The Face of the Future.

The plastic surgeon threw up his hands in despair. There was no amount of surgery that could remove the smile from the face of the old tiger.

Jack Dyer was asked to cast his cynical eye over a youngster that his beloved Tigerland had wooed from Tasmania in 1992. He'd seen these March champions before and he threw a few grains of salt into his diet as they told him that this kid was 195cm tall but could run like Peter Matera, mark like Royce Hart, kick like Lockett and play the ground like Baldock. What's more he had a heart like Phar Lap and a temperament to match.

"Yeah, yeah," growled Captain Blood, "I've heard all that before, but can he play?"

One thing that stirred the living legend was that the kid was the son of a much-admired Tiger, a fellow that Dyer considered one of the great Richmond players of the sensational sixties - Alan Bull Richardson.

"A son of Bull's has to be a chance" Dyer said.

So he went to a practice match and when that day was done, Jack's mates were worried. His face was screwed up in a permanent fixed smile. Had the great man had a stroke?

"Not me" said Jack, "But I've just seen that kid Matthew Richardson and I can't get the smile off my face. He'll put them all out of business. I've never seen so much talent in one player - he scares me, he really does scare me.

"He'll be the greatest player the game has seen if he doesn't kill himself first. He's too daring for his own good and I can't believe the mobility of a player that size."

Sadly Matthew Richardson did have that one catastrophic injury Dyer feared. He severely damaged a knee and missed most of the 95 season when he crashed into the Sydney Cricket Ground fence while taking a screamer against the Sydney Swans. That's when the big heart and great temperament came into play.

Young Matt did the time, dedicated himself to the rehabilitation and made it back into the game as spectacular as ever. No mental hang-ups, just business as usual. His wrecked knee took everything he could throw at it and he headed into the 1997 season with the world at his feet. He kicked 91 goals in his comeback season of 1996 although he played most of his games across the half-forward line.

Nobody doubted he was destined to become a Tiger spearhead and a multi-century kicking champion, but at this stage of his career he was best left unfettered to roar around the field performing stunning athletic deeds. Coach Robert Walls signalled the time for full-forward duties was imminent when he launched Richardson into the 1997 season playing full forward against Hawthorn in the Ansett Cup.

He still dashed far afield and won great marks far from goal. He kicked three telling majors and it could have been seven or eight... it seemed he was on his way to a booming season and as the most exciting player in football. He couldn't have timed his arrival in the game any better; this was the era of huge contracts and heavy sponsorships.

Even more excited were the cameramen who packed the boundaries looking for the shot of the century. The AFL hierarchy now had the Dyer smile as Matthew Richardson and the other young lions of football took the game to another level of spectacle.

"Football was always the way to go for me" says Matthew Richardson when looking back on his origins. He can recall as a five-year-old sitting in the family's Tasmanian home with his father "Bull" watching Richmond win the 1980 premiership.

Bull gave him the right upbringing. He didn't drown him in football but as he displayed an interest and flair he made sure the best facilities and coaching was available to the kid. There were odd trips to Melbourne where he watched the Tigers do battle and was able to wander through the players rooms to soak in the atmosphere of the ferocious Tigerland.

He couldn't believe his luck to be watching Michael Roach, Jim Jess, Dale Weightman and Mark Lee gearing up for big matches. The relentless G.R, Graeme Richmond could sense there was a huge football potential in this athletic youngster as he grew into his teens. Graeme made a number of visits to the Richardson home and young Matt was engrossed as he listened to the countless hours of footy stories, many of them from the "top secret" file.

"It was just amazing stuff," says Matt.

G.R was not the only football scout keeping an eye on the kid who was winning rave notices from the time he started to play competitive football with Devonport junior teams.

Hawthorn coach Allan Jeans drifted quietly and unannounced into Newton Oval in Hobart one cold morning in 1991. Matthew was playing under 19's for Devonport against Hobart and his coach Phil Matthews spotted the legendary coach. Young Matt, usually dominant, was having a lean morning and hadn't booted a goal by half time. Matthew's needed Richardson to fire and said, "Look, you've got Allan Jeans watching you and you haven't had a kick."

He went out and kicked ten goals in the second half and won the game.

Matthew's said the youngster had been a frustration and inspiration to his club. He appeared so casual about his football that it bordered on disinterest - until the chips were down.

He swiftly graduated to senior football and found himself coached by Peter Knights. He was eligible for he draft and the mainland interest was high. Leigh Matthews tried to sell him on Collingwood by phone but those who knew Bull and son never had any doubt that he was heading for Punt Road. Nobody ever doubted his ability to make senior League; it was always a question of when.

He was always safely in the Tigers lair because of the father-son rule. It took only one year under Knights for Richmond to invite him to join the club and after a stunning pre-season when Jack Dyer acquired that permanent grin; Matthew had a brief stint in the reserves before being shot into the senior side.

