Talented Richmond playmaker Shane Edwards will play his 200th AFL game when the Tigers clash with Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night.

He becomes the 27th footballer in Tigerland history to reach the 200-game milestone, and the first Indigenous player to accomplish the feat with the Club.

Edwards was Richmond’s second selection (No. 26 overall) in the 2006 National Draft, having been recruited from SANFL club North Adelaide.

Watch Shane Edwards' Under 18 highlights

At 18 years, 177 days of age, Edwards made his senior debut with the Tigers in Round 4, 2007, against the Western Bulldogs at the MCG, and he played 16 games all-up that season in an encouraging start to his AFL career.

Since then, Edwards has gone on to establish himself as a valuable member of the Richmond line-up through his innate ability to find space and create opportunities for teammates with quick, slick ball use.

To underline his expertise in this area of the game, he’s currently ranked fifth across the AFL competition for goal assists per match this season.

Back in 2014, when Edwards recorded a career-high fourth placing in Richmond’s Jack Dyer Medal, Tigers coach Damien Hardwick described him as “an incredible talent”.

“He does things that only a few people can do,” Hardwick said.

“The ability for him to get in and out of traffic and create goals for others is outstanding.”

 

As we pay tribute to Shane Edwards in the lead-up to his 200-game milestone, here are 10 things you may, or may not, know about him . . .

  1. He grew up in the Adelaide suburb of Golden Grove and started playing football when he was eight years old with the Golden Grove Kookaburras.
