Timmy "Like a Tiger" McGrath

Tim "Like A Tiger" McGrath scores the winning goalin his final game for Richmond.

"….the Tigers bomb the ball long into the forward line,… Richardson flies nigh for a speckie… Oh, crunch!! ….the ball spills loose the deck… there’s a scramble for the ball, in flies McGrath… he scoops up the ball, takes a bounce, and… full pelt from fifty metres out, he snaps and……speccciiaaalll!

He’s done it again! With 2 seconds left on the clock the Tiges have hit the front for the first time in the game and …there’s the siren! The Tigers have won it for Timmy. What a career, what a champion. The Tigers beat the Blues in the final game of 2002 in the battle for the Wooden Spoon, but more importantly they give their great Champion McGrath the send off he so deserves."

That was the final call on a magnificent career that spanned 13 years, 202 games, 10 B&F awards, 19 state games, 5 All Australian selections (2 as captain) and 1 little league premiership. On that "First Saturday in September" in 2002 the career of one of Richmond’s greatest came to a close.

From a very early age "Like a Tiger" Timmy showed exceptional promise as an AFL footy player. As a 13 year old, he was already playing Senior footy in the Shepperton League just near the family property. "Yeah, the farm was great to practice my footy skills. I used to always get out and tip a few cows at night, or tackle the sheep during the day… I loved the way the wool felt on my skin even back then".

Those days paid off for Timmy when a fortunate incident occurred in the winter of 1989. A Richmond scout, who happened to be lost, passed through Shepparton on a trip from Mildura to Melbourne and stumbled onto a cow paddock in Shepparton where Timmy was playing a game in the local league. "Like A Tiger" amassed a massive 45 possessions on that day and the rest, as they say, is history.

Timmy suited up for the Tiges the very next year and in his very first game as a 15 year old, lined up on one Gary "Gazza" Abblett. "Yeah, not the best way to start your career. I think I lined up on the back flank on Gazza. Unfortunately I got dragged at quarter time after the bastard had scored 8 on me in the first 20 minutes. He was a freak that man".Not the greatest start, but things were to change for "Like A Tiger" and it wasn’t long before he settled into the Ruck Rover position and quickly made it his own. Whilst in his 202 games he never seemed to master the art of the overhead grab, he became known for his ferocity around the packs and his dogged determination.

It wasn’t always roses and peaches though for the Tigers Champion. During his early years, the young buck was often dogged by personal scandals and controversies both on and off field including underage drinking and pot smoking before games. Few could forget the very public infamous post match bust up with Wayne Campbell as the players were leaving the MCG after the Tiges were bundled out of the 1995 final series. Rumour has it that Wayne had made a comment comparing his own long flowing locks to Timmy’s fast evaporating cranium hair. A comment which was answered with a couple of quick punches to Wayne’s head.

Despite those early indiscretions, it didn’t stop "Like ATiger" Timmy gaining a huge army of supporters down at Punt Road, that made him the undisputed club favourite. None more so than the famed Tigers Blue Rinse Brigade; the 20 or so "60-somethings" that always sit behind the Punt Road end goals at all Tigers MCG games. One of the squad, Phyllis Dyer, 64, of Bridge Road, Richmond recalls Timmy’s first game. "Boy was he a young little fella. He looked like he’d just set foot out of primary school. He was a terror though. He was diving into packs and getting into scapes right from the start. God only knows how his little body didn’t break in two in those early games". Phyllis’s next door neighbour, and equally ardent Richmond supporter, Glenda Evans, 62, was also there for Timmy’s first game and recalls his early days. "Oh, I tell you, right from the start all the girls loved him. The way he played, his "boy next door" looks. It was a pity he’d lost all his hair by the time he’d turned 20. Still…what a spunk !!"

It’s not just the fans that loved and respected the way he played and handled himself, but also his teammates and Tigers support staff. Tigers strapper of 45 years, Shane "Digger" Johnson remembers Timmy and in particular some of his nagging injuries. "He was a tough nut that Timmy. He had me strap a broken leg once so he could play in the 1995 final series. Damn near single handedly almost won us the premiership that year. I’ll never forget it….Loved his rub downs too. Would always ask for extended groin rubbings after each game…dunno why, said it got him excited…."

Fellow teammate Mathew Knights had nothing but praise for Timmy after his final game. "He was a true champion and great teammate. He was always there for the boys, even off the field. Whether it was helping you move house, picking your kids up from school,… even picking up the soap in the shower after one of the other boys had dropped it. They just couldn’t handle that slippery bugger…."

Timmy was as usual brief, but humble, in his final post match interview… "Look mate it’s been a great stint. The club’s been great, the players are a great bunch of blokes, and the supporters have been bloody fantastic, even those dero’s and bums who support the club and come to every bloody training session. It’s been a great run…."

And so ends the career of one of footy’s greatest. So when the Tiges hit the MCG for the first game of 2003, it will be hard for the supporters to accept that "Like A Tiger" will not be there. But he won’t be inactive. No, instead of being on the footy field, he’ll most likely be down at his farm on the Mornington Peninsula tending to his sheep, or giving one of his many cows a nice teat massage…

A poignant tribute from the Richmond Cheer Squad.