Grand Final, 1982

Carlton	4.7	31	6.11	47	11.15	81	14.19	103
Richmond	4.3	27	9.4	58	9.10	64	12.13	85

Venue: M.C.G.

Date: Saturday September 25, 1982

Result: Win by 18 points

Umpires: R.Sawers & G.James

Crowd: 107,537

Goalkickers: W.Johnston 2, M.Fitzpatrick 2, R.Ashman 2, P.McConville 2, W.Harmes 1, K.Hunter 1, P.Bosustow 1, A.Marcou 1, M.Maclure 1, P.Maylin 1.
Best: W.Johnston, V.Perovic, M.Fitzpatrick, A.Marcou, W.Harmes, K.Hunter, B.Doull, D.English, Ashman

Reports: Warren Jones (Striking Mark Lee), Graeme Landy (Striking Peter Bosustow)- 2 Matches each

Injuries: M.Fitzpatrick (ankle), R.Ditchburn (concussion)

Game Review

In 1982 the Carlton Football Club were attempting something that had eluded them in 7 attempts since 1915 and that was winning the back to back flags.

David Parkin in his second year as coach and still referring to himself as “that bloke from Hawthorn” spoke about the task a number of times at 1981 Premiership Celebration Functions as being a task as akin to climbing Everest, in fact he even referred to it as attempting to climb Everest again immediately after you have climbed it.

There were many in the media who gave us no chance – and our poor start to the season of a Draw against Fitzroy and loss against Essendon did not augur well for the rest of the season.

Also against us was the fact that the team was so damn good both on and off the field that motivating them would prove the most difficult task to Parkin.

So often during the course of the season the side looked sluggish and suffering the ill-effects of a huge Friday Night, only to come out in the 3rd quarter and turn on a 10 or 15 minute burst of football which would result in 8 goals and prove the winning margin at the end of the game.

Parkin referred to the 3rd quarter as the Premiership Quarter a name which has endured to this day.

A lot of Carlton arrogance was displayed during these times as supporters from opposing clubs with a sniff of victory at half-time engaged in futile banter with the Carlton faithful only to be sent home with their tail between their legs at the end of the game, or sometimes at ¾ time such was the ferocity of Carlton’s third quarter blitzkriegs.

However come finals time – Carlton were ready to play and no game summed up our season more so than the first qualifying final at the MCG against Hawthorn where an 8 goal third quarter (all scored after the 20 minute mark of that quarter mind you) left a determined Hawthorn in our wake – with final’s specialist Wayne Harmes kicking 4 magnificent goals in eight minutes including an impossible snap from the boundary ensuring another scintillitating Premiership Quarter.

Although this game came at the huge cost of Wayne Johnston being suspended for 2 games for striking David Polkinghorne whose evidence at the VFL Tribunal was described as “extraordinary” by Carlton Chairman of Selectors Wes Lofts, and 1 game suspension of Peter Bosustow.

The Second Semi-Final against Richmond proved to be a fizzer with Richmond completely dominating the contest and winning comfortably by 23 points with the contest being effectively over by half-time, Richmond using constant scragging and content to give away 15 metre penalties to negate our feared fleet of running players.

A tough Preliminary Final win against Hawthorn with Rod Austin effectively tagging and then being floored by Leigh Matthews and a young Dermott Brereton being taken apart by Bruce Doull allowed Carlton the chance to avenge their Second-Semi Final defeat by Richmond.

The Grand Final was tipped to be a vicious contest with Richmond hoping to repeat their Second Semi Final aggressive tactics to test Carlton’s “so-called” suspect character under pressure.

Carlton tried to confuse Richmond with David Clarke and Frank Marchesani heroes of a Preliminary Final win over Hawthorn running out on the ground in full team kit but making their way up the players race before the game started to make way for Wayne Johnston (back from suspension) and Jimmy Buckley.

But it was Carlton that jumped out of the blocks and inspired by Grand Final Specialist Wayne Johnston and they kicked 3 quick goals before Richmond had a chance to settle and that proved to be the margin at the end of the game. Johnston kicked the opener and laid a tackle on Al Martello that allowed the ball to spill free and Harmes to pick up and run into an open goal. Johnston was electric during this game and was very unlucky not to win the Norm Smith Medal for best on ground. If Johnston had of kicked 4.2 instead of 2.4 he may have well been the Norm Smith medalist. A lot of the media awarded Johnston best on ground in their Grand Final wrap-ups. At the end of the day Johnston had the medal that counted the most - the Premiership medallion.

