I'm gutted. Seems such a nice bloke, had a bad first season but since then has been fantastic and has won everything he could possibly win apart from WCC and Golden Boot. He will be missed massively, but you can't blame him for going home at all. I thought he might have retired with Wigan but again can't knock him for going back to his former club back home to finish his career.

I think Matty Smith has shown some ability with the boot.

A lot of the time kicking is all about prep and repetition. The best kickers in the world are the guys you see staying late after a match practising over and over again.

Matty Smith is a good kicker. Get him into kicking practice at the end of the season and we'll be fine. He kicked a corker from the touchline at Leeds a few months ago.

Thanks for everything Pat I just hope you can finish at Wigan with a Grand Final win and the Challenge Cup if we are being greedy, I think last night the reception you got says everything, now bring us some silverware this season.
Richards is Superman. !!!!!

no doubt Pat has been a great servant to Wigan and will be remembered along side all the past greats. If I recall rightly after his first season some people were saying get rid as he was rubbish! How wrong were they? Pat is up there with the best of them, and rightly so. But Wigan , as a team, will move on just like they did when Botica left.
Thanks Pat for a fantastic 8 years, enjoy your life back in Oz.

Could Pat go down as the safest pair of hands in Wigan's history? I don't think I've ever seen him drop a ball (Apart from when going for the line under pressure etc...) every time someone would put up a high bomb or kick to the corner, if Pat was under it I would never worry, it's like when a German steps up to take a penalty, there is no doubt whatsoever. I don't think we will see his like ever again and I honestly believe he should be mentioned in the same breath as Ellery Hanley and Billy Boston. Truly one of Wigan's greatest ever players.

I remember him dropping a simple pass with the line begging v Saints at home, might have been 2010. We went on to lose by less than 6. Yes though very safe hands and one of the best wingers in SL history. Radlinski would be my pick for safest hands. I hear Hampo wasn't bad either but he's a bit before my time

In a play-off semi at Headingley, when Nobby was boss, we struggled all the game but were still in with a chance. Tim Smith suddenly shot out one of those wonder passes that he used to find every couple of games. It must have been 50 yards in length and straight as an arrow. It found Pat in open space on the left. If there was one person you'd want in that situation it was Paddy - and he fumbled it.

He'd have walked in, no problem. A real head-in-hands moment. But we can hardly whinge about that, with all the other good stuff he did.

Anybody remember the knock on from the draw away at Cas [Either last year or the year before he was clear away, ball in hand, 30m out and he just dropped it cold, nobody around him.

Hampson would be the one person that you would want under a high bomb.

Radlinski would be the one person that you would want to make the cover tackle.


Overall I think Pat has been a good player for us, but to elevate him to "legend" status is wide off the mark.

I agree with you re hampo and rads but feel pat deserves more than simply "good player" status. If you start to name better wingers than him for Wigan you'd get a very short list IMO.

This is the one that always sticks in my mind, think it was 22-4 at the time it happened and we went on to draw 22-22, with Dixon missing a conversion to win it.

He's rubbish that Richards!

Was worth the entrance fee, just to watch Radlinski's reading of the game.

Pat is a good allrounder. Reliable in defence, great in the air, decent finisher, good kicker.
However, he's not a true great in any one of the disciplines.

He's a modern great, but not a Club legend. We have sooo many good players, you have to be a bit special to earn that accolade.
Ask yourself this - purely as a winger would you have him instead of Offiah, Robinson, or Charnley ? not me.
As a full back would you have him ahead of Radders or Sam ? no.

A great bloke. A true Club man. A worker. Respected by his peers. Mr Dependable. The backs version of Mick Cassidy, Neil Cowie or Lockers.

And Pat is the one you'd want to either;

Be on the end of a cross field kick

Or

Sink the match winning conversion from the touch line.

Pat is equally as good at the above as what the players you've mentioned are as good at the skills mentioned.

I think 8 years service + his points record total makes him very, very close to legendary status as well.

Pat sits at no 3 on the all time points scorers list, doesn't he? Only Sullivan and Farrell have scored more points wearing the cherry and white. He has conducted himself on and off the field in a manner which has reflected the values of our great club. He won the MoS in 2010 after a superb season.

Mention has been made of Offiah and Robinson, two of the greatest players in world rugby history. Was Pat as good a player as those two? No. Was his 2010 season as good as anything either of Offiah and Robinson produced? Arguably.

Just because he may not have been as good as Offiah or Robinson doesn't mean he isn't/won't be a legend. Pat Richards has played a significant role in the modern history of this club. People will talk in years to come about him, his long service to our great club and most of all that special 2010 season.

For me a truley great player is someone who can change a game single handed. Farrell, Hanley, Kenny, Edwards, Gregory, Offiah, Robinson, Miles, Barrett, Tomkins even Carney showed this ability. Richards doesn't. I can't remember him beating a man one on one with a dummy, drop of the shoulder, step or putting someone through a gap with a short or cut out pass.

A great player? Not for me. He has been a very good player and a great ambassador for the club in his 8 years though (well, the last 7 of them anyway). Nice fella too.

Offiah couldn't defend could he? I'd take an inform Richards over Charnley too purely because he's much safer in defence, more of an aerial threat and he's an outstanding kicker. Are we getting mixed up between which player is most entertaining and which is actually best to have in the team? I'm surprised you don't rate him as a 'true great' in the air or as a kicker by the way. Some of his Aussie rules style catches have been superb. I don't have time to check his licking stats right now but they must be up there with the best

I was going to post a long list of Wigan wingers that were better RL players than him, but that's not fair. In a CC constrained competition he has been very good value for the Wigan club. From a personal perspective I have heard very few bad things about him too.

As others have posted, he's been a workhorse for Wigan, and a good one at that. His kicking has been in Wigans top 3 or 4 that I can remember. Not a legend for me, but a valuable team member who will be missed.

I won't ask how you know this

This.

The only thing I would add is that I rate Richards as an outstanding professional and that will be the biggest hole he will leave.

bloody iPhones! I asked me friend to give me a hand if she's not too busty before as well!

A hand with the licking


When in hole throw away shovel!!!!

Not too busty, you only have small hands? lol

Do you know the way to Oldham?