Royce versus Richo
Tue 29 January, 2008
richmondfc.com.au
Back in August, 1996, Richmond ‘Immortal’ Kevin Bartlett wrote a fascinating piece in ‘Sports Weekly’ magazine, comparing his former teammate, the great Royce Hart, with the then rapidly-rising Tiger forward star, Matthew Richardson.
A dozen years on, Bartlett’s comparison of the two Tassie Tiger top-gun forwards makes for compelling reading, particularly given what ‘Richo’ has achieved during that time.
Here, in full, is KB’s article . . . “Matthew Richardson versus Royce Hart is one of those hypothetical match-ups that fascinates football fans because it matches a past great against a present-day star. Hart is the greatest forward in Richmond’s history, a member of the AFL’s Hall of Fame and can truly lay claim to being the best centre half-forward in the history of the game.
Richardson is the new kid on the block. In just four seasons he has captured public imagination with breathtaking marks, exhilarating runs and miracle goals. The fact both Hart and Richardson came from Tasmania to play for Richmond, plus the nice touch that Hart played in the Tigers’ 1967 premiership team with Richardson’s father, Alan (“Bull”), give the match-up a storybook feel. Hart, for the record, played 187 games, kicked 363 goals, won two club Best and Fairest awards, played in four premiership teams – ’67, ’69, ’73 and ’74, the last two as captain – and captained Victoria.
Hart never lacked confidence in his own ability and at just 22 wrote a book and named himself at centre half-forward in his best-ever team. The boy from Clarence, Tasmania, who moved to Tigerland for the princely sum of a new suit, six dress shirts and a pair of leather shoes in 1965, was ridiculed, but at the end of his brilliant career, was seen just to be honest in his appraisal.
Richardson is a Tiger star after just four seasons, with many admirers claiming him to be the best player in the game. If not yet, then it’s only a matter of time. Not even a major knee reconstruction last year has dimmed Richardson’s amazing ability to run and jump like few players before him. At the moment he is not as good as Hart, but he may in time be rated at least his equal, if not better.
Richardson at 195cm is 10cm taller than Hart and physically much bigger at 19kg heavier. Hart was quick, but the son of “Bull” has amazing acceleration for his size. Richardson is also a lot harder for the opposition to match up. The combination of size, speed and endurance puts Richardson in a class of his own. And when he uses his abilities, as he did for the Allies (six goals) against Victoria playing across the wing, half-forward and the goal square, he is unstoppable. There is not a player in the competition who can match up Richardson in all areas.
He appears to be restricted when playing as a true full-forward and often finds himself in pushing and shoving duels with the likes of Stephen Silvagni and Mick Martyn. But despite all of his flying aerial skills, Richardson does not yet have the marking genius of Hart.
Richardson drops a lot of marks whereas Hart had magnificent hands and could mark from all angles. His ability to float in from the side of a pack to take a grab has all similar marks today described as a “Royce Hart”.
Richmond built its premiership teams around the wonder boy from Clarence. Legendary Richmond coach Tom Hafey designed the team’s long kicking style around Hart’s freakish ability. A regular pre-game Hafey instruction was simply to kick the ball long in the direction of Royce, as quickly as possible, with the tag “and we’ll win the game”.
Hart was a magnificent kick with a textbook style. Richardson has worked hard on this facet of his game after being unreliable early in his career. He now is a good kick and his improvement in this area shows he is keen to learn. Success has not gone to his head and he is very self-effacing. At 21, he is maturing quickly and is very approachable.
Richardson is a more versatile player that Hart was, as he has the size and height of a mobile ruckman and it wouldn’t surprise to see him starring in that role. He could even play on a wing, being so quick and agile. At ground level, he hasn’t the surety of Hart, who was magnificent when the ball hit the ground. Also, Richardson has to work harder when the opposition has the ball, the “old” champ was a great chaser and tackler.
A sign of Hart’s greatness was that he played in an era when play was slower and he had to mark in pack conditions – and always had the opposition ruckman as a second opponent.”
http://www.richmondfc.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/6301/Default.aspx?newsId=54410