Another move made by Parkin during the game was replacing McConville with Harmes onto the dangerous Bartlett who had kicked 2.1 early into the second quarter. Harmes kept Bartlett to only 1 further goal whilst McConville kicked 2 up forward and accidentally broke Tempany's arm in a contest.

Fitzpatrick playing an unfamiliar role at Centre Half Forward allowing Warren “Wow” Jones to completely dominate and intimidate Richmond ruckman Mark Lee proved only one of a series of great moves by the Carlton Coach David Parkin. Big "Wow" Jones fought Lee in the play and off the ball as he proved to be a protector of our mosquito fleet from the likes of Mark Lee.

If a display of courage was ever required to lift team-mates Ken Hunter's mark and being knocked cold by Jim Jess was that for the Blues. Hunter with his trademark of eyes on the ball at all costs resulted in a huge hit (but fair) on Hunter. Hunter had to be helped to his feet and held in position as his legs were like "jelly". It is at this stage Rioli free of Hunter caused a bit of trouble with Hunter's replacement Klomp. But you cant keep a champion down and Hunter came back to be one of Carlton's best players and set up Bosustow's goal in the last quarter. It was fitting that the siren blew with the ball in Hunter's hands to end the game.

Richmond's obsession with talls proved their undoing, and any chance of a last quarter Tiger come back was snuffed out by a hirsute Alex Marcou as he raced in to goal, leaving a lumbering Emmett Dunne in his wake. This was set up by a desparate Maclure who spoiled Dunne and then knocked on into the path of Marcou who scooped up the ball and slotted through the sealer.

The following players had the unique honour of becoming Triple Premiership Players after this Grand Final:

- Jim Buckley
- Mike Fitzpatrick
- Wayne Harmes
- Wayne Johnston (would go on to be a Four Time Premiership Player)
- Mark Maclure
- Peter McConville
- Alex Marcou
- Ken Sheldon

With Bruce Doull becoming a Four Time Premiership Player and an early entrant for “Dancing with the Stars” partnering one Helen D’Amico with a foxtrot late in the third quarter.

Parkin - Football's hottest property
Well done Carlton, You proved in this modern era of football that flags can be won back to back. Coach David Parkin is now the hottest property in the game and to put a price on his head would only be guessing. What about the opening five minutes of each quarter....first Carlton in the opening quarter, then the Tigers in the second, back and forth all day, and the defences were really under pressure. What about that shirt front of Jim Jess on Ken Hunter. It was a ripper. That's what it's all about. Well done, Ken Hunter, coming back and playing so well. It was a hard fought match - no holds barred. The Tigers slow in defence and the big men up forward could not get out of first gear. The Blues had their little men all revved up for the occassion. Marcou, Johnston, Ashman, Sheldon, Buckley, Maylin and Glascott cut the Tigers to pieces. It also showed that the best defence in the business is at Carlton. What about Hunter, English, Doull, Perovic, Harmes and Bortolotto - they were hungry for the ball and played as a combination all day. The backline was missing two walk-up starters in the great Geoff Southby and last week's best on ground Rod "Curly" Austin, both have missed the last two premierships through injury! Why can't the Blues win three in a row? Who will they lose from this year. Not many, if any. Southby will play again and Parkin is still there. The way he conditioned the players throughout the finals series was first class - four nights a week and Sunday and they played each Saturday. You would think they would have tired. But they finished full of running and could have gone on for more, this is after four solid weeks of finals footy. It was an outstanding personal success for Parkin and each challenge he gets is a new lease of life for him in his football career. - Ted Whitten Inside Football.

