The Trade That Nearly Killed The RFC
A 1975 transfer fee of almost $300,000 in today's money cost Richmond 30 years in the footy wilderness. The fee, paid by the Tigers for South Melbourne defender John Pitura, sparked player disharmony and a destructive trade war that almost sent the club to extinction. Former president Ian Wilson said the Pitura trade was "the biggest mistake in my time at Richmond" and admitted the Tigers powerbrokers, including board heavyweight Graeme Richmond, became "obsessed" with getting Pitura to Punt Rd.
After threatening to take the league to court, Pitura was eventually cleared in 1975. Wilson revealed the transfer fee was $40,000 - the equivalent of $292,000 today. The deal also cost the Tigers three players - popular clubman Brian Roberts, Graham Teasdale and Francis Jackson. Pitura played 40 games for Richmond while Teasdale went on to win a Brownlow Medal for the Swans. "It was a big mistake and I could see that a week after we let them go," former coach Tom Hafey said. Wilson shook his head when revealing the transfer fee. "Don't even talk to me about it, not many people know that. It was $40,000 and the three players... don't even go any further." He may have been an accomplished midfielder with polished skills and a precise left foot, but John Pitura was all about potential. Born to "soccer-mad" Polish parents in rugby-mad NSW, he'd hardly played any footy as a kid, but was still good enough to be signed by South Melbourne. But were they good enough to him? Pitura didn't think so, and his strained relationship with the board eventually saw him sit out most of the 1974 season and force a trade to Richmond in 1975 after 99 games with the Swans. To snare the up-and-coming superstar, the Tigers traded, well, an up-and-coming superstar: the future Brownlow Medallist Graeme Teasdale plus popular premiership ruckman Brian Roberts and defender Francis Jackson. Forty fairly dismal games later, Pitura left Richmond to coach in NSW. The club still has the scars of this one!
