"This will go down as one of the great Grand Finals. They'll be talking and writing about it for years." - Ron Barassi.
Blue Brilliance - The Story of the 1972 Grand Final Shootout.
There was no fiecer rivalry in the late 1960s and early 1970s than that between Carlton and Richmond. It was brilliant, it was brutal, and above all it was memorable, as two teams stacked with talent strove to become the greatest in the VFL.
Between 1967 and 1974, the 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 captain-coach John Nicholls was the mastermind of a plan of all-out attack which stunned Tom Hafey's team and secured a famous premiership. Blue Brilliance delves into Nicholl's secret strategy that saw the Blues kick 28 goals to Richmond's 25! The combined scores in that shootout (50.27) remain a Grand Final record. The following year, Richmond turned the tables, in a match renowed more for its violence than its skill.
Those Carlton teams coached by Nicholls (1972-75) and, before him, Ron Barassi (1965-71), rank among the finest in the League's history.
