Mark Richardson (born 31 October 1972) is a former
Australian rules footballer who played with
Collingwood in the
Australian Football League (AFL).
Recruited from Macleod, Richardson came from a strong footballing family. His father
Wayne and uncle
Max were both Collingwood players while Mark's grandfather Arnold was a West Australian interstate representative.
Richardson played for Collingwood at under-age level before breaking into the senior's list. Used initially as a key forward, he managed 23 goals in his debut year, three on them on debut against the
Brisbane Bears
The Brisbane Football Club, nicknamed the Bears, was a professional Australian rules football club based in Queensland on the Gold Coast (relocated to Brisbane in 1993). The club participated in the Victorian/Australian Football League (VFL/ ...
. He also kicked seven goals in a match against
Sydney mid season and six more the week after.
Injuries and inconsistent form restricted his appearances during the early part of his career but he was a regular fixture in the Collingwood team from 1995 to 2001. He played either up forward or in defence but also spent some time as a ruckman. Richardson's last match for Collingwood came in the final home and away match of the
2002 season. Although the club made the finals and ultimately the
Grand Final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. S ...
, Richardson remained on the sidelines. He was originally selected as an emergency for the premiership decider but was forced to withdraw due to a thigh injury.
References
*
*Holmesby, Russell and Main, Jim (2007). ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers''. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Mark
1972 births
Living people
Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state)
Collingwood Football Club players