By Marcus Uhe
A second senior premiership for the Magpies in 2022, the Shane Smith medal, a promotion to captaincy for a club he loves and a 150th game milestone in black and white makes for a sensational last 12 months for Narre Warren skipper Jake Richardson.
The imposing centre-half-forward pulled on the black and white stripes for the 150th time at senior level in Saturday’s 37-point win over Monbulk, a win which maintains the Magpies lead at the top of the Outer East Premier Division table.
Having grown up in the area and cut his teeth at the Narre North Foxes as a junior, there’s an affiliation with the Magpies that pre-dates his playing history with the South East powerhouse, not just through his proclivity for their AFL contemporary, as a Collingwood supporter.
“When I was playing (juniors) I was doing the boundary umpiring and I requested doing the Narre Warren games more so because it was closer to home,” he said.
“I started off (umpiring the under) 18s then reserves and seniors when I was in the under 14s, so I was doing that first and then stayed there since.”
Outside of a 12-month interlude in Bendigo when he was required to move out of Melbourne to pursue study commitments, Narre Warren has been his football home for his entire senior football journey.
But that year that he missed just happened to be 2013, the club’s ninth premiership at senior level.
While Richardson enjoyed success himself in Central Victoria as a premiership player for Golden Square, missing out on making history for the Magpies made the return all the more desirable.
“As soon as I transferred back to Melbourne for my second year (of university), I came straight back to Narre,” he said.
“I think the year before in 2012 I was still in the under 18s, and we lost the flag that year, then the following year (they) went four-from-four.
“I guess that would have been an amazing experience to be a part of that, but I was fortunate enough to win reserves and seniors during my year up in Bendigo, which was also good fun.”
While he’s now widely accepted as the prototype, modern mobile centre-half-forward of every coach’s dreams, he was forced to earn his stripes in a variety of positions during his early years in senior football under Chris Toner before settling in the front half of the ground.
With the likes of Lee Boyle and Kerem Baskaya making the key forward spots their own at the time, Richardson was thrown down back and into the ruck before settling into his current role which saw him crowned the best player in the competition last year.
His professionalism and commitment to maintaining peak standards, both on the track, on Saturdays and away from the club when necessary, have seen him race to the milestone in lighting time, having played no less than 18 games in a season since returning from Golden Square, aside from the Covid-19 affected 2021 campaign.
A physiotherapist by trade, Richardson acutely understands the importance of the dip in the pool or the ocean on a Sunday after a physical contest, or the value in the extra training and weights sessions away from the group during preseason to ensure he’s always in top physical shape.
It’s that endeavour to make certain he’s as close to 100 per cent as can be that assisted in being awarded the captaincy in 2022, filling the shoes of Trent Cody who chose to step-away after a season capped with silverware on a remarkable day at Gembrook in September.
After all, how does one improve or create a new legacy on a group that seems to be at the peak of its powers, and at a club so storied in success in recent times?
“I think it’s more about maintaining the standards through training and trying to build on what we achieved,” Richardson said.
“From our premiership team last year we’ve had a heap of changes, heaps of new guys coming through.
“I think there’s at least 7-10 players in the team who didn’t play in the premiership last year, so it’s about developing those younger guys who weren’t in the team to help them grow as footballers, and hopefully chase that success at the end of the year.”
Sitting pretty atop the Outer East Premier Division table, Richardson’s side seems primed for yet another tilt at premiership glory in 2023, having got the better of its nearest threat, Wandin, the week before at home.
The chance to add his name to the list of icons to have captained the club to a premiership, would be special.
“To be among those guys who have stood up there and held the cup, it would be a tremendous honour and privilege,” he said.
“Obviously playing with some of the greats to have done it previously, like Michael Collins, Dylan Quirk, Trent who did it last year.
“I like to think that I’ve been loyal to them and I love the club, so I wouldn’t want to play anywhere else really.”