''Versatility the key to Blues' win
Carlton used versatility to perfection in winning the 1982 Grand Final. David Parkin was able to move players around successfully and for different reasons and this adaptable line-up, as much as anything, was responsible for Richmond's downfall. Players like Peter McConville, Wayne Johnston, Peter Bosustow, Ken Hunter and Phil Maylin were able to be changed, given different instructions and new roles midgame, and carry out their duties effectively. Combine this with the way Warren Jones and Mike Fitzpatrick alternated in the ruck and performed other jobs around the field, and you can see why the Blues were able to outplay Richmond. It must be disappointing for the Tigers, whose line-up looked too inflexible, because they did have running players in Wiley, Weightman, Raines, Rowlings and Rioli. But they lacked the medium size, versatile players that Carlton was able to swap around. McConville, for example was moved into attack and gave the Tiger defenders headaches. He's able to fly high in packs, has the speed to chase the ball on the ground and bobbed up with a couple of handy goals. Bosustow started on the interchange bench, but when he did come onto the field, his creative touch frustrated his opponents - the Tigers seemed to lack those players. Harmes, too, frustrated some Tiger attacks. I recall a moment when the ball was booted to Richmond's centre half forward position, where Harmes and Bartlett would compete for it. The ball appeared to be travelling over Harmes' head and the cunning Bartlett, anticipating the loose ball and an open goal (how he loves that situation), suddenly ducked around behind Harmes to collect the loose ball. Bartlett would never get that lovely run at goal. Harmes leapt high from a standing start and plucked a mark when the ball really did look as though it would travel way over his head. That wasn't Harmes only contribution on the day, either. I thought Johnston gave his opponents a hard time. Not only was he responsible for several successful Carlton attacks but he showed the desperate quality needed to win a Grand Final when he threw his body onto the boots of Richmond opponents to smother their kicks. Richmond was unable to make many positional changes without a high risk factor. Carlton's transposition of medium size players on the day were all calculated to achieve a reasonable amount of success, a position Richmond was not in on the day. Much of this situation comes back to team selection and the Blues did their homework. Not that Richmond didn't - just to make the Grand Final indicates a certain amount of successful team juggling duirng the season. But Carlton went into the big game with a side that could tolerate several switches during the game and still fire without upsetting team balance. While all VFL sides search for key position players, ruckmen and rovers, I feel that more attention will be paid to the creative utility type of player in the future. The ability to swap players on the day paid off for Carlton in the Grand Final. Perhaps other sides will consider a line-up capable of similar versatility in future premiership battles. - Kevin Sheedy Inside Football''

''Blues can hold their own when the Blues get rough
Let's hope that Carlton's 1982 Grand Final win once and for all ends suggestions that the Blues are vulnerable under pressure. We have been hearing and reading such comments for the past few years, despite the fact that the Blues won the 1979 and 1981 premierships. Now, Carlton also has the 1982 flag and the Blues did it the hard way, specifically in the Grand Final against Richmond. No team could have been subjected to more fierce pressure than Carlton on Saturday, yet it survived and even managed to hand out a few bruisings of their own. Carlton skipper Mike Fitzpatrick, said it all at the club's celebrations at the Hilton hotel when he suggested that coach, David Parkin, had added vertebrae to the Blues backbone. Until Alex Jesaulenko took over as coach during the 1978 season, Carlton was a side blessed with natural ability but unable to work hard for success. Jesaulenko managed to make the Blues work hard and Parkin has been able to make them work even harder. The football world knows how difficult it is to win back-to-back premierships, players often unable to rekindle enthusiasm for another season at the top. Parkin managed to rekindle the enthusiasm and the premiership was his reward. Now, let there be no mistake - the Blues are able to withstand physical batterings and they do not fold under pressure. Anyone who wants to argue with that can look at the 1981 - 1982 premiership flags fluttering over Princes Park - Jim Main Inside Football.''

Wayne Johnston - Mr September
There's no doubt that Blues centreman, Wayne Johnston, is a finals specialist. They say that the hallmark of a quality player is his ability in the big matches, specially Grand Finals. If that is the case, Johnston is among football's cream. He truly is a great grand final player and three times now has proven his worth in a premiership victory. But there were times this season when Johnston did not look like playing in the Grand Final, his darkest hour coming with the Tribunal suspension after the Qualifying Final. Johnston insists he was innocent and he could well have dropped his bundle completely. He told Hilton guests on Saturday night that his two week suspension gave him plenty of time to think about the Grand Final, however. It was obvious Johnston was keyed up to give it everything and then a little bit more with him being the spark that ignited the Blues into action. I rated him best on ground slightly ahead of Perovic and Fitzpatrick. - Jim Main Inside Football.

