have had. They’re amazing and they’ve turned it all around. (Nathan) Buckley has done it well, he’s just let them play.
How do you rate Dustin Martin in the history of the game?
TS: He’s one of the best.
DW: The thing I like is that he’s at his most comfortable out on the footy field. He’s not real comfortable with the media and that sort of thing but get him out there, that’s his playground, it’s his happy place. And the things he can do. He’s just amazing.
TS: And let me tell you they’ll be trying to knee him in that corky. No doubt I would be. I’d be going, “How ya going?” — whack. They need to get their story together. Balmey says there’s nothing wrong with him and then Dimma comes out and says, “Yeah, he’s had a corky”.
Jack Dyer said he wouldn’t watch black and white TV. Is it hatred?
DW: No, it’s not hatred. We respect each other and don’t forget their neighbourhoods. I wasn’t alive when they had the depression and all that, but Shawry was.
TS: The only reason I look older is because I’ve got grey hair and he’s got none.
Where will you both be watching it?
TS: I’m commentating the game for 3AW with Leigh Matthews and Matty Lloyd and he’ll be behind glass drinking chardonnay. They drink chardonnay now at Richmond, it used to be ginger beer.
DW: I’ve got an invite - the first time I’ve ever got an invite - to the MCC committee room. I thought how good is this.
TS: Oh, haven’t they changed here. Write that one down.
DW: Hey, they’re serving my favourite beer - free beer.
TS: Things have changed. I never even got invited to the Collingwood committee room.
DW: I’m not surprised. The Shaw brothers — fair dinkum — there’d be nothing left.
TS: We’d steal the cutlery.
Originally published as Tony Shaw and Dale Weightman look back on Richmond and Collingwood’s historic rivalry