Matthew Richardson Biography

Richmond champion Matthew Richardson or Adelaide premiership captain Mark Bickley will present this year's cup to the winning team after Saturday's Grand Final.

AFL champions Jonathan Brown and Matthew Richardson will captain Victoria and the All Stars respectively in the EJ Whitten Legends Game in September.

"Very honoured to be captain of Victoria. I was very proud in 2008 … to follow in the footsteps of the great Teddy Whitten and captain my state," Brown said.

"We stuck it right up 'em that night, so hopefully we can get a repeat."

Richardson said he was keen to keep his unblemished record as captain intact.

"I've got a perfect record as captain. I didn't captain Richmond, but I did in one game. It was at The Oval, in an exhibition game in London, and we flogged Essendon," Richardson said.

"Took a little bag of five home myself."

Media personalities were on hand to raise money to find a cure for motor neurone disease in the Big Freeze 2 campaign led by Neale Daniher on Queen's Birthday.

All hands were on deck to help raise money for the cause, with Eddie McGuire, David Koch, Samantha Armytage, Kevin Sheedy, Matthew Richardson, Jonathan Brown, Matthew Lloyd, Cameron Ling, Dave Hughes, Gerard Whateley and Anthony Lehmann going down a slide at the MCG and plunging into an icy pool.

"My heart goes out to other MND sufferers, but they would all be overwhelmed and encouraged by the support that the community has given to the cause," Daniher told ABC radio.

"We keep our costs down, we're a small foundation, to make sure that every dollar counts."

The AFL places a ban on gloves, including those worn by Travis Cloke, deemed to provide an unfair advantage when marking the ball.

Richmond champion Matthew Richardson says the study conducted by the AFL to arrive at this conclusion was a waste of time and money.

"Why was study needed to tell @AFL that gloves provide more grip?" Richardson said on Twitter.

"Of course they do. Why wear them otherwise. Definitely help with marking."

Young Richmond utility David Astbury has some big shoes to fill after being handed the famous No.12 jumper last worn by Tiger champion Matthew Richardson.

"Richo himself having a say in who gets to wear the number [makes it] a real honour," Astbury said.

"I have a real obligation to represent it the best I can."

Matthew Richardson proved his appeal will outlive his career, with Richmond and Carlton fans alike rising to send him off in fine style during the curtain raiser at the MCG in the 2010 season opener between the two clubs.

Matthew Richardson will assess his options after being offered several offers to work in the media.

"I'm not trying to overcook it, but it is fair to say that we have had a lot of offers from television and radio, and even footy clubs from the country just wondering if he wanted to play with them next year," Richardson's manager Richard Nixon said.

Matthew Richardson accepted on Monday that his body just wasn't up for an 18th AFL season.

""I had a pretty ordinary medical diagnosis on Monday which sort of confirmed the gut feeling that I already had, that my body was not going to be able to stand up to another year of AFL football," he said.

"I guess I couldn't look people around the club, and the supporters, in the eye by saying I was ready to go when deep down I knew that I wasn't."

New Richmond coach Damien Hardwick says the competition will be the poorer for losing Matthew Richardson.

"There's no doubt that he was a giant of the game, and I reckon it'd be fair to say there'd be 15 other AFL coaches who are happy he's retired," Hardwick said.

"He's had a stellar career, and one that I thoroughly enjoyed watching from afar.

"It's disappointing from a selfish point of view - I would have loved to coach the great man - but it wasn't to be."

Richmond forward Matthew Richardson has decided his body isn't up to another season of AFL football.

"I wanted to see how I pulled up after a few weeks of training before I made a final decision, but the hamstring is just not good," Richardson said.

"It hasn't felt right when I've been running and the medical prognosis with it isn't positive.

"So, weighing everything up, it is definitely the right time for me to retire.

Richmond has told star forward Matthew Richardson it needs to know by December whether he intends to play on next year.

"They want him to play, there is a contract there, but it's a matter of whether he wants to play on or not," Richardon's manager Richard Nixon said.

"He wants some time to think about it. He wants to know in his own mind that his hamstrings are right and his mind is right. People keep coming up with deadlines.

