Geelong champion and former Cats captain Michael Turner says beating eventual premiers Richmond in front a packed MCG in 1980 was the greatest thrill of his playing career.
“We’re were pretty close to the top of the ladder and we played a game against Richmond about a month before the finals and of course they went on to win the premiership in 1980,” Turner told This Is Your Sporting Life.
“It was in front of 90,000 at the MCG, we had a good game Geelong and got up and won, that’s probably a great memory for me.
“Geelong won, we beat Richmond in front of 90,000 which was a big thrill and I got the votes that day, so it was a great day for us.”
Turner is adamant that if the Cats had a dominant forward in their side, they would have had more success during his time at the club, which spanned from 1974 to 1988.
“In that era we didn’t have a lot of success,” Turner added.
“Geelong didn’t play in a lot of finals, but we did have a good year in 1980 when Billy Goggin coached us.
“We had a fantastic team, but we didn’t have a great forward line, and I’m not knocking anyone, but if we had one Gary Ablett, one Barry Stoneham or one Billy Brownless, I think we might have won the premiership.”
A star midfielder in his pomp, Turner played 245 games for the blue and white hoops, booting 285 goals and earning selection on the wing in Geelong’s Team of Century.
He was also named in the All-Australian side in 1979 and skippered the Cats from 1984 until 1986.
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Listen to Michael Turner’s chat on This is Your Sporting Life with Peter Donegan in the player below