Richo enjoys final laugh
Jon Ralph | March 24, 2008
RICHMOND'S Matthew Richardson doesn't mind if people label him a court jester early in games, as long as they are calling him a match winner by the final siren.
Richardson had Carlton fans in stitches with his two early misses on Thursday from regulation range.
Then his aborted attempt to handball from a set shot saw him forced to play on, as he somehow squeezed through a bizarre long goal.
But as Carlton's Brendan Fevola faded from the game after a bright start, Richardson's star burnt brightly as he kicked five goals without another behind in the Tigers' 30-point win.
Coach Terry Wallace knows Richardson's flawed kicking technique will see him miss some shots: that is part of his veteran forward's package.
"It was pretty disappointing, those first two shots and the third one I nearly buggered it up," said Richardson, who turned 33 on Thursday.
"But it went through so I probably gained a bit of confidence out of that. More importantly I was able to win the ones in the last half which probably counted more.
''You want to kick them all, but you want to kick them when you need them.
"I was happy with the game. I got a bit tired towards the end but I couldn't have expected too much more."
While Richardson was very much aware it was only the start of a long journey, he said it was rich reward for Richmond after a summer where the club was intent on winning back respect.
"It was a long wait but we have stuck pretty solid in the pre-season," he said.
"The boys are a solid group and we all get along and we all have the same vision and direction and it was a long time coming, so it is good to get it out of the way.
"We are coming off a bad year and the young guys need to get confidence and hopefully that helps them."
Richardson's emotional victory celebrations said much about his frame of mind.
Teammates say the five-goal hero is not only in supreme physical shape, but playing angry this year after so little team success in his career.
"We had a tough year last year and when you are down people want to knock you and bag you and they have done that all pre-season and that's fair enough," Richardson said.
'We performed very ordinarily last year and you can't expect people to pump you up but in saying that, it is nice to win and feel good about your footy."
Richardson was not the only Tiger to start poorly then play a key role late. Richard Tambling, Jordan McMahon, Nathan Brown, Daniel Jackson, Andrew Raines and Will Thursfield all finished noticeably stronger.
"A lot of guys didn't go well early but they stuck to their job and luckily enough came good. Richard (Tambling) kicked a great goal towards the end which probably sealed the game. If you stick at it you can turn your form around within the game."
The Tigers now face the Kangaroos with an extra four days break in Round 2, which gives them an ideal chance to get away to a fast start.
"It's a big break. You don't get many of those during the season so we will make the most of that," he said.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,23420659-19742,00.html
