Editing Richmond Football Club (section)

===Success through Hafey Era (1966–1982)===
[[File:Kevin Bartlett.jpg|thumb|upright|Statue of Kevin Bartlett outside the MCG]]
1966 heralded the start of the [[Tom Hafey]] era. Hafey, a former player of the club, was appointed coach and brought with him a couple of quality young footballers from northern Victoria. Out of the Goulburn Valley came [[Dick Clay]] from Kyabram and [[Francis Bourke]] from Nathalia. Further afield were [[Doug Strang]] and [[John Perry (footballer)|John Perry]] from Albury and Wodonga.

On his return to Richmond, Hafey found the team had acquired a number of young, high quality players, [[Kevin Bartlett (Australian rules footballer)|Kevin Bartlett]] was a skinny 17 year old who lived locally and had walked in and asked for a tryout. [[Michael Green (Australian rules footballer)|Mike Green]] followed Kevin a year later. Even so, he quickly put his stamp on the club, bringing intensity and desire to reach the top. Although he acknowledged the ideas and tactical approach of Len Smith (who remained at the club as a selector and consultant), Hafey opted for what became his trademark style: kick the ball long and quickly into the forward line. He raised the bar for fitness among his players,[4] extending pre-season training and introducing a third training night during the week. Richmond quickly became known for being the fittest team in the competition.

Richmond began 1966 strongly. A month before the finals, they hit the top of the ladder for the first time since 1951 and seemed certain to play in September. However, two losses dropped the Tigers to fifth place with thirteen wins and a draw. Richmond dismissed a number of players, replacing them with new players such as [[Royce Hart]], Kevin Sheedy and [[Francis Bourke]].

Richmond dominated the 1967 season, running out winners in a classic Grand Final against Geelong. In his first two years, the team lost only seven games and Hafey had gone from an unknown coach in the bush to the toast of the football world. In hindsight, the 1967 premiership marked a turning point for the game. The Tigers were fitter than any team that had gone before and were the highest scoring team since 1950. Australian football, after two decades of defensive-based play, was about to enter an era of high scoring, aided by rule changes, new tactics and better standards of fitness. They won the 1967 flag in a thrilling encounter with Geelong, ending a 24-year premiership drought.

The Tigers started the 1968 season slowly. They rallied to win the last six games, but missed the finals. When the Tigers were again lethargic in mid-1969, accusations of under-achievement arose and rumours that Hafey was on the way out circulated. The players rallied behind Hafey and finished the season strong, taking fourth place. The team won all three finals, beat the much fancied Carlton in the [[1969 VFL Grand Final]] by 25 points.

After missing the playoffs in 1970, Hafey took the Tigers to the finals for the next five years. Basing the team's strategy around all-out attack had drawbacks. Richmond were dominant in 1972 and were hot favourites in the [[1972 VFL Grand Final]] against Carlton. However, Carlton stunned Richmond in a game of ridiculous high scoring. Even Richmond equalled the then record highest score in a Grand Final of 22.18 (150), but Carlton beat it with 28.9 (177). Richmond got their revenge in an intensely physical clash in the [[1973 VFL Grand Final]] and went back-to-back in [[1974 VFL Grand Final|1974]] with a strong win against a resurgent North Melbourne.

By now, the aggressive attitude of the club both on and off the field had created resentment toward the club. A number of incidents during the 1973 Grand Final – the Windy Hill brawl, the attempted recruitment of [[John Pitura]] from South Melbourne and a poor reaction to Kevin Bartlett's failure to win the Brownlow medal – all focussed negative attention on the club. Hafey, however, used the resentment to his advantage, telling his players "it's Richmond against the world".

Richmond showed signs of ageing in 1975, when they lost in the preliminary final. Triple Brownlow medallist, [[Ian Stewart (Australian rules footballer)|Ian Stewart]] retired, [[Paul Sproule]] returned to Hobart, [[Brian Roberts (Australian rules footballer)|Brian Roberts]] and two others were part of the John Pitura trade. A raft of other player departures made for a poor 1976 season, Hart spent most of the year nursing a knee and Dick Clay opted to retire. The Tigers finishing seventh, Hafey's worst ever result. Internally the Richmond board bickering had flared into the public domain. It took a majority vote for Hafey to be reappointed for 1977, but not unanimously (he had no contract with Richmond, instead being appointed on a year-to-year basis). When it leaked that [[Graeme Richmond]], the club's powerbroker, had voted against Hafey's reappointment Hafey immediately resigned.

The club appointed dual premiership player [[Barry Richardson (Australian footballer)|Barry Richardson]] as coach for two seasons before he was replaced by Tony Jewell. Richmond won its next premiership under Jewell with a then record-breaking margin of 81 points over arch-rivals Collingwood in [[1980 VFL Grand Final|1980]]. After reaching and losing the [[1982 VFL Grand Final]], it has been a rocky road for Richmond who have struggled to come to grips with the rules and regulations of a modernised VFL, including the [[AFL Draft|draft]] and [[salary cap]]. The successes of the early 1980s were bought at high financial cost through expensive recruiting, and were followed by severe cut backs that saw several top players depart.