Bob Murphy had the best seats in the house the day his childhood hero slotted 10 goals on the hallowed turf of the MCG.
Murphy lived through some difficult times as a Richmond fan as a kid, but there was always Matthew Richardson to keep his spirits up.
“The closest to a Tiger premiership in my childhood was that if Richo could just kick 10, that’d do me,” Murphy said on this week’s episode of Barkly Street: Happy Hour.
On May 15, 2004, the day finally arrived.
‘Richo’ was an unstoppable, kicking goals left and right, registering double figures for the only time in his career.
Murphy was in awe. But there was a problem.
He was so close to the action that he was actually on the same field with ‘Richo’, as a member of the Western Bulldogs team which was subjected to the great yellow and black full forward’s mastery.
Murphy was playing his 68th game for the Bulldogs, and it was his team’s job to find a way to stop Richardson’s influence.
Try as they may, they weren’t able to get the job done, eventually losing by 23 points.
“I had great seats. It was a different uniform on, so I was a bit conflicted that day, but it was a thing of beauty,” Murphy said.
