Pat Richards: There goes my hero

Pat Richards you deadset champion, I will be very sad to see you leave my beloved Tigers for a second time.

Sure I love Robbie Farah, but I love you more.

You will be playing on and I wish you all the best in the south of France, so my heart doesn’t ache as it did when Taniela Tuiaki was forced into retirement by his wrecked ankle. But nonetheless, the fans are going to miss you.

Your towering torpedo kick offs changed the game. Everyone in the NRL wanted to kick off like Pat Richards.

You had a dead eye in front of goal, we could always rely on you to add the two points… Well, most of the time.

You were forever solid in defence, whacking anything that moved down your left edge.

And then there are your thousands of tries. You were a great finisher, but have also always been able to beat all 13 guys to put the ball over the white line.

I’m sure a talented, big, strapping lad like you could have made it in the NFL just like Jarryd Hayne. Or the NBA – even the Australian cricket team could have used your quick bouncer and power-hitting in the middle order.

My fondest memories are of course from the 2005 grand final. I know it’s cliché, but seeing you take that Benji Marshall flick pass, sprint down the sideline, shove Rod Jensen 10 feet into the ground and dive over for the try will be with me forever.

That is the stuff dreams are made of.

But all the same, I will remember you hobbling around the field when the injections had worn off. You played 65 minutes on a dodgy, dodgy ankle. How heroic, you came through when the team needed you most, when the fans needed you, and when I needed you.

What could have been if you had stayed in the NRL after 2005. What could you have done with those extra eight years in Australia?

You could have played Origin. You could have played Test matches for Australia. You could have made a code switch to union and played in two Rugby World Cups!

What I do know is that your time with my Tigers has been all too short. But it has been great. You have left a lasting legacy in my heart that will be passed onto my children and then onto their children.

Patty, it’s been fun. Be sure to do something else outrageous when you return to the Super League.