Matthew Richardson (Australian rules footballer)

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Matthew Richardson
Personal information
Full name	Matthew Richardson
Date of Birth	19 March 1975 (1975-03-19) (age 33)
Place of Birth	Tasmania
Recruited from	Devonport
Draft	Father-Son Selection, 1992 Richmond
Height/Weight	195cm / 102kg
Position	Full Forward/Center Half Forward/Wing
Club information
Current club	Richmond
Number	12
Playing Career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1993-	Richmond	266 (770)
¹ Club statistics to end of R9 2008 season
² Representative statistics to end of {{{repstatsend}}} Career highlights AFL AFL Rising Star Nominee (1993) All Australian (1996, 1999) Alex Jesaulenko Medal 1996 International Rules 1999 Tasmanian State of Origin Representative 1993 Dream Team Representative 2008 Richmond Club Leading Goalkicker (1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007) Richmond Team of the Century Richmond Best and Fairest 2007

Matthew "Richo" Richardson (born March 19, 1975), is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for Richmond in the Australian Football League. He has been the club's key forward through the late 1990s and the 2000s, and the club's leading goalscorer twelve times, and has been selected in the all-Australian team in 1996 and 2001.

[edit] Career

Educated at St. Brendan-Shaw and Don Colleges in Devonport Tasmania, the fourth pick (a father-son selection) in the 1992 AFL Draft, recruited from Devonport, Tasmania. Combining a 196-centimetre frame with exceptional speed and athletic capacity for a large man, on his day he has been a dominant presence for the Tigers. Suffered a serious knee injury (Torn left ACL) in 1995 in a collision with the fence at the SCG and after the reconstrtuction and missed their finals series. But since then he has been one of the best forwards in the game despite suffering from inaccuracy in front of goal and occasional injuries. He often kicks the goals better from long range. In 1996 he came back to kick 91 goals and was an All Australian.

In 2004, a decision to step back involvement in the Tigers' "leadership group" (the small group of senior players who help lead the club on and off-field) and focus on additional strength training seems to have paid off, with a flurry of goals in the early part of the season after returning from injury including a career best 10 against the Western Bulldogs. His 10th goal in that game was a spectacular snap from the boundryline. Richardson finished with a tally of 65 goals for the season.

In 2005 under the coaching of Terry Wallace he kicked 65 goals again, this time with much more consistency throughout the season.

In 2007 he became one of the most respected AFL footballers due to his courage and passion by playing a game with a fractured eye socket and broken nose and still managing to kick four goals.

In the same year, he won his first ever club best-and-fairest, beating young gun Nathan Foley by a single vote.

Richardson is currently ranked second in the AFL for the most marks ever taken in recorded history, sitting on 2089 behind Stewart Loewe who has 2316.

In 2008 he equaled Saverio Rocca's (Collingwood/Kangaroos) career goal tally of 748. Equal 12th on the all time VFL/AFL goal kicking list

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Richo has been one of the greatest servants of all time for the Richmond football club. His sensational marking along with being the leading goal kicker for Richmond 12 times, 2 All Australian selections and being a best and fairest winner doesn't say it all about Richo. His tenacity, endeavor and sheer determination to get his hands on the football has always been second to none. The way he always gives his all on the field has inspired so many fans to come to watch him play. As a power forward, he would be forgiven for staying in the goal square and taking marks, but Richo takes it upon himself to run himself ragged, and is known to lead for over 100m when he is needed. This is shown in the distance he covers on match day, which is always around 14km. His strength and contested marking in contests is arguably his best attribute, and many times has he topped the contested marks list at the end of the year. When the ball hits the ground though, his second and third efforts are admirable and another reason to love the man. Although his kicking for goal has let him down at times, Matthew Richardson is what you would call a true, passionate, outstanding and loyal tiger. When its time for Richo to hang up the boots, he will not only go down as one of Richmond's all time greats, but also as one of the game's most entertaining and spectacular forwards.

[edit] Trivia

Richardson currently holds the record for the most goals kicked at the Melbourne Cricket Ground - 445.

He is the son of former Richmond and South Melbourne player Alan "Bull" Richardson. His sister, Samantha, is married to retired North Melbourne footballer Jade Rawlings who now coaches the Coburg tigers in the VFL.

[edit] External links

• Matthew Richardson (Australian rules footballer) profile on the Official AFL Website of the Richmond Football Club
• Matthew Richardson (Australian rules footballer)'s statistics from AFL Tables

• Feature story from 2005 on Matthew Richardson at the Yellow and Black Supporters Forum and Website