Round 16, 1972
Melbourne vs Richmond
Saturday 22 July
Venue: MCG
Attendance: 32,416
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 4.8 | 6.12 | 7.15 | 11.18.84 |
| Richmond | 3.1 | 8.3 | 14.5 | 19.9.123 |
Richmond win by 39 points
Goalkickers: Greg Parke 5, Paul Callery 2, Laurie Queay 2, Graham Osborne 1
Milestones:
First game and first goal
Laurie Queay
50 Games
Peter Keenan
A loss to Collingwood the week before had all but ended the Demons finals hopes, and second placed Richmond ended them for good at the MCG with their 13th win in 14 games against Melbourne.
While Royce Hart and Ian Stewart were beaten comfortably by Gary Hardeman and Mike Collins respectively, 32-year-old Tigers captain Roger Dean was dominant. Melbourne had given away the advantage by kicking just four goals from 12 scoring shots in the first quarter and when their rucks let them down Richmond swooped in to win comfortably and sure up second place on the table.
Best were Hardeman, Wells and Alves. Letcher (bruised leg) was replaced by Osborne in the last quarter. Henry Ritterman was an used reserve.
Reserves
Richmond 10.20 d. Melbourne 11.9
Goals - Walker 3, Dillon 2, Williamson 2, Yeo 2, McSperrin 1, Tilbrook 1
Best - Clark, Dilnot, Delmenico
Under 19s
Richmond 10.16 d. Melbourne 9.13
Goals - G. Macdonald 3, Perrett 2, McLean 1, Manson 1, Peters 1, Slade 1
Best - Watts, Boyce, Potter
Media
Age - 24/07/1972
Inside Football - 29/07/1972
Football Record R17 1972