He was instantly under notice for spectacular play. He was wild and uninhibited, making extraordinary leaps from gravity defying angles to drag down a range of remarkable grabs. Even more surprising was his non-stop running and his capacity to twist and turn despite his 195cm frame. He was an instant hit with the public and media. He was as crude as a monkey on roller blades but as exciting a player as the game had ever seen. He played 14 games, took 91 marks, had 57 handballs and 117 kicks. Jeff Hogg was the clubs full forward and Chris Naish was a key scorer. Richmond finished second last and the club was at a crossroads.

1994 saw Jeff Hogg move to Fitzroy and Richardson, already being hailed as one of the potential superstars of the future, launched the 94 season with eight goals in a two point loss to Footscray.  Six of these goals came in the second half and Northey said Richardson was huge bonuses for the team because he could be relied on to kick a healthy bag every week. A week later he kicked another seven to crush Brisbane and take an early lead in the goal kicking. He was still top of the League but Richmond was slipping towards the wooden spoon after a bad loss to Sydney. Mal Brown decided it was time to blow up Tigerland. He gave the Richmond board a broadside that saw a number of its members resign and club chief executive Cameron Schwab also forced out of the club bu the upheaval. In time it would also cause Northey to secure his future by moving to Queensland.

Richmond experimented at full forward while they played the youngster from the forward flank with the odd run on the ball. Richardson still performed spectacular feats bit his goal kicking hit a mid-season slump despite the rage of Mal sparking a remarkable turnaround by the tigers that saw them finish the season with an exciting run of wins. He was given a number of games with the Reserves to regroup.

He kicked 59 goals in his second season from 19 games. Although he played half-forward with the odd stint in the goal square he averaged nearly 3 goals a match.

He admitted the pressure at times developed negative thoughts and he sometimes doubted he would kick the goals that home in Tasmania would have been 'gimmes'- "It's a lot different kicking from 40 metres at the MCG than it was at Newtown. I would run in at goal thinking I was going to kick a point or kick it out on the full. My ratio wasn't that bad but every now and then I would put in an absolute shocker that made me look worse than I was.

The tiger coaching task force of Michael Roach and Peter Schwab went to work on his confidence. Schwab was glowing in his praise of the youngster's attitude to the mental and work ethic associated with getting his kicking leg right. It was to take a couple of seasons of industrious endeavour but finally Matt was declared 'cured' of the football kicking yips.

Schwab said the problem had been mental. "He came from a background where he dominated a competition-basically in the air. If he didn't win the ball out of the air and hit the ground, his work ethic wasn't great.

I stressed with him that if he kept attacking the ball; he was good enough to win it nine out of ten times. Now he can miss the ball, double back and get it because he's got such great pace and recovery. As for his kicking, that came from the way he dropped the ball to boot. He also got to close to the man on the mark and was stepping out at the last minute. Roachy did a lot of work on that.

Schwab saw all the great attributes and marvelled, "his sheer athleticism is amazing. He can jump better than anyone I have seen. His recovery is fantastic and his pace extraordinary. He got better at doing the hard things- that's where he has really made headway."

Schwab, who is a highly rated coach with great psychological skills described Matthew as a really good kid, willing to learn and levelheaded. "Some critics thought he was prone to be a little sour and surly. Schwab sprang to his defence, as did his mates. He has always been an outstanding clubman, modest and popular. He is predicted as inevitable club captain. The reputation of being a little sour came from his inclination to be harsh in his self-assessment. "He would get down in the mouth" said Schwab, "only because he was disappointed with himself."

In fact as time passed and Matthew matured he was a noted fun loving player with an outgoing manner and friendly disposition- much better in communication than most of his critics. He was a bit miffed when the club organised a few visits to the Tiger shrink- sports psychologist Norm Blundell.

"I thought that was strange and I must be rated some sort of loony. I thought you had to be a football psycho to be sent to one of those guys but after I saw him three times I realised it was part of the game and helps get a player focused. It actually turned things around for me."

There was plenty of trauma in '94 with the Mal Brown explosion and his own term of purgatory with the Reserves when he admitted feeling badly done by until he faced up to reality and won back his senior post.

The 95 season seemed certain to be his year- two seasons of education had honed his skills, rounded off he rough edges and moulded his character. He was deemed ready to take a leadership role in a senior listing that was packed with youth. Exciting pre-season form, spectacular marks and superb long-striding, racy ground play bewildered and disorganised enemy defences.

This was a revolutionary forward, the likes of which the game had never seen before. The pace and agility of a wingman blended into a powerful, athletic body of a young giant. It was going to take more than one player to curb the effervescent spring heeled tiger. When Matthew Richardson attacked the ball he drew as many as three rival backman around him, clearing vast spaces for the tiger crumbers.