"But there is no rush. The club says there is no rush. He can tell them in December because he's a veteran."

New Richmond coach Damien Hardwick will look closely at the futures of Matthew Richardson and Ben Cousins in the coming weeks.

"I still probably think he's in the top two to three players at this club, and he's 34," Hardwick said of Richardson.

"We'll make decisions on that in the coming weeks, but he's still a very talented player."

Matthew Richardson will undergo knee surgery knowing Richmond has committed to offering him a contract for 2010.

"We had a list-management meeting today. We'll talk to Matthew when he gets out of hospital, learn if he's convinced he can play again, and a contract will be offered," caretaker coach Jade Rawlings said.

Richmond veteran Matthew Richardson will not play again in 2009 after suffering a hamstring injury but states that he wants to play on in 2010.

"That's it - 2009 is over, bring on 2010," Richardson said.

"I knew on Saturday afternoon that I wasn't warming up the way I would have liked, but why it happened that way I have no idea. I've done a month of training where I warmed up every time, so maybe it was just a sign from the footy gods.

"If I went out and re-ruptured the hamstring and had to have more surgery on it, that would be it, you probably wouldn't come back from that, so I'm glad I haven't damaged it again, and that I did the smart thing and didn't try to push through it."

Richardson will undergo an arthroscope tomorrow to clean out his knee joint.

Matthew Richardson believes his hamstring has not been re-injured and says coming from the ground during a VFL match was precautionary.

"I'll definitely have a scan to make sure the surgically repaired tendon is 100 per cent," he said on One HD's One Week At A Time.

"It just tightened up in the warm up, which was very frustrating because I've been training flat out for the last four weeks.

"I thought the best thing to do would be to get straight off the ground. I don't need another major incident at my age, and with where I'm coming from with my situation."

Despite straining a hamstring in the VFL, Tiger veteran Matthew Richardson was fit enough to participate in light drills with the rest of his teammates during training.

"It's really hard on him, he has been putting in so much effort to get out there and for it to tighten up a little bit," Richmond captain Newman said.

"He was really excited about the game, I know that and he was just really disappointed after the game."

Richmond coach Jade Rawlings says emotions will not be a factor in deciding the future of brother-in-law Matthew Richardson's future at the club beyond this season.

"The club is bigger than the individual," he said.

"We've been unsuccessful for way too long to be caught up in emotional family attachments.

"Matthew is an outstanding person, which you'd all agree with, and we're great mates and we'll talk honestly about what's going to be best for both parties. The footy club's future is most paramount."

Richmond star Matthew Richardson has injured his hamstring in his comeback match for the Coburg Tigers in the VFL, leaving the field in the middle of the first quarter and not returning thereafter.

Richmond star Matthew Richardson may not play again this season after a hamstring injury sustained in the VFL.

Matthew Richardson will make his return from a hamstring injury with Coburg in the VFL.

"He'll come back this week after missing the best part of three months which is fantastic for him," Tigers assistant coach David King said.

"He's looking forward to just playing again, I think we're all looking forward to seeing him out at Coburg for the first time in a long while."

Richmond caretaker coach Jade Rawlings says there is a place for veteran Tiger Matthew Richardson at the club in 2010.

"He's been excellent in his rehab, and he's an iconic person around the footy club and within the competition," Rawlings told radion station SEN.

"He has to be aware of what we're trying to achieve as a team ... If he can embrace that and take it on board, he'll fit in no problem.

"My stance would be - based on the last four or five weeks, him showing that his body can stand up and make change in his own game - then I can't see why not."

Matthew Richardson has joined his first full training session since injuring his hamstring in Round 6.

Richmond star Matthew Richardson will tomorrow make a significant breakthrough in his recovery from hamstring issues.

Richardson will joins the Tigers' main training group, hopes to return to football in three or four weeks, and is still open-minded about playing on next year.

"It's going really well. I have completed most of the running stuff I had to do before I got back into training," he said.

"I am back into sprinting at full pace and twisting and turning. I just need to get back into full training now so I reckon I am at least three to four weeks away."

