Matthew Richardson (footballer)

Matthew Richardson
Personal information
Full name	Matthew Richardson
Nickname(s)	Richo, Richo Man
Date of birth	19 March 1975 (1975-03-19) (age 36)
Place of birth	Devonport, Tasmania
Original team	Devonport (TFL)
Draft	Father-Son Selection, 1992 Richmond
Height/Weight	197 cm / 103 kg
Position(s)	Forward
Club information
Current club	Richmond
Number	12
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1993-2009	Richmond	282 (800)
Representative team honours
Years	Team	Games (Goals)
1993 2008	Tasmania The Allies Dream Team	1 (?) 2 (?) 1 (1)
International team honours
1999	Australia	2 (1)
1 Playing statistics to end of R3 2009 season .
Career highlights
AFL AFL Rising Star Nominee (1993) All Australian (1996, 1999, 2008) Alex Jesaulenko Medal 1996 International Rules 1999 Tasmanian State of Origin Representative 1993 Dream Team Representative 2008 Third In 2008 Brownlow Medal [Polled 22 votes] AFL Life Membership 2009 Richmond Club Leading Goalkicker (1994, 1996, 1997, 1998 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008) Richmond Team Of The Century Richmond Life Membership 2002 Richmond Best And Fairest 2007 Other Tasmanian Team of the Century

Matthew "Richo" Richardson (born 19 March 1975 in Devonport, Tasmania), is a retired professional Australian rules footballer who played for Richmond in the Australian Football League. He was the club's key forward through the late 1990s and the 2000s, the club's leading goalscorer thirteen times and has been selected in the All Australian team in 1996, 1999 and 2008.

He has the second most goals in the history of the Richmond Football Club and the eleventh most goals in the history of the VFL/AFL competition. He was regarded by many as one of the greatest players of the modern era because of his marking prowess, speed and stamina. Richardson was one of the most popular players in the competition, this was shown when the crowd at the 2008 brownlow medal cheered every vote he got. Mark Robinson from the Herald Sun wrote "M. Richardson... I'm sure there wouldn't have been a more popular winner".^[1]

Career

Educated at St. Brendan-Shaw and Don Colleges in Devonport, Tasmania, Richardson was the fourth pick (a father-son selection) in the 1992 AFL Draft, and was recruited from Devonport, Tasmania. He is the son of former Richmond and South Melbourne player Alan "Bull" Richardson. Combining a 196-centimetre frame with exceptional speed and athletic capacity for a large man, on his day he has been a dominant presence for the Tigers. He suffered a serious knee injury (torn left ACL) in a collision with the fence in Round 9, 1995 vs Sydney at the SCG and missed the rest of the season after reconstructive surgery on his knee, including the Tigers' finals series. In 1996 he came back strongly, playing all 22 games and finished with 91 goals (49 behinds), earning All Australian selection for the first time. He sustained another knee injury in the pre-season of 2001, but recovered to play 22 games and kick 59 goals.

In 2004, a decision to step back involvement in the Tigers' "leadership group" (the small group of senior players who help lead the club on and off-field) and focus on additional strength training paid off, with a flurry of goals in the early part of the season including a career best 10 against the Western Bulldogs. His 10th goal in that game was a spectacular snap from 30 meters out on his left foot that sent the crowd into a frenzy. However this was to be Richmond's last win of the year as they lost their next 15 games in a row. Richardson finished with a tally of 65 goals for the season.

In 2005 under the coaching of Terry Wallace he kicked 65 goals again, this time with much more consistency throughout the season.

In 2007, in a match against the Essendon Football Club, 'Richo' earned the widespread respect of the football community by playing the game with a fractured eye socket and broken nose sustained only a week before. He still managed to kick four goals, and what appeared to be a match-winning fifth until the umpire awarded a controversial free kick against him.

In the same year, he won his first ever club best-and-fairest, beating young gun Nathan Foley by a single vote.

Richardson is currently ranked second in the AFL for the most marks ever taken in recorded history (recorded since 1987), sitting on 2249 behind Stewart Loewe who has 2316.

In 2008 he passed the career goal-kicking tallies of Saverio Rocca (Collingwood/North Melbourne, 748) and Kevin Bartlett (Richmond, 778) to become the league's eleventh-most prolific goal-scorer of all time. After 282 games, he has booted 800 career goals and 551 behinds and has taken 2,210 marks. Richardson currently holds the record for the most goals kicked at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.^[2] He spent a large part of the season playing on the wing, rather than in the forward line, which allowed him to have a much larger part in the play than ever before. Although he did not win the club best-and-fairest, he was selected on the bench in the All-Australian team and finished third in the Brownlow Medal.

