Page 13: Richmond’s most vocal supporter says cheer squad violence getting out of hand

RICHMOND’S most vocal supporter says footy violence is getting out of hand and wants a 3-metre alcohol-free zone declared around cheer squads.

“TROUT” Beattie has been spat on as Richmond’s most vocal supporter and says footy violence is getting out of hand around the cheer squads.

Trout is usually unflappable but says the pest who slagged him off when the Tigers played the Cats at Geelong went too far.

Police are tagging the serial pest and Beattie has called on the AFL to stamp down on off the field violence.

It’s not just the top Tiger fan who is being bullied. A Geelong supporter says Tiger fans intimidated her at the last Cats and Richmond clash.

REVEALED: WHAT DUSTY’S TATTS REALLY MEAN

Richmond’s most vocal supporter "Trout” Beattie says the pest who slagged him off when the Tigers played the Cats at Geelong went too far. Picture: Jay Town

Beattie says he bleeds yellow and black but the AFL needs to act before cheer squads are assaulted.

He wants a 3-metre alcohol-free zone declared around the cheer squads at each end of the ground.

Known as “Trout from Woodend” or “that guy in the curly yellow wig”, Beattie says the cheer squads have been alcohol-free for years but the rough heads are too close for comfort: “It’s like putting the lambs inside the fence and the wolves on the side.”

BROWNLOW BETTING: CAN ANYONE BEAT DUSTY?

"Trout from Woodend" wants a 3-metre alcohol-free zone declared around the cheer squads. Picture: Jay Town

Trout says the Tiger roar at the MCG on Saturday night will be the loudest since they last won a premiership. That was 37 years ago and the roar has been welling the throats of the Tiger diehards ever since.

“Every club has bad supporters and always someone who goes to far,” says Beattie. “It’s not any club’s fault, it’s the person who steps over the line.”

Trout says the Richmond footy club is ready to have a crack. On Saturday night, the Tiger fans will drown out the Greater Western Sydney barrackers.

HOW THE TIGERS CHANGED THEIR WAYS

"Trout” Beattie says footy violence is getting out of hand. Picture: Jay Town

BANKING ON A TIGERS VICTORY

WHAT would a true Tiger fan prefer — running a multi-billion Big Four bank or kicking a goal against old enemy Carlton?

Westpac chief from 1999 to 2008 David Morgan is uniquely able to answer that question.

Now living in London as the chairman of the Asia Pacific and Europe arm of New York private investment firm JC Flowers & Co, Morgan was jetting back to Melbourne from Tokyo for Saturday’s big game.

TIGER ARMY ASSEMBLES AT MCG THE DAY BEFORE BIG CLASH

This economic master of the universe wore a Richmond guernsey in the early 70s and has the yellow and black running in his veins. “My best friend was Blair Campbell — inventor of the boomerang kick — who lived in the next street to me in East Malvern and also played for the Tigers,” Morgan told Page 13.

“I was in awe of the players surrounding me at Richmond, including Kevin Sheedy, Kevin Bartlett, Dick Clay and Francis Bourke.”

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