Matthew Richardson

[Skeptic]

was Richo losing the plot that big a deal?

there was the very public, very famous crack the shits vs Carlton was it? And he got dropped after that.

don’t recall it being too much of a thing beyond that though. I wonder if it’s a case of that incident being more memorable then it deserves

 

[dean33]

was Richo losing the plot that big a deal?

there was the very public, very famous crack the shits vs Carlton was it? And he got dropped after that.

don’t recall it being too much of a thing beyond that though. I wonder if it’s a case of that incident being more memorable then it deserves

Cracked it on occasion during the middle of his career however that’s why we loved him. It was like he showed the frustrations of us supporters out on the ground, was a flawed genius and while not as complete a player as carey he was still a superstar. Would have kicked over 1000 goals in a better team.

 

[Madison]

If comparing as CHF it is not close and Tredrea would be ahead. Richardson was never an All Australian FF or CHF. Tredrea was a 4 time AA CHF.

Yeah but weight is given usually to where a team finishes. And Port were a far better side over the journey than Richmond.

He was a three time AA in an era where we made finals twice. You look at finals teams and they are always well represented (which makes sense) but I think individual seasons sometimes get overlooked for a good player in a better team.

I know from Richmond specifically Deledio was very stiff on one if not two occasions. One year he was left out for Harry O (I’m guessing it was 2010) when he had a much better year but we didn’t make finals and they finished on top.

Anyway, my point is Tredrea is an absolute gun but Richo playing almost his entire career in a bottom 6 team makes individual performance that much harder.

 

[Bazzar]

His dummy spit in the dying minutes of the '07 Dreamtime game was the stuff of legends

 

[gavaniacono]

Unpopular Opinion Alert:
I always thought Richo was a potential gun but his temperament let him down. I even felt at times he was emblematic of the problems at RFC. As a fan he caused me many a blush. RFC was mostly so crap in those days the club and fans made him more than what he was. Acceptance of mediocrity and flawed player.
I also thought his AFL award recently was a consolation prize for a club down and out.

 

[Ron The Bear]

Unpopular Opinion Alert:
I always thought Richo was a potential gun but his temperament let him down. I even felt at times he was emblematic of the problems at RFC. As a fan he caused me many a blush. RFC was mostly so crap in those days the club and fans made him more than what he was. Acceptance of mediocrity and flawed player.
I also thought his AFL award recently was a consolation prize for a club down and out.

He wasn't blessed with a champion's temperament and it resulted in him being less consistent than he otherwise might have been. Over the last third of his career it mostly evened out.

Yeah he was flawed but I think in one sense the Richmond supporters who took a set against him when we were at a low ebb, then jumped back aboard during the "everyone loves Richo" final phase of his career, are worse than the neutrals who criticised without having any insight.

Which AFL award are you referring to? The Hall of Fame induction?

 

[Tiger2709]

Was he one of the top 10 forwards to ever play the game?

800 goals, more goals at the G than any other player and played a few years on the wing currently 11th on the list of all time goal kickers.

Top 10 is hard to say but certainly one of the greats, injury probably robbed him of a certain top 10 position.

 

[Ron The Bear]

 

[Frank Gallagher]

Wayne Campbell may have played soft (also very smart) footy for at the start of his career, but his back half was not soft at all. Became quite an in and under footballer and deserve his 4 best and fairest and 2 All Australian honours. Misunderstood and under-rated player.

He was a squib, seen him go half hearted more times than i care to remember.

 

[juss]

Yes he was. In a good team he have kicked over 900, if he could kick straight hed have over 1000.

His athelticism and contested marking was phenomenal.

 

[dean33]

His dummy spit in the dying minutes of the '07 Dreamtime game was the stuff of legends

I think we all spat it at the same time, that was when the umps decided to interpret the new hands in the backrule against the great man costing us the game.

 

[juss]

Richo kept the Tiger Army alive during the late 90s and through the 2000s.
Hes one of the reasons members stuck fat to this day. He was the reason to watch the Tigers for many years.

 

[Grrr]

I saw Richo play live very early in his career & it was funny as ****, was running around forward 50 like an unco giraffe & struggled to get a touch, still cracks me up. But he could seriously play, some of his onfield behaviour did get a bit tiring tho.

Took a while to grow into his body agreed, but didn't take him long to get into the swing of AFL.

He was a squib, seen him go half hearted more times than i care to remember.

As I said he may have started that way, and things get ingrained in supporterd, even our own, but you don't win those accolades and play 297 games as a squib. Played much tougher than people think. Was very crafty though, and perhaps knew when to go and when not. I've seen a lot of players not knowing when to go and getting ironed out needlessly for their trouble.

 

[Bazzar]

Richo kept the Tiger Army alive during the late 90s and through the 2000s.
Hes one of the reasons members stuck fat to this day. He was the reason to watch the Tigers for many years.

The massive Richo, Richo, Richo chant that went up at the start of this years GF was a testament to that.

 

[gavaniacono]

He wasn't blessed with a champion's temperament and it resulted in him being less consistent than he otherwise might have been. Over the last third of his career it mostly evened out.

Yeah he was flawed but I think in one sense the Richmond supporters who took a set against him when we were at a low ebb, then jumped back aboard during the "everyone loves Richo" final phase of his career, are worse than the neutrals who criticised without having any insight.

Which AFL award are you referring to? The Hall of Fame induction?

Matthew isn't even our best Richardson.

 

[ThaiTiger]

Nestled right in between Peter Czerkaski and David Honeybunn.

Peter Czerkaski was my big brother at school when I started in Grade 4 at De La Salle College and he was doing year 12. He was assigned to be my mentor and was meant to read to me and do activities etc but all he wanted to do was kick the footy. I thought he was pretty awesome and I used to watch him playing for the Tigers but he was ordinary at the top level. Great player for Sandringham in the VFA later and named in their team of the century.

 

[darklake]

Exaggeration. If he'd had e.g. Josh Kennedy's conversion rate he'd have kicked ~860 instead of 800.

As are the examples of him cracking the shits. He did it a few times, it was a poor look and he was once dropped for it. But mostly he just tried his guts out.

Went out on top with 31 Brownlow votes from his last 28 games. No other retiring player is even in the same ballpark.

I wanted him to win the Brownlow the
year that Cooney did!

 

[Leather Poisoning]

There are a few players that seemed to be AA by default. Pavlich and Ricciuto, both awesome players, but seemed to get accolades beyond their worth.

 

[Run n Spread]

There are a few players that seemed to be AA by default. Pavlich and Ricciuto, both awesome players, but seemed to get accolades beyond their worth.

Raise you Jonno Brown and Voss.

Riccuito> Voss
Pav>Brown

 

[King_Steele]

Raise you Jonno Brown and Voss.

Riccuito> Voss
Pav>Brown

Pav was very underrated. AA’s in multiple positions.

One of my favourite players to watch in his prime. That 2012 final against Geelong was something else!

 

[Natho]

He was an absolute gun.

 

[Ron The Bear]

Matthew isn't even our best Richardson.

Barry? I'll let you make a case if you want as I didn't see him play.

 

[guruisatiger]

Was he really one of Richmond's top 10? While he was one of the game's most gifted athletes ever, the problem was his temperament and vitriolic behavior. He may have actually failed to live up to his true potential, as he could have accomplished even more if he had a better head on his shoulders. His career was a whirlwind of injuries, miraculous play, petulant behavior and atrocious kicking.

how many games did you see richo play live???

 

[gavaniacono]

Barry? I'll let you make a case if you want as I didn't see him play.

Yes, Barry. Bones they called him. Very very good tall utility played in 3 flags. Saved many a goal in GFs and finals backing into packs to take marks. Could score goals too. Brought an academic mindset to the club and was oft not noted due to the stars that surrounded him. He was a very good big game player and crucially, played to team rules and handled pressure.

 

[guruisatiger]

I seem to recall much of Richardson's early career being at full forward. Yet I continually see him getting rated against CHFs.

Am I remembering this incorrectly?

Yes