1981 Escort Cup Round 3
Richmond vs Melbourne
Saturday 21 March
Venue: Waverley
Attendance: 12,951
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Richmond | 2.0 | 5.2 | 9.4 | 13.8.86 |
| Melbourne | 0.3 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 7.10.52 |
Richmond win by 34 points
Goalkickers: Kelly O'Donnell 3, Robert Flower 2, Michael Seddon 1, Andrew Moir 1
Melbourne had beaten Footscray in round 1 of the Escort Cup, and their reward was a clash with the reigning premier.
The match sprung to life when Brent Crosswell flattened Dale Weightman after the rover had kicked a goal. The big hit sparked a melee in which Crosswell was reported for striking Bruce Tempany. He was later suspended for two weeks for the strike on Tempany. At the tribunal, players' advocate Brian O'Shaughnessy did his best to get Crosswell off, asking "when Tempany ran at you he was not exactly picking flowers on the way, was he?"
After the brawl Richmond kicked three goals in fifteen minutes to take a 22 point lead into the last change. However the rage was only maintained as far as the break and the Demons hit back in the last through youngers Andrew Moir and Kelly O'Donnell. With ten minutes to go they were within eight points, but that was the motivation needed for the Tigers to draw away.
Best were Fowler, Moir and Healy. Vin Catoggio suffered a pulled hamstring, Wayne Gordon a strained calf and Peter Giles a bruised elbow.
Lists
Tribunal
Notes
Round 2 was a qualifying round, Melbourne was not involved.
Media
Age - 23/03/1981
Age - 24/03/1981
Inside Football - 26/03/1981
Inside Football - 02/04/1981
Links
hardballget.net