Ted Richards came to Sydney as a 22-year-old looking to make the most of his last shot at the AFL.

After 33 games at Essendon and limited opportunities in the red and black, Richards was traded to the Swans in 2006 as a key forward to play alongside the likes of Barry Hall and Micky O’Loughlin.

While his role up forward didn’t really work out, in the last six seasons Richards has developed into an All-Australian defender, a premiership player, and is now set to play his 150th game for the Sydney Swans this weekend against the Gold Coast Suns at the SCG.

Speaking ahead of the Swans’ final training session before his milestone match, the 30-year-old said he was glad he’d made the most of his chances with the Swans.

“It’s something I’m really proud of coming from Essendon and 33 games there, so getting the Life Membership here at the Swans is something I’m really proud of,” Richards said.

“I actually came up here to be a key forward prospect … but I took a turn halfway through my career.

“I’m really happy down back and I’m really enjoying my footy down there and I think we’ve got a really good back six and I’m very happily settled down there.”

Coming off the back of his best season to date, Richards said he still finds it hard to believe how far he has come since arriving in Sydney seven years ago.

After a handful of consistent seasons between 2006 and 2009, Richards fell out of favour and played two months of football in the Swans reserves in 2010 and feared his football career may be coming to an end.

“When it was brought up that I made the (All-Australian) squad it was really exciting and then to be told by John Longmire that I’d made (the team) definitely was something exciting for me because only a few years ago I spent eight weeks straight in the reserves and thought my time in footy was up,” Richards said about his resurgence at the Swans.

“I definitely didn’t think I’d be standing here about to play my 150th game for the club.”

While many players who reach ‘club veteran’ status might consider slowing down, Richards believes his best is still to come and doesn’t consider his age to be a factor.

“I was watching footy the other night and they were talking about a player coming into their peak of their career, and I thought ‘hang on, that player is 23 or something’ and if that’s the case then I’m definitely an exception to the rule,” he said.

“The optimist in me thinks that this year can be even better than last year.

“To not miss a game last year, and I think the year before I missed one, and I haven’t really missed a training session in a long time, so touch wood this continues.

“My passion and enjoyment is as high as it’s ever been, so I see no reason why I can’t (keep on playing).”

The Swans will unfurl their 2012 premiership flag in Saturday's match against Gold Coast at the SCG.

It brings back memories for Richards, whose first game at the venue as a Swan was for the presentation of the 2005 flag, not long after his trade from Essendon.

"In my first game at the SCG, we unfurled the flag here in round two and we got smashed," he recalled of the match against Port Adelaide.

"I'm fully aware that if we take our mind off what it should be on, we could be in for a real shock.

"It's something we're proud to do and then we'll quickly get down to what we're here to do and that's win on the weekend."

The defender said he also hoped to one day play alongside younger brother Xavier, who joined the Swans as a rookie in 2013.

“It definitely is a dream to play with him one day, but he’s a skinny 19-year-old and he’s got a lot to work on, and the other thing is he’s got to push someone out of a spot, so I’m hoping it’s not me,” Richards said.