Two stars who promise to shine even brighter
April 08 2003
Tiger Richardson and Bulldog Brown are more than just exciting footballers - they are entertainers who pull the crowds.
Prominent football manager Ricky Nixon stated a week before the season started that football was suffering because there were not enough flamboyant, artistic characters in the game. Who today, he asked, would you specifically go to see play footy? Good question. There's only been one player who has enticed me to go to watch, and that was Gary Ablett circa 1990.
So, on Sunday, as a brilliant autumn day started to unfold, I set off to Telstra Dome. Who, I thought, will entertain today? It was the goalkicking hopes for both sides who sprang to mind - "Richo" and "Browny".
Now, Matthew Richardson is entertaining. Even the opposition fans love to see the tall Tiger do his stuff. Richo is predictably unpredictable and he wears his heart on his sleeve. At a glance you can see whether he is up or down. You watch and wonder whether he will kick a bag or kick the ground. Will he burst through the pack to mark spectacularly or will his burst be verbal and barbed to a teammate who honoured one of his leads with a finger-breaking mongrel up-country punt?
For a decade Richo has tortured himself and his fans with some good, bad and ugly. He may still arrive.
Nathan Brown is coming into his prime, and the Bulldog is considered by many to be the next big thing. He looks good, speaks his mind and writes poetry. He also has uncanny goal sense, a booming left foot and blistering speed.
For much of his football life Brown has impressed with pure talent. But now it seems he is digging deep, working hard to mix natural ability with hard slog. This recipe could provide something sensational.
Under an open roof, the pair did their pre-game warm-up. Last week, Richo had no method, system or routine when it came to lining up a direct shot at goal. He got taught one last week from former Saint forward Stewart Loewe. Once Loewe was a cumbersome kick. Under the tutelage of Peter Hudson he developed a routine, stuck to it, and turned cumbersome into competent. Now Richo is using the Hudson technique.
It involves scraping a mark on the turf some six metres from the man on the mark. That is the spot where the kick will be executed. During the warm-up, Richo ran in to kick at least 20 times. Each time he would take 17 steps before he kicked the ball. His success rate pre-game was 70 per cent.
At the other end, Browny, with socks down, worked from one side of the 50-metre arc to the other. From 40 metres out, he took five or six relaxed steps and split the middle every time. My only concern was that he was getting too close to the man on the mark.
And so the game began. Richo was opposed occasionally by Scott Bassett but more often by Steve Kretiuk. He stood head and shoulders above both. That's a worry for a tall forward because you can't win. If you outmark them you're expected to, and if you don't you look a dill.
I'm pretty sure Richo had decided pre-game that he was going to be the ultimate team player against the Bulldogs. He went out of his way to handball and short-pass to teammates. Two of Leon Cameron's four goals were gift-wrapped by Richo. When he kicked his only goal for the game in the third quarter the crowd gave its loudest roar. They wanted him to do well.
For the creative Brown it was a game of limited opportunities. You can only excel if you are in the thick. He wasn't. Too often the ball failed to reach him.
Brown's coach, Peter Rohde, has to decide whether he can afford to leave his playmaker out of the action for extended periods, as happened last Sunday.
By game's end, Brown had kicked four of 13 goals. He also left me with the only passage of play that will stay etched in my memory. With opponent Darren Gaspar in hot pursuit, Brown gathered a loose, deep ball in the forward pocket. All of us, including his pursuer, expected him to cut on to his left boot. Brown hinted such then swung the opposite way to be on the boundary line. On his non-preferred right foot and some 40 metres out, Brown kicked the most unbelievable of goals.
Both Brown and Richo entertained. I liked what I saw knowing that there is better to come.
April 08 2003
Tiger Richardson and Bulldog Brown are more than just exciting footballers - they are entertainers who pull the crowds.
Prominent football manager Ricky Nixon stated a week before the season started that football was suffering because there were not enough flamboyant, artistic characters in the game. Who today, he asked, would you specifically go to see play footy? Good question. There's only been one player who has enticed me to go to watch, and that was Gary Ablett circa 1990.
So, on Sunday, as a brilliant autumn day started to unfold, I set off to Telstra Dome. Who, I thought, will entertain today? It was the goalkicking hopes for both sides who sprang to mind - "Richo" and "Browny".
Now, Matthew Richardson is entertaining. Even the opposition fans love to see the tall Tiger do his stuff. Richo is predictably unpredictable and he wears his heart on his sleeve. At a glance you can see whether he is up or down. You watch and wonder whether he will kick a bag or kick the ground. Will he burst through the pack to mark spectacularly or will his burst be verbal and barbed to a teammate who honoured one of his leads with a finger-breaking mongrel up-country punt?
For a decade Richo has tortured himself and his fans with some good, bad and ugly. He may still arrive.
Nathan Brown is coming into his prime, and the Bulldog is considered by many to be the next big thing. He looks good, speaks his mind and writes poetry. He also has uncanny goal sense, a booming left foot and blistering speed.
For much of his football life Brown has impressed with pure talent. But now it seems he is digging deep, working hard to mix natural ability with hard slog. This recipe could provide something sensational.
Under an open roof, the pair did their pre-game warm-up. Last week, Richo had no method, system or routine when it came to lining up a direct shot at goal. He got taught one last week from former Saint forward Stewart Loewe. Once Loewe was a cumbersome kick. Under the tutelage of Peter Hudson he developed a routine, stuck to it, and turned cumbersome into competent. Now Richo is using the Hudson technique.
It involves scraping a mark on the turf some six metres from the man on the mark. That is the spot where the kick will be executed. During the warm-up, Richo ran in to kick at least 20 times. Each time he would take 17 steps before he kicked the ball. His success rate pre-game was 70 per cent.
At the other end, Browny, with socks down, worked from one side of the 50-metre arc to the other. From 40 metres out, he took five or six relaxed steps and split the middle every time. My only concern was that he was getting too close to the man on the mark.
And so the game began. Richo was opposed occasionally by Scott Bassett but more often by Steve Kretiuk. He stood head and shoulders above both. That's a worry for a tall forward because you can't win. If you outmark them you're expected to, and if you don't you look a dill.
I'm pretty sure Richo had decided pre-game that he was going to be the ultimate team player against the Bulldogs. He went out of his way to handball and short-pass to teammates. Two of Leon Cameron's four goals were gift-wrapped by Richo. When he kicked his only goal for the game in the third quarter the crowd gave its loudest roar. They wanted him to do well.
For the creative Brown it was a game of limited opportunities. You can only excel if you are in the thick. He wasn't. Too often the ball failed to reach him.
Brown's coach, Peter Rohde, has to decide whether he can afford to leave his playmaker out of the action for extended periods, as happened last Sunday.
By game's end, Brown had kicked four of 13 goals. He also left me with the only passage of play that will stay etched in my memory. With opponent Darren Gaspar in hot pursuit, Brown gathered a loose, deep ball in the forward pocket. All of us, including his pursuer, expected him to cut on to his left boot. Brown hinted such then swung the opposite way to be on the boundary line. On his non-preferred right foot and some 40 metres out, Brown kicked the most unbelievable of goals.
Both Brown and Richo entertained. I liked what I saw knowing that there is better to come.
