Richmond footballer Shane Edwards says 200-game milestone has crept up on himReece Homfray,
The Advertiser
28 July 2017THERE’S been a common theme to the text messages Shane Edwards has been getting as he approaches a significant AFL milestone on Saturday night.
Low-profile and unassuming yet so highly regarded internally at Tigerland, the boy from Adelaide’s north-east plays his 200th game on the Gold Coast which he admits has crept up on even him.
“I’ve had a lot of people tell me they can’t really believe I’ve played 200 games, and I can’t believe it either,” he said yesterday.
“Most of my teammates to start with, mates back home in Adelaide and some family in Darwin who have sent me some messages.
“I think they think I’m a fair bit younger than what I am (28).
“I’ve been at Richmond for 11 years now and it probably feels like five or six for most people, having started so early.
“I played a lot of games early in my career when the club was a different place, so that also helps.”
Tigerland was a different place when Edwards was drafted from North Adelaide in 2006 and he has seen it evolve.
“When I first started it was under Terry Wallace and we’re not even in the same clubrooms,” he said.
“We were old and down the bottom so they played me just to play some youth, and I know that definitely helped me early on to get a fair few games.
“Ever since Dimma (Damien Hardwick) came to Richmond we’ve really had some direction, it’s fairly obvious what we’re trying to achieve, we’re trying to play a certain way and you really know what we want out of the season, where we’re heading and what the next year has to look like.
“That helps me a lot because I know exactly what I have to do out there and I’m sure that’s kept me reasonably consistent over the last few years.”
During the week his teammates were asked what they thought of Edwards and described him as “Benjamin Button” with freakish skills who made everyone around him a better person and footballer.
When the Tigers play the Gold Coast tonight, Edwards will become Richmond’s 27th 200-game player and the club’s first indigenous player to reach the milestone.
He is very proud of his indigenous heritage on his mum’s side whose family comes from Titjikala, a community 100km south east of Alice Springs.
“We’ve got a rich history of indigenous players (at Richmond), especially the late Maurice Rioli, and I’m sure someone like Daniel Rioli who’s playing now and Shai Bolton who has just been drafted they look nothing short of 200 game players that’s for sure,” Edwards said.
“I’m much older than what they are, Nathan Drummond is the second oldest (indigenous player on the list) and he’s 20, so I feel a bit like a father figure to them.
“But it’s nice when they’re surprised at how old I actually am, so I’m doing a good job of blending in.”
Edwards was partly behind a move across the AFL in indigenous round this year to trade his normal guernsey number for 67 to commemorate 50 years since the 1967 referendum.
He said it came about after a discussion with Aaron Clark who is the director of Richmond’s Korin Gamadji Institute.
“He blurted out the idea and I was an absolute wrap for it, and eventually as the game got closer there was some media and other clubs were doing it which was awesome,” he said.
Edwards grew up in Golden Grove where he played for the Kookaburras before joining North Adelaide in the SANFL and said he was honoured to play 200 games with the one club.
“You have to be so lucky and have so much support to make it this far in your career, and I’ve just been really lucky,” he said.
“I think only Jack Riewoldt has played 200 games at our club at the moment so we’ve got a pretty short list there. We have guys from other clubs but not many who have just stayed at Richmond.
“I”m sure when I finish I’ll look back and really cherish it, but you know what the season’s like, you’re drilled into taking everything one week at a time and every single game is only worth four points.
“At the moment I’m not building it up too much but I’m sure when I finish I’ll be really grateful.”
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl/more-news/richmond-footballer-shane-edwards-says-200game-milestone-has-crept-up-on-him/news-story/f85317508ac7fc7552420cda0cd58787