''The gods took a hand in Richmond's Grand Final defeat
Richmond can blame the gods, while Carlton rejoiced when the rain tumbled down as the ball was bounced to start the 1982 Grand Final. Tragedy then struck the Tigers, who were relying on the aerial supremacy of their tall timber in Lee, Roach, Cloke, Jess and friends. The coaching staff should have checked the weather forecast and adjusted their team to suit, but alas it didn't! Carlton's game revolved around the ground level efficiency and the skills of a vast number of running players - small and medium-sized - and it became evident about 80 seconds into the game that the Blues would relish the slippery ball, with goals coming quickly from the Waynes, Johnston and Harmes. Carlton's adaptability proved its greatest asset, with Harmes impassable from centre to defence, Johnston damaging from the half forward line to the centre and Peter McConville (back flank, forward flank and full-forward) all fine contributors. Coach, David Parkin, improvised quite a bit, with Warren Jones and Mike Fitzpatrick assuming various duties on the day, and most of his moves paid dividends, especially in the third quarter when the Blues took the flag by the throat. Jones and Fitzpatrick dictated terms in their roles and smaller players such as Sheldon, Johnston and Ashman gained every available crumb. It was a ferociously fought Grand Final, won by Carlton's relentless pressure and aggression, applied for the game's duration. Richmond slackened in the third term and its players were suddenly second to the ball, with disastrous consequences. But both teams deserve praise for a truly great Grand Final - Peter Hogan Inside Football.''

''Blues weather stormy Tigers
Carlton proved what a great side it is with a courageous performance in the Grand Final. Richmond handed out plenty of the strong arm stuff, which is to be expected, and Carlton have an unjustified reputation of being intimidated when this occurs. However this time they answered every challenge and came back even harder. The weather conditions certainly gave the Blues an edge, simply because they have a number of great wet weather players. Ashman, Hunter, Johnston, Doull etc are all brilliant in wet and slippery conditions. Each time a shower fell the Blues got their game going and surged ahead. When the Tigers brains trust woke up Saturday morning and looked at the sky they knew what sort of weather conditions to expect. The simple facts are, they picked the best side they could, one that has been successful all year. Unfortunately for Tiger supporters on the day, they just weren't good enough, but their performance was one that certainly wouldn't have lost them friends. There were plenty of great players of both sides but for a gutsy performance you can't go past Ken Hunter. He was knocked out cold in the opening minutes by a legitimate hip and shoulder from Jimmy Jess, but came back on as he has done before to be one of the best players on the ground. There is nothing of him, but he has a tremendous amount of courage. - Graham Teasdale Inside Football ''

''Tigers - too tough for their own good
One fact from this game was that this was a tough clash, the men from Carlton and Richmond spared nothing of themselves. The bad injuries to Ditchburn and Tempany were tragic to those players, but inevitable in a game of that ferocity and intensity. I thought that the umpires did a fine job - it was a hard one to control and they managed it well. Richmond is tough - it always has been in finals. This time, I feel the Tigers tried to be just too tough and concentrated too much on trying to blitz Carlton into submission. Carlton obviously was prepared mentally to take a battering - much more expectant than in its second semi final loss to absorb the punishment and keep playing. Richmond has to look at this philosophy a little. The Tigers have players with great skill and it's difficult to exercise this skill if expected to behave like a Kamikaze pilot. Aggression and intensity are powerful weapons, I admit, but, somehow, the Tigers got confused in their match tactics and spent too much time head-hunting instead of ball-hunting. It is interesting to note that their best players were those that were intense in their pursuit of the skills - Rioli, Weightman and Raines. Those players still tackled hard and skillfully, still attacked the ball with the ferocity deserving of the Grand Final occasion, but were not greatly interested in trying to crunch opponents. Too many of Carlton's goals came from errors, mistakes that could be avoided with perhaps more emphasis on skills under pressure. Carlton was able to do it under pressure. The Blues absorbed the shock waves and then continued to play their own particular style of game with the emphasis on accurate disposal with both hand and foot. David Parkin must take enormous credit for his role in preparation of his side. His players were psychologically tuned. They relished the physical contact when it was imminent and they were totally disciplined in the tagging of dangerous Tigers and in adhering to their game plan. Wayne Johnston played a really fabulous game and I thought and with respect to Richmond's Maurice Rioli, I felt that he was easily the best man on the ground. His first goal in the first minute was inspiring stuff and he simply oozed vitality, exuberance, toughness and leadership qualities from that time forward. Absolute endeavour is, perhaps, what I would call it, almost superhuman efforts to get his hands on the ball at every contest. He tackled brilliantly, knocked the ball out to team-mates, handballed smartly and, generally, seems to have the ability to rise to the occassion of a big game. To labor the point, his approach in attacking the football with ferocity, was in contrast to many of the Richmond players who tried to jar the ball loose and then get it, rather than attack it first. - Barry Richardson Inside Football''