Playing in Richmond's first win of 2009, Richardson came off the ground in the first quarter, complaining of Glute soreness. He went back on in 3rd quarter but struggled, came off, for the rest of the match. In round six, against Sydney, Richardson, after kicking his 800th career goal, partially tore his hamstring of the bone; he missed the remainder of the season, and the injury would ultimately lead to his retirement at the end of the 2009 season. Richardson played his 300th overall senior game during 2009 (including pre-season games), earning AFL life membership.

Richardson is a character who probably generates more debate amongst football experts and fans than any other in the modern era.^{[citation needed]} As a player, he is known for his work ethic, stamina, courage and excellent marking prowess (particularly for contested marks), but also for his poor accuracy in front of goal. Some experts^[who?] believe he has underachieved for his abilities, while others^[who?] believe his record has suffered primarily from playing in an era of weak Richmond teams as well as sustaining serious knee injuries.

Richardson is also known for the high level of emotion he displays on the field. Throughout the early and middle stages of his career, he was heavily criticised for his negative demeanour and his tendency to berate, rather than support, his teammates when they made errors.^{[citation needed]} In the latter stages of his career, he has developed to be a much more supportive teammate, but still showcases very visible emotions which endear his fans and amuse his detractors.^{[citation needed]} In November 2009 Richardson announced his retirement.^[3] He got a rousing send-off in Round One of the 2010 season, appearing before the match in Richmond's season opener against Carlton, but the Tigers were unfortunately smashed by the Blues.

Statistics

Statistics are correct as of round 6, season 2009

Season	Team	No.	Games	Goals	Behinds	Kicks	Marks	Handballs	Disposals	Tackles	Hit Outs	Brownlow Votes
1993	Richmond	12	14	32	24	112	92	53	185	5	0	2
1994	Richmond	12	19	56	40	153	108	32	185	4	1	5
1995	Richmond	12	9	27	3	94	60	21	115	6	0	6
1996	Richmond	12	22	91	49	154	177	77	331	6	1	13
1997	Richmond	12	19	47	35	197	148	49	246	8	4	9
1998	Richmond	12	16	55	41	158	113	48	199	9	2	2
1999	Richmond	12	20	67	41	247	172	75	322	5	6	16
2000	Richmond	12	3	13	8	41	29	9	50	0	0	1
2001	Richmond	12	22	56	36	249	182	54	303	9	8	9
2002	Richmond	12	13	36	21	126	91	26	152	7	7	12
2003	Richmond	12	19	33	34	215	173	77	292	11	25	4
2004	Richmond	12	18	65	50	188	130	44	232	10	1	10
2005	Richmond	12	22	65	46	147	166	49	296	13	1	7
2006	Richmond	12	18	45	40	202	150	67	269	13	9	10
2007	Richmond	12	22	53	40	261	197	72	333	14	18	6
2008	Richmond	12	20	48	30	262	222	102	364	11	3	22
2009	Richmond	12	6	9	13	76	60	31	107	3	3	6
Totals			282	800	551	3058	2249	871	3929	132	88	140

Achievements & Honours

AFL

• AFL Rising Star Nominee (1993)
• All Australian (1996, 1999, 2008)
• Alex Jesaulenko Medal (1996)
• International Rules (1999)
• Tasmanian State of Origin Representative (1993)
• Dream Team Representative (2008)
• Third in 2008 Brownlow Medal [Polled 22 votes]
• AFL Life Membership 2009

Richmond

• Richmond Leading Goalkicker (1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
• Richmond Team of the Century (Half-forward flank)
• Richmond Life Membership 2002
• Richmond Best and Fairest (2007)
• 100 Tiger Treasures "The Strong & the Bold" Nominee (2008)
• 100 Tiger Treasures "Brave Act of the Century" Nominee (2008)
• 100 Tiger Treasures "Mark of the Century" Nominee (2008)

Other

• Tasmanian Team of the Century (Interchange Bench)
• Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame - Inducted 2005 Legend Status -2010

Personal life

His sister, Samantha, is married to retired Hawthorn, Bulldogs and Kangaroos footballer Jade Rawlings, who also coached Richardson when he was the caretaker coach for Richmond for the second half of the 2009 season, albeit while Richardson was out injured.

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ AFL Tables - M.C.G
3. ^ http://www.contestedfooty.com/2009/11/matthew-richardson-retires.html

External links

• Matthew Richardson (footballer)'s profile on the Official AFL Website of the Richmond Football Club
• Matthew Richardson (footballer)'s statistics from AFL Tables
• Feature story from 2005 on Matthew Richardson at the Yellow and Black Supporters Forum and Website

Further reading

Richardson, Matthew; Flanagan, Martin (2010). Richo. Random House Australia. ISBN 978-1-74166-972-5

Awards
Preceded by Ryan O'Connor	Alex Jesaulenko Medal 1996	Succeeded by Nathan Buckley
Preceded by Kane Johnson	Jack Dyer Medal 2007	Succeeded by Brett Deledio

Persondata
Name	Richardson, Matthew
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	19 March 1975
Place of birth	Devonport, Tasmania
Date of death
Place of death