In 1982, as in ’72, Carlton readied for Richmond and a Grand Final as rank underdog. The contest would pit the home and away’s third-placed team with the minor premier in what was the fourth encounter involving the much-reviled opponents.

The two home and aways were won by Carlton in the lead-up, while the second-semi went Struggletown’s way, and the latter result weighed heavily on the minds of Fitzpatrick and co. As the team’s then rover Rod Ashman remembered: “No scribe, no reporter, no columnist, no expert selected Carlton to win. Everybody selected Richmond and so they should have, because they took care of us in the second semi . . . ”

That the Carlton captain just happened to be a Rhodes Scholar was handy in this instance, for here was a moment for clear thinking as another contemporary, Wayne Harmes, recently explained.

“There was a little bit of talk in the rooms prior to the game about how nervous everybody was. It was based on a view that while we believed we could match them, we weren’t quite sure if we could beat them,” said Harmes, whose second-half shut down of Kevin Bartlett was pivotal to the result.

“Then someone (Fitzpatrick) called the group together and said ‘If we can have ten of the hardest minutes we can either break them or we’re (expletive deleted) . . . there are two options’. So we threw caution to the wind, and ‘Ashy’ kicked a goal, ‘Johnno’ (Wayne Johnston) got one and I got one . . . and we got an 18-point jump which ended up the final margin.”

The final scoreline - 14.19 (103) to 12.13 (85) - reflected a tight, hard-fought struggle, which briefly descended into farce with Helen D’Amico’s third quarter cameo in the buff.

The win afforded Carlton back-to-back flags - three in four years - under the watch of David Parkin, and consigned 20 young men to Carlton history.

“I reckon the 1982 Grand Final wasn’t recognized for what it was - it was a game which had everything,” Ashman said. “I thought it was a fantastic game in terms of the skills and abilities of footballers and the competitiveness, and it annoys me a bit that it hasn’t been recognized for that.”