Matthew Richardson is on schedule to make a return to action late in the season, defying his surgeon's prediction.

"I went and saw the surgeon this week and he was really happy," the Tigers veteran told Vega 91.5.

"(I'm) ahead of schedule ... I don't think he thought I'd play again this year, initially, but I think he's very confident now.

"I should play a couple of games at the end of the year, definitely."

Tiger star Matthew Richardson hints that he might not yet be ready to become a past player.

"I've been trying to focus on getting over the injury first and foremost," Richardson said.

"At the end of the year we'll sit down and make decisions ... who's to say that I'm even going to get over this injury?

"I hope that I will and I'm confident that I will but these are all decisions. Whatever decision is made it will be about the best interests of the footy club. It won't be about me."

Richmond's Matthew Richardson says he expects Jade Rawlings to make a fine coach.

"I haven't played under him at Coburg, and I guess I was always hoping I wouldn't play under him in that regard," Richardson.

"He'll keep things fairly simple - there's no point re-inventing the wheel half-way through the year.

"He's got the respect of all the players around the place and everyone's comfortable with the decision."

Matthew Richardson recalls the moment Richmond coach Terry Wallace told him his days as a key forward were over.

"I was full of doubts about the move. I knew I had the engine but just didn't know if I had the ability to run around on a smaller player or play around stoppages - I'd never played there in my whole career," Richardson wrote in a column for afl.com.au.

"When you are a forward, you're normally always a kick away from the stoppage. So I was just worried about getting lost in the traffic at the stoppages, losing my opponent and having him kick goals on me.

"Luckily enough, moving to the wing worked well in the first game against Freo and it just grew from there."

Matthew Richardson believes Richmond is only a few years away from becoming a contender for the flag.

"I don't think it's as far away as people believe. We just missed finals last year. This year has been very disappointing but you can throw a blanket over the competition other than two teams," he told SEN' radio.

"It only takes a few things to go your way, and you're playing finals footy."

Matthew Richardson supports free agency being introduced in the AFL, but allayed fears it would lead to disloyalty among players.

"I think that free agency should come in, definitely," Richardson told FM radio station Vega.

"People say they're worried that all the big stars would leave clubs and move clubs, but over the history of the game not a lot of the real big names have actually moved clubs.

"Most players like to be one-club players, but there is going to be circumstances where free agency would be very, very good, so I'd support it."

Richmond's Matthew Richardson says it is a disgrace that details of a sensitive meeting were made public.

"We all know in a footy club if that sort of thing happens and information is leaked then it's a disgrace and whoever leaks that information it's just not good enough basically. You want everyone on the same page and you certainly don't want those things to happen," Richardson said.

"Everyone knows there was a meeting on Tuesday morning, which is 100 per cent correct. I'm not going to talk about the specifics in that meeting but what I will say is that it was a very honest and open discussion by the group with Terry and Craig Cameron and Gary March, our president.".

Richmond star Matthew Richardson is set to start running next week, and is ahead of schedule as he recovers from a torn hamstring tendon.

"My good news is that I'm healing quickly, and I'm well on track to be back later this year, nicely ahead of schedule," Richardson said.

"The enforced layoff means I've had plenty of time to think about what I want to do, and it's just reinforced to me that I'm really focused on getting back to full fitness, playing again this year and giving myself a chance to go again."

Richmond is prepared to send Matthew Richardson to Germany for advanced treatment on his hamstring and be more informed on his future.

The treatment is the same undertaken by teammate Mark Coughlan who has made a successful return to football after chronic hamstring injuries.

Matthew Richardson has hit back at critics of Richmond's medical staff and vowed to return before season's end.

"A lot of people must think we are running amateur hour down there the way they comment on it, but they've got absolutely no idea," he told The Footy Show.

"I've been involved with the medical staff we've got at Richmond for a long time now and I've got 100 per cent faith in them.

"The advice they've given me has always been spot-on.

"The way people have been potting them over the last few days has been disappointing."

Experienced ruckman Troy Simmonds is expected to start up forward against the Brisbane Lions in place of the injured Matthew Richardson.