''Fitzpatrick Inspirational
For the second year in a row, Carlton Captain, Mike Fitzpatrick, led by example in the battle for the flag. Fitzy saves some of his best performances for big occasions and showed the way against Richmond in the Grand Final with fantastic leadership for his team-mates to follow. His work on the forward line and in the ruck was really strong and it was a shame that he had to leave the field in the final term. Perhaps it was Fitzpatrick's example which enabled some of his smaller team-mates to withstand Richmond's physical approach in the first half. He is not the sort of person to put up with any nonsense from the opposition and is quick to remonstrate with opponents who want to go the knuckle on the Carlton small men. - Doug Wade Inside Football.''

''Ken Hunter Raw Courage
Talk about raw courage and you're talking about Ken Hunter. This superb player has had two fantastic seasons with Carlton and has been an enormous bonus, with his high marking, super judgement and excellent blanketing skills in defence. But the thing I admire most about Hunter is the way he takes the knocks to the head and still comes back to give everything he has in an effort for victory. In the Grand Final, Hunter was elbowed in the head and had to leave the ground, dazed by the blow. He came back on later and resumed playing a great game for Carlton, despite a couple more heavy tackles during the afternoon. - Doug Wade Inside Football.''

''Carlton a Class above the Rest!
As coach of a rival League club, I couldn't help but be impressed with Saturday's fiercely contested Grand Final between Carlton and Richmond. It's the goal which all teams strive for during the course of a season and Saturday's display by both sides showed just how important an occasion that one day in September is. Full marks to Carlton. The Blues had a tremendous season, culminating in Saturday's marvellous Grand Final victory. Afer last year's Grand Final, I wrote in this column that Carlton's small to medium sized players were the key to its success. Well, 12 months later, nothing's changed. Carlton has assembled the best runners in the business and it's now up to the other 11 League clubs to come up with something that can knock the Blues off top perch. I'm still not convinced that Richmond hasn't the players or the type of game to do it. Conditions on Saturday certainly were in favour of Carlton and hindered Richmond. The Tigers have awesome marking strength but the rain cut them right down to size in that department. That's not to say Carlton wouldn't have won no matter what the conditions but I believe dry weather would have helped Richmond more. Few teams have managed back-to-back premierships in VFL history, so Carlton can be well please with its achievement. Already, coach David Parkin is trying to rev up his players for the tough task of completing the nat-trick next year. Winning consecutive flags is hard enough - three-in-a-row is going to be even tougher for the Blues. The Carlton players know exactly what's required to win a premiership and the prospect of a premiership hat-trick should act as quite a spur. It will be up to other clubs to work even harder over the summer to come up with the right formula to beat the Blues. - Barry Cable Inside Football.''

''Ken Hunter a big game performer
For the second year running Carlton's Ken Hunter certainly made his presence felt in Saturday's Grand Final. Hunter copped a real beauty early on and was forced to leave the field but, in typically courageous fashion, returned later to become one of Carlton's best players. In just two seasons of VFL football, Hunter has achieved plenty. He's played in two Carlron premiership sides and earned a reputation for consistently producing top class football in the toughest of situations with his fearless attack on the football. - Barry Cable Inside Football''

Team

B:	27 Des English	6 Mario Bortolotto	15 Val Perovic
HB:	33 Peter McConville	11 Bruce Doull	9 Ken Hunter
C:	37 Wayne Harmes	16 Jim Buckley	32 David Glascott
HF:	7 Wayne Johnston	36 Mark Maclure	14 Rod Ashman
F:	3 Mike Fitzpatrick (c)	8 Ross Ditchburn	34 Alex Marcou
Ruck:	2 Warren 'Wow' Jones	13 Phil Maylin	5 Ken Sheldon
Int:	4 Peter Bosustow	22 Robbert Klomp
Coach:	David Parkin