Ted Richards

Summary

Ted Richards (born 11 January 1983) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club and the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Ted Richards
Personal information
Full name Ted Richards
Date of birth (1983-01-11) 11 January 1983 (age 41)
Original team(s) Sandringham Dragons (TAC Cup)/Xavier College
Draft No. 27, 2000 national draft
Height 193 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight 92 kg (203 lb)
Position(s) Defender
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2001–2005 Essendon 033 (19)
2006–2016 Sydney 228 (15)
Total 261 (34)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2016.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

AFL career edit

Richards was recruited from Xavier College and Sandringham Dragons with the 27th pick in the 2000 national draft. He previously played community football for East Sandringham Zebras and Hampton Rovers.

He made his senior debut in round 2, 2002 against Richmond and went on to play 33 games, before being traded to the Sydney Swans at the end of the 2005 season.

In round 6, 2005, he opposed Jonathan Brown, who was returning from a five-match suspension attained from the 2004 AFL Grand Final; Brown kicked eight goals in the game,[1] but despite having only the first three of them kicked on him, Richards was subsequently dropped for the following round, not returning until round 16.[2] It was his limited opportunities at the club which ultimately led to him being traded.[3]

He was traded to Sydney Swans in exchange for pick 19 and 50 and made his debut for them in the first round of 2006, against his old club, Essendon. In the second quarter, coach Paul Roos assigned him onto Matthew Lloyd, who had already kicked six first-quarter goals. The change paid dividends, as Richards kept his former leader goalless from the start of the second quarter until midway through the fourth.[2] Despite this, his old club, Essendon, defeated his new club the Sydney Swans by 27 points, in what would be their only win for the first 16 rounds of the season.[4] Later, he became a key contributor in the Swans' defence, occasionally moving forward if required.[5]

Richards played in the 2006 AFL Grand Final and put in a good effort. He was knocked unconscious in the final five minutes,[6] and is said to have lost memory of parts of the game.[7]

In 2009, he suffered a punctured lung and broken ribs when he collided with Brendan Fevola in the final 30 seconds of the loss against Carlton at Etihad Stadium. He missed the rest of the season as a result, while Sydney missed the finals for the first time in seven years. He also was forced to travel back to Sydney by road.[8]

The following year Richards initially looked like he would struggle to win a consistent spot in the senior team. However an injury to Craig Bolton provided a spot for him. His season was capped off with the Best Clubman Award. At the end of the year he completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of New South Wales, and combined with his football career at the Sydney Swans he now works part-time in the banking industry whilst studying for a Master of Finance degree.

After a particularly strong end to the 2010 season, he continued to play consistent football throughout the following season. He became the clubs undisputed best defender and would take on the top forwards around the AFL every week, rarely being beaten.

Richards continued on his upward climb throughout the 2012 season; he was selected in the All-Australian team and was an integral part in Sydney winning the 2012 AFL Grand Final. He established himself as one of the best defenders in the competition and finished second in the Bob Skilton Medal.

He retired at the end of the 2016 AFL season.[9]

Education and Finance edit

Richards grew up in Sandringham and completed his secondary school education in 2000 at Xavier College in Kew. From years 5-8 he attended Xavier’s Kostka Hall junior campus in Brighton.[10]

While playing for the Swans, Richards completed a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of NSW and a Master of Applied Finance at Kaplan Professional, completing internships with Citigroup and Airlie Funds Management alongside stockpicker John Sevior. Via his podcast "The Richards Report",[11] Ted regularly discusses finance and investing themes with notable Australian influencers. The show has been a finalist at The Australian Podcast awards on multiple occasions.[12]

He credits his interest in finance to the book "One Up on Wall Street" by Peter Lynch, which he received as a gift from his father at age 17.[13]

Statistics edit

[14]
Legend
  G  
Goals
  K  
Kicks
  D  
Disposals 
  T  
Tackles
  B  
Behinds 
  H  
Handballs 
  M  
Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2002 Essendon 20 4 0 3 4 6 10 3 2 0.0 0.5 2.0 3.0 5.0 1.5 1.0
2003 Essendon 20 3 9 2 43 17 60 16 9 0.9 0.5 4.3 1.7 6.0 1.6 0.9
2004 Essendon 20 16 7 2 32 44 76 25 9 0.6 0.2 2.9 4.0 6.9 2.3 0.8
2005 Essendon 20 22 3 1 42 51 93 33 10 0.3 0.2 4.2 5.1 9.3 3.3 1.0
2006 Sydney 25 21 4 0 131 101 232 86 29 0.2 0.2 5.7 4.4 10.1 3.7 1.3
2007 Sydney 25 25 2 3 175 98 273 111 42 0.1 0.2 7.6 4.3 11.9 4.8 1.8
2008 Sydney 25 18 4 2 185 174 359 154 32 0.2 0.1 7.7 7.3 15.0 6.4 1.3
2009 Sydney 25 16 1 4 129 135 264 94 36 0.1 0.3 8.1 8.4 16.5 5.9 2.3
2010 Sydney 25 14 1 3 94 104 198 77 26 0.1 0.2 6.7 7.4 14.1 5.5 1.9
2011 Sydney 25 23 0 1 202 110 312 107 47 0.0 0.0 8.8 4.8 13.6 4.7 2.0
2012 Sydney 25 18 0 2 198 160 358 125 51 0.0 0.0 7.9 6.4 14.3 5.0 2.0
2013 Sydney 25 25 1 0 190 156 346 98 40 0.0 0.0 7.6 6.2 13.8 3.9 1.6
2014 Sydney 25 25 0 2 192 151 343 117 40 0.0 0.1 7.7 6.0 13.7 4.7 1.6
2015 Sydney 25 22 0 2 141 136 277 86 39 0.0 0.1 6.4 6.2 12.6 3.9 1.8
2016 Sydney 25 8 2 2 46 32 78 31 5 0.3 0.3 5.8 4.0 9.8 3.9 0.6
Career 260 34 36 1804 1475 3279 1163 417 0.1 0.1 6.9 5.7 12.6 4.5 1.6

References edit

  1. ^ Sydney veteran Ted Richards will not underestimate Brisbane Lions champion forward Jonathon Brown at the Gabba The Daily Telegraph, 1 May 2014
  2. ^ a b "On this day: April 1, 2006 - Ted Richards debut". Sydney Swans. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  3. ^ Swans think big as Roos moves on Bomber Ted, Sydney Morning Herald, 7 October 2005
  4. ^ Bombers upset Swans - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
  5. ^ Sydney Swan Ted Richards loving life in non-footy town
  6. ^ Blake, Martin (26 September 2012). "No place to run, or hide".
  7. ^ "Concussed Richards' final haze". 1 October 2006.
  8. ^ Richards has broken ribs, punctured lung
  9. ^ Curley, Adam (5 August 2016). "Ted's excellent adventure over at season's end". Australian Football League. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  10. ^ College, Xavier (22 September 2021), Fr Chris chats with Jobe Watson, Luke Ball and Ted Richards, retrieved 18 February 2024
  11. ^ "The Richards Report".
  12. ^ "Finalists 2020".
  13. ^ "How Ted Richards transitioned from football to finance". 14 November 2017.
  14. ^ "Ted Richards". AFL Tables. Retrieved 28 August 2014.

External links edit

  • Ted Richards's profile on the official website of the Sydney Swans
  • Ted Richards's playing statistics from AFL Tables
  • Hutton, Dan (30 March 2011). "Ted Richards: Swanning about in Tamarama".