In late August of 1978, 11,000 spectators gathered at Melbourne's iconic Junction Oval to watch the Fitzroy Lions take on the Richmond Tigers.

For Richmond, it was a do or die match. A victory over the Lions was necessary for any chance at making the finals.

Three straight losses had seen the Tigers fall from fifth to seventh, but the Lions were not keen on cutting them any slack.

Richmond came out firing and built a 45-point lead over Fitzroy at the first change. 

A stronger second term from the Lions kept the Tigers goalless, and by the end of the third, the Lions trailed by a mere seven points.

Fitzroy's John Frazer, relatively unknown to fans at the time - having only played four games for the Club, was amongst the best performers on ground

The 22-year-old was vital to his team's final quarter fightback, booting a career-best nine goals.

Remarkably, Frazer wouldn't kick another goal for the Lions and only played two more career matches. 

Seven goals in the final term to the Tiger's three saw the Lions triumphant.

The 17-point victory went down as one of Fitzroy's greatest ever comeback wins!