Richo, Richo Man, I want to be a Richo Man

THIS little tune brings me great joy when the Richmond cheer squad belts it out after the big fella has kicked a goal. It gave me particular joy one day when Adam Pattison sang it in his underwear and ugg boots on an end-of-season get-together. It went to another level again when "the Richo Man" himself joined "Patto" with his own version of the jig.

Matthew Richardson transcends the generations. He started in 1993 and played with the likes of Dale Weightman and Brendon Gale, with whom he remains close, yet still has the ability and personality to hang out with younger Tigers such as Brett Deledio and Richard Tambling.

Which leads me to the question: is Matthew Richardson the most popular man in football?

For many years, Richo has polarised public opinion — absolute champion to unfulfilled talent and everything in between.

But recently, opinion at last seems to be united: Matthew Richardson is one of the true champions of AFL football.

He has long been a favourite of opposition players, most acknowledging that he is a great bloke. And the regard he is held in at Richmond is second to none. Now, the media and other so-called experts are jumping on the Richo bandwagon, and what a good wagon it is to be on when the Richo show gets going.

I spend a lot of time with Matthew. We are occasionally referred to as Batman and Robin, following a cover of Inside Football magazine, where we were superimposed on the bodies of the dynamic duo.

For obvious reasons, Matthew gets to be Batman, but every superhero needs a sidekick and considering the form the big fella is in, I'm happy to be a support act.

Richo lives just down the road and the morning coffee I deliver to him sometimes makes me think we are starring in the movie Good Will Hunting. And if there is one thing Richo would love to be besides a footballer, it's a rock star or a movie star. He loves his celebrities.

On a recent trip to Los Angeles, he was spotting celebrities everywhere and most of them I had never heard of. Last week, we had lunch at Galleon in St Kilda and he said: "Look, there's the girl out of Frente."

Now there may be quite a few readers for whom Frente means very little. The group shot to fame back in 1992 with a song called Accidentally Kelly Street. That was 16 years ago, but Richo sure can pick a celebrity face.

He loves his rock stars, the heavier the better — Tex Perkins, Tim Rogers, Layne Stayley (Alice in Chains) and Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) to name a few of his favourites. With his big frame, even bigger lips and flowing messy hair, he wouldn't look out of place in a rock band.

Away from football, you might be surprised to know that Matthew is a neat freak and would challenge the prime minister's diary for organisation. Needing to borrow some shorts for a Sunday session in his spa a few years back, I was amazed to discover that everything in his cupboard was folded to perfection and, on closer inspection, was astounded to find that everything was colour co-ordinated.

On the footy field this year, Richo has had no peer; he has been the exception to the rule that players slow down after 30. He is clearly getting better. He ran a staggering 18.3 kilometres off a wing in 30-degree heat at Subiaco in round four, and still kicked four goals.

A player with his impressive career stats would be forgiven for being a little miffed when asked to leave centre half-forward, where he has dominated for 15 years, aged 33, to play on a wing. I'm sure he was in private, but for the team he met the challenge head-on, without saying a word and is playing the best football of his career to kickstart a Richmond resurgence.

For a long time, he has been chastised for blowing his fuse and losing his cool with teammates by throwing his arms around and delivering a spray when the ball goes into the forward line poorly. But in the past few years, he has been fantastic in this area, showing that an old dog can learn new tricks.

Wayne Campbell tells one of my favourite Richo stories, from before I got to the club. Robert Walls was the coach and whenever he got stuck into Matthew in the review meeting up in the Graeme Richmond Room, Richo would be staring out the window looking at the Nylex clock to see how warm it was outside.

Richo is a player of rare ability and character. Young players listen and follow his example. He holds court like no other when playing the fool in front of the boys, which is a hard thing to get right at a footy club. He plays with a raw passion rarely seen today and is one of the most watchable players of our time.