Russell Richardson (born 12 February 1977 in

Dubbo, New South Wales Dubbo () is a city in the Orana (New South Wales), Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the Ne ...

) is an Australian former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000. An Australian international representative centre, he played his club football for the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league club based in Redfern, a suburb of inner-southern Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and are one of nine existing tea ...

and the

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby leag ...

in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

competition.

Playing career

Richardson made his first grade debut for Cronulla-Sutherland against South Queensland in Round 11 1996. Richardson scored Cronulla's sole try in the 1997 Telstra Cup Premiership's Grand Final loss to Brisbane. In the 1997 post season, Richardson was selected to play for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

from the interchange bench in two matches of the

Super League Test series Super may refer to: Computing * SUPER (computer program), or Simplified Universal Player Encoder & Renderer, a video converter / player * Super (computer science), a keyword in object-oriented programming languages * Super key (keyboard butt ...

against

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

. In the

1999 Tri-Nations series The 1999 Rugby League Tri-Nations series was contested by Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand in 1999. It was the first multi-national rugby league tournament to feature the sport's three world powers since the 1989–92 World Cup (the 19 ...

, game 1, he was a starting for the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

ns against

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, scoring a try. Also in 1999, Richardson made 16 appearances for the club as they finished as minor premiers and reached the preliminary final against St George. Richardson played at centre in the match as Cronulla took a half time lead but fell away in the second half to lose 24–8. In 2002, Richardson joined South Sydney and played in the club's first game since readmission which was a 40–6 loss against arch rivals the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...

. Souths finished second last in their first season back in the NRL and were only saved from the wooden spoon due to Canterbury's salary cap breaches. In 2003, Richardson made 6 appearances as Souths finished last on the table. In 2004, Richardson joined Newcastle and played one season for the club before retiring.

References

External links

Russell Richardson Player Profile
1977 births Rugby league players from Sydney Australian rugby league players Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players Newcastle Knights players South Sydney Rabbitohs players Australia national rugby league team players Living people Rugby league centres {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1970s-stub