If he wasn't kicking goals he was causing them, and he didn't mind who got them. He was a photogenic, spectacular livewire who blended well with his club mates. He was instantly on the front pages with some spectacular leaps against Hawthorn and St.Kilda as Richmond launched their best season opening for many decades. He played the team game from the half-forward line as Richmond won their first seven games and ten of their first eleven.

But tragically for Richmond and the tigers the fates were to intervene. It was round nine when the tigers journeyed to Sydney and Richardson was in sensational form as he cavorted across the half-forward line. He had already exceeded 60 marks for the season and averaged three goals for the game when he dashed to mark near the boundary line, he saw the fence all to close to the playing line and applied the brakes to avoid the fence. Too late!

The boot seemed to grab a grip in the turf, there was searing pain as ligaments were tortured to breaking point- then they snapped. "I remember landing and hearing the whistle. I hit the fence and grabbed my knee. I knew I'd done something but I thought if I jumped up it would go away. I tried to walk and I couldn't. There was massive pain. I went off on a stretcher and I knew then my knee was gone for sure." It was a sickening experience. A young player with the best still to come was carried into the rooms wondering if it all ended here. Knowing at best there was pain and torment ahead, months of rehabilitation and the need to get his mind sorted out, by the time he faced the surgeon a few days later he was already focused. That focus did waver for a few days after the operation- that is where the pain is at its greatest. Lesser men have quit rather than face that experience again. Close friends Jill and Bob Lucas looked after him but sleep was impossible for several weeks. In the meantime Richmond went on with the job, made the finals and battled through to the Preliminary final where despairing for a champion forward they were crushed by Geelong. The injury gave him new perspective and added maturity. Until now everything had come easily. God given gifts had set him on the path to greatness; calamity threw an obstacle across the path and this time he couldn't leap over the top. He had to crawl but he made it. There were those who believed the trauma of major knee surgery, combined with the physical problems associated with such an injury in the knee of a powerful, tall athlete, would be insurmountable. Could the leg possible withstand the old Richardson bombast? Could he drive himself to the sprint and leap as he had done in the past could the leg stand the stress? At best Matthew Richardson would become a slower, more orthodox shadow of the great player he once was. It was a very anxious football community that watched the young tiger superstar prepare for the '96 season. They knew it would be a long, slow process to rebuild the confidence. This season would be just a matter of going through the motions getting it all together for later years. That's what THEY thought, Richardson had other ideas. We had our fingers crossed as we turned up for the first premiership game of the season against Essendon. At the end of the day Essendon had won the premiership points but Richmond had won Matthew Richardson back. Before the game was half gone he had soared for marks, chased and balked and finally suffered a heavy knock on the damaged knee. He took it all in his stride, kicked six grand goals and we knew he was back in town.

The pleasing feature of his play was his consistency as the season progressed. Richmond were always in contention for the finals but always on the knife edge. He had a good haul of seven against Fitzroy in the sixth round and a few games later a thrilling performance against Carlton brought six and he was third on the AFL goal kicking even though he was still being used as a run around half-forward. As his confidence soared so did his goal kicking and the goal flow continued as he notched regularly healthy hauls that saw him join the big three of goal kicking, Lockett, Dunstall and Loewe as the best forwards of the year. They left Ablett, Carey, Rocca, Modra and Lynch in their wake.

An important seven goal haul against Hawthorn seemed to put Richmond on line for the finals and he was looming as a probably Centurion if Richmond could make the finals. He was on 74 goals with five games and the finals remaining. Both objectives received a severe setback when he failed to goal against Brisbane and the tigers lost. A solitary goal and another loss this time to Sydney saw Richmond slip out of the eight. He found form in a tremendous team effort to beat Geelong and this put Richmond's fate in their own hands as they moved back into the eight with two games to play. A dominating seven goals against Fitzroy took him to 85 for the season and they needed to beat North in the final round to make the finals. Although he kicked six goals, North proved far superior and he ended the season on 91 goals- a magnificent comeback that signalled the Richardson career would escalate in 97 as Robert Walls signalled his intention of using the full-forward whenever possible. Richmond indicated in a successful opening to the Ansett Cup that their policy would be to attack down the corridor and use the brilliance of Matthew Richardson to shatter opposing defenses.

It was clear he would be smothered by backmen but in the process his crumbing forwards were having a feast in the open spaces as their opponents packed around Richardson. Everyone willing the exciting Tasmanian Tiger to write a new chapter into the history of Centurions.

The anticipation was almost as exciting as the spectacle of the Tiger tyro. The young tiger launched into the 97 season with his eyes set firmly on the hundred goals he knew would life his club into the finals. He was an inspiration in the opening month as a run-around forward making his own plays and averaging better than five goals a game in the first month of the season.

They were talking Brownlow Medals as he was best afield in three rounds that notched 16 goals and saw him personally responsible for the Tigers first two wins of the season over their nemesis side, Geelong and the hard finishing Adelaide Crows. He was the face of the future and the future seemed at hand.