While the weekend’s decider will be Richards’ third Grand Final appearance, the 30-year-old admitted he felt the same level of excitement as he did leading into his first Grand Final eight years’ ago, and was doing his best to keep it under wraps until as late in the week as possible.
Speaking to SwansTV, the defender said he wouldn’t stray from his regular study and household duties in the lead up, before taking it all in when the team lands in Melbourne this evening.
“I’m pretty excited and I won’t lie, I am thinking about the Grand Final a bit and the excitement and the buzz,” Richards told SwansTV.
“But for me, I’m trying to keep things as boring and regular as I do most weeks, which is a boring routine, so I’m trying to keep myself busy and my apartment has never been cleaner!
“I might even do a little bit of uni reading, who knows?
“But I try not to think about the game too much too far out from the game.”
For Richards, the real stuff will begin late in the week, including the Swans’ main training session held this morning ahead of the club’s flight down south.
But it won’t be until the Swans set foot on Victorian soil that Richards will allow himself to truly soak up the experience.
“I watched the (Hawthorn v Port Adelaide) game last Saturday night and I’ve been doing my homework throughout the week, which is a normal part of the routine,” he said.
“But from memory, it’s not until you land down there on Thursday afternoon and that’s when you get hit with that buzz and excitement of the Melbourne finals’ atmosphere.
“We’ve got it up here, but it’s not to the level that Melbourne has.
“I think you can kind of feed off that energy that it creates, so probably once I get down to Melbourne then I’ll start to really get involved.”
Richards, who began his career at Essendon, recalled the hype of the Bombers’ Grand Final appearance in 2001, before experiencing it for himself in 2006, when he played in the Swans’ losing Grand Final side.
The defender, who became a premiership player for the first time six years later in 2012, said while he had more Grand Final experience than some, it didn’t mean he was immune to getting caught up in the excitement.
“I’ve been very fortunate to be part of some Grand Final campaigns,” he said.
“In my first year at Essendon I wasn’t part of the team or even close to being selected, but I was part of the 2001 Grand Final that they played in and then played in 2006, and then fortunately the 2012 premiership.
“I still get as excited as I did for my first Grand Final so it’s good to know I’m aware of what happens and what goes on, but I still feel like an 18 year old kid in the back of the car for the Grand Final Parade.”
In comparison to his 2012 Grand Final preparations, which saw him battle an ongoing ankle injury, this year Richards will head into the match fully fit and ready for the challenge.
However, fitness aside – and without a battle with Lance Franklin confronting him – Richards said he would need to be at his absolute best to help shut down Hawks’ spearhead Jarryd Roughead this Saturday.
“This time in 2012 I had a dodgy ankle and I was paranoid about what was going to happen to that and I was paranoid I was going to have 20 goals kicked on me, so it’s good that I don’t have to play on Buddy,” he said.
“In saying that, it’s not like Roughead can’t play the game, he’s just another gun and we saw last weekend what he’s capable of.
“It’s going to be a huge challenge regardless, but I’m ready for it.”
