TWELVE months ago Teddy Richards was in the football wilderness. Tonight he is a game away from playing in a grand final. He must be pinching himself. It's the oldest, most worn-out cliche, but footy is a funny game.

Richards left Essendon reluctantly, having barracked for the club all his life. After five years at Windy Hill, he had been unable to secure a spot. Originally recruited as a forward, he was tried in several positions but the Bombers' patience ran out, and in the end it was mutually agreed the two would go their separate ways.

Richards' first choice was Sydney, but an excellent VFL finals series in 2005, combined with his height, agility, speed and endurance, made him an object of desire for five clubs — Brisbane Lions, the Kangaroos, the Bulldogs, Carlton, and of course Sydney.

Each saw promise in a talent they felt was undeveloped and worth another chance. At 191 centimetres, he has elite athleticism.

While waiting to join Sydney, he remained in Melbourne last year and trained with James Hird.

Hirdy had been going at it for about a month before Teddy jumped on board. The Black Rock ramp, which leads from the beach up to the car park, is a famous training venue. The rise is about 250 metres and gradually gets steeper. Despite his lack of training, Richards was able to stick with Hird for eight repetitions, a feat that had a veteran track watcher shaking his head. He may have been hoping, too, that a little magic from Hirdy rubbed off after an earlier failed attempt.

Ted was popular at Essendon, partly because of his quirky nature.

About three years ago, when he was struggling to get a game and worried about his form, he decided to do something about it.

Hird was in scintillating form and Ted was keen to get hold of a little Hird magic and decided it might have been stored in his boots. Keen to avoid his skipper, he arrived at Windy Hill on a non-training day with his boots.

The No. 5's were located on the shelf, and Ted then spent a few minutes rubbing his boots against Hirdy's, willing the Bomber legend's brilliance onto his foot wear. It didn't work, but he reasoned it was worth a try.

The Swans were the last to show interest, and on the Wednesday night of trading week laid their cards on the table. Pick No 19 — a first-round pick due to concessions — was too much for Essendon to resist, and the deal was completed in five minutes. It was a record, I'm told, for the Bombers, who have a reputation in football circles for procrastination.

This may be a little unfair, because all sides want to trade Holdens for a Mercedes-Benz, but there's no doubting Essendon felt it had completed a masterful trade.

Whether that's true, only time will tell; the Bombers picked up Courtney Dempsey with the pick, who has shown enormous early talent, but like all first-year players is a work in progress.

Richards could not have found a more perfect fit. Paul Roos initially felt he would use him as a third tall forward. The thinking was that Barry Hall needed to be preserved.

In 2005 he did the lion's share of the work in the Swans' attacking half, but this required him to play up the ground and be forced to work extremely hard. Roos obviously felt Richards could be a conduit forward playing the high forward, almost wing-type role, allowing Hall to spend more time near goal. Richards was excited by the fact he had a position earmarked and a coach who clearly believed in him.

It's been a trademark of Roos' coaching to zero in on an individual and play him. He gets players to believe in themselves.

Perhaps his greatest success to this point is Craig Bolton, who was this year named All-Australian.

Darren Jolly, too, has just completed his most successful season and looks capable of becoming one of the game's best ruckmen.

Richards started out as a forward but has found his niche in defence. The structured, disciplined game plan of the Swans has suited him perfectly. With only 33 games to his name before becoming a Sydneysider, he is still learning the game.

The Swans' patience has also helped rebuild his confidence.

Roos will want him to continue to improve and take on bigger challenges. For now, though, he is holding down a regular spot and, like his teammates, doing the job.

No magic ever rubbed off Hird's boots, but his old skipper would love to be in Teddy's boots tonight.