Matthew Richardson, this is your stage
Mark Robinson | May 10, 2008
MATTHEW Richardson is 33 and this time around he's king of the kids.
It was a different story 15 yeara ago for the Richmond champion.
In 1993, at 18, Richo was the kid looking goggle-eyed at his Tasmanian teammates as they prepared to take on Queensland in Hobart.
"I was lucky enough to get the call-up for Tassie the last time they played state footy, and I got to play with all the Tassie boys like 'Cressa' (Daryn Creswell), Paul Williams, Graeme Wright, the Febey boys, the Gales," he recalled this week.
"We got beaten by Queensland and I think (Jason) Dunstall kicked 10, but it was a pretty good experience.
"I was 18. I had no idea what was going on, I had barely played for Richmond, and I was happy to get a game for Richmond, let alone a state game.
"It wasn't the MCG, but it was still state footy and it was a big deal to play at Bellerive Oval. 'Shawie' (Robert Shaw) was coach and I remember he was filthy after the game.
"He was a proud Tassie man and he thought we didn't do the state justice, and we didn't.
"I remember playing with Darrin Pritchard. He was a premiership player with Hawthorn, an absolute legend in Tassie, and to play with guys like that, I couldn't believe it."
Richo and Buddy Franklin - with apologies to Matthew Pavlich, Daniel Kerr and Shaun Burgoyne - are the headline acts of the Dream Team tonight. It's a kind of "King and Prince" mentality.
One has nudged into his 20s, the other is well into his 30s, yet they seem to have embraced footy with similar size, adventurism and excitement.
Richo's all-conquering form of recent weeks, on the back of a new position, is a beacon for not just Richmond but the AFL.
Certainly, he's given oomph to this tribute game.
He's just happy he's not the lone old man among all the youngsters.
When the Dream Teamers met for the first time on Wednesday, Richo was surrounded by Adam Cooney, Ryan Griffen, Mathew Stokes and Franklin, players eight, 10, sometimes 12 years his junior.
"I was just happy when 'Kirky' (Brett Kirk) and 'Goody' (Simon Goodwin) rolled up because they were over 30, too," he said.
"When I walked in yesterday, the first three players I saw were Cooney, Griffen and Buddy, and I felt pretty old right there."
Still, Richo stood out. Dream Team coach Mark Williams almost immediately could detect the presence of the big man.
"The excitement he's brought to the game, the enthusiasm and, at his age, the energy he brings to our group is just brilliant," Williams said.
"He texted me straight away when he first got in it, telling me how excited he was to be included in the group. And he's got such a boyhood love for the game. It's not manufactured, it's real.
"He's a real person and he's one of the most polite, gentlemanly footballers you would wish to meet."
Teammates concurred. They have watched Richo rip the competition to shreds this year -- and for the past 15 years.
Said Kane Cornes: "I don't know him very well, but I've watched him since I was a little kid, and he's probably the most unique player in the AFL and it's about time everybody gave him the credit he deserves."
Said Kirk: "He's a superstar. I've met him a couple of times, and when you watch footy and look at players who are passionate and want to play, he's one I've always wanted to play with . . . he's a big kid."
Asked who he would kick it to if he had the ball and was galloping through the midfield when Richo and Buddy both made leads, Kirk sidestepped the issue: "I'd handball it to Shaun Burgoyne and he can decide."
Cooney was more excited than any of them to be running out with the Tiger goliath. "Reinvented Richo," he cooed. "He's a champion, I reckon.
"Some people say he is flawed, but I reckon he's a champ. He's big and he's strong and he runs and he kicks goals, he does everything.
"I'm just looking forward to playing with him in the midfield."
Reminded that Richo can get a little anxious when he doesn't get the ball kicked to him, Cooney laughed: "I better give it to him because he'll be screaming at me . . . I'll make sure when I get the ball I'll give it to him."
Griffen is another South Australian, but Richo was compulsory watching on TV. "I'm very excited about playing with Richo, and not just Richo but all of them if I do get the honour," he said.
"But, mate, he's unbelievable, six foot six or whatever he is and playing on the wing, averaging 20 touches and kicking goals."
This is not a final, or a game worth four points. But for Richo, it's as proud a moment as he's had in footy.
State footy to him is a concept he holds dear, and will be even more so tonight because he knows it's his last opportunity.
His first State-of-Origin memory is the Bicentennial Carnival in 1988, watching it and reading about it in the newspapers.
Then there was the 1989 MCG match when Hawthorn's Tony Hall did his knee.
"The 'G was a quagmire, (Tony) Lockett and Dunstall played, and Andy Collins tackled Hall. I felt for them because they were teammates.
"And I remember the game in Hobart in 1990 or '91 when Tassie beat the Vics."
His own history of state footy is four games, which included a couple of Allies matches. "When it went under, I didn't think I would ever play against the Vics again," he said.
"I wanted to play. When they announced the game at the start of the year, I had a look around the other teams and realised a lot of good players were eligible and I thought I would struggle to get a game, and when I did I was pretty thrilled.
"Who's to say if there's going to be another game like this? I certainly won't be around if there is."
As usual, Richo's expectations for tonight are team-based. "You just want to make sure you don't let your teammates down and can get their respect," he said.
It would appear he already has it.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,23671742-19742,00.html