"I think that Troy certainly has the ability to play as a forward, but he's equally adept in the ruck, so it's not really speaking out of school to say that he'll pretty much play both roles as Angus did last week. So that's what we expect him to do," Richmond coach Terry Wallace said.

Matthew Richardson says his injury lay-off gives other key forwards the chance to shine.

"In our forward line at the moment we would be looking to guys like Mitch Morton, Jack Riewoldt, Jay Schulz has been playing well at Coburg in the last few weeks, so you maybe look at Jay coming in and playing forward," Richardson said.

"But you just need heaps of guys kicking goals.

"We've still got Cleve Hughes down at Coburg, and it's a really good opportunity for these young guys.

"If they want to be key-position players, it's a pretty good opportunity for them to put their hand up and show what they can do."

Brisbane Lions captain Jonathan Brown wishes Richmond star Matthew Richardson a speedy recovery, but is relieved the big Tiger won't be prowling around the MCG on Saturday against the Lions.

"It's been an interesting one with Richmond considering their ladder position in the past few seasons and we know this weekend, even without Richardson, they'll be extremely tough," Brown said.

Matthew Richardson will miss the next 10 weeks after scans showed a tear in his hamstring tendon.

Richmond has defended playing Matthew Richardson against Sydney after he suffered a potentially season-ending hamstring injury.

"When someone like that says: 'I'm right to go. I'm not great, but I'm happy to put my hand up and get out there', we've got to give that a lot of respect," Tigers doctor Greg Hickey said.

"He's been around and played with a million injuries.

"There's been times over the last 12 months where he's been as bad . . . and he's managed to go out and get three Brownlow votes."

Matthew Richardson expects to miss Saturday's clash with Brisbane due to a hamstring injury.

Matthew Richardson has conceded that the team has mental issues after a winless start to 2009.

"If you sat back and looked at it would be a fair assessment to say there must be some mental obstacles there," Richardson said.

Matthew Richardson says the media focus on Richmond following its winless start to the season is verging on farcical.

"The media have got a job to do, and that's what they're doing but I do think it has been a little bit over-the-top this week," he said.

"I thought I was reading News of the World this morning" the Herald Sun or Mad Magazine with the comic strip that they're running these days, but we can't let that distract us.

"What we've got to worry about is getting out on the training track here today and working on the things that are letting us down in the games."

Richmond's Matthew Richardson says it is no surprise questions are being asked about Terry Wallace after a poor start to 2009.

"Probably half-a-dozen times I've heard him say it over the pre-season and the end of last year that Terry's contracted for the year and he'll coach Richmond out for the year," Richardson said.

"They'll start looking at contracts towards the end of the year if need be.

"I don't know what else the president of our club can say to make the media back off and they're not going to, you've got to live with that and move on."

Ben Cousins and Matthew Richardson have declared this week's match against Melbourne as a "must-win" contest for the Tigers after three straight losses to start 2009.

Former Richmond president Clinton Casey has been given just weeks to settle claims by high profile Tiger players.

Richmond stars Nathan Brown, Matthew Richardson and Kane Johnson are asking for a minimum of $300,000 from Casey with the threat of taking him to court if their demands are not met.

Casey, and Richmond, only recently settled out of court a dispute involving another ex-player, Ben Holland.

Holland gained the confidential settlement, believed to be more than $100,000, after lodging documents with the Supreme Court seeking $530,000 from business and investment opportunities that he claimed were not delivered.

Matthew Richardson turns 34 next Thursday, positively ancient for a tall marking forward.

Richmond will recall Matthew Richardson, Brett Deledio, Nathan Foley and Ben Cousins for Friday night's final warm-up.

Richmond will rest superstars Matthew Richardson, Brett Deledio and Ben Cousins from Friday's NAB Challenge match against St Kilda.

Richmond has promised evergreen champion Matthew Richardson it will not burn him out before the home-and-away season.

Matthew Richardson put in a Herculean effort to lift Richmond to a pulsating three-point NAB Cup victory over Fremantle.