Matthew Richardson on BOB: Former Tiger opens up on famous dummy spitsAugust 8, 2018
by Matt Balmer
FOX SPORTSRICHMOND great Matthew Richardson has opened up on his famous dummy spits, explaining how he was often “embarrassed” by viewing his actions on replay.
The Tigers champion played 282 AFL games and was Richmond’s leading goalkicker on 13 occasions throughout his career.
In a wide-raging interview on Fox Footy’s BOB with former Bulldog Robert Murphy, Richardson said he only begun to take control of his emotions towards the back-end of his career.
“I couldn’t really get a hand on my emotions until probably I turned 30, so I was a late-developer,” Richardson said.
“Probably in my last four or five years, I felt like I harnessed this energy. I needed to be on edge to play well. I felt like I played best when I was on edge and sometimes it boiled over.
“The only thing sometimes that I felt a bit maligned with was sometimes I was taking that emotion out on myself. I did do it towards my teammates clearly, but sometimes I was just angry at myself and people thought that was directed at teammates. But I understand why it didn’t look right.”
One of Richardson’s most famous dummy spits occurred in Round 14 2002, when he eyeballed youngster David Rodan after he fumbled a handball when the star forward was alone in the goalsquare.
The incident saw Richardson dropped to the VFL for showing poor body language by coach Danny Frawley, with the Australian football Hall of Famer believing it was a wake-up call he needed.
“But the David Rodan one was the thing,” he said.
“I probably went over the top and it didn’t look good and I actually got dropped and it was the right thing to do. And that was probably the wake-up call I’d say.”
Richmond often played on Friday nights during Richardson’s career and Murphy suggested it was often the “Richo show”, because the game would’ve seen the forward “kick six (goals) or there would’ve been some kind of tantrum.”
Richardson spoke about how the opportunity to return home after Friday night games provided an opportunity to re-watch games that were delayed on television.
“I remember getting home on some of those Friday nights and talking about it, remember it (broadcast) was delayed by an hour and you’d get home and the broadcast is still going,” he said.
“I remember getting home and seeing highlights of me carrying on and I’d actually be embarrassed going ‘what was I thinking’?”
The Tigers great is 12th on the all-time goalkicking charts, having booted 800 goals during his AFL career.
And the 2007 Jack Dyer Medallist explained that Richmond’s drought-breaking premiership was “incredible” — suggesting he was “like a cat on a hot tin roof” during the Grand Final.
“It was just incredible, it was just surreal that whole back half of the year,” he said.
“The whole next few days, I went to Punt Rd on the Sunday and I was a nuffie. A complete nuffie supporter.
“It didn’t sink in for a few days, it didn’t seem real. I remember I had a beer on my own and I just started crying on my own. And that’s when it sank in and thought how good was this.”
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/matthew-richardson-on-bob-former-tiger-opens-up-on-famous-dummy-spits/news-story/5728e25a0a4562d3f1d79ddf1ddf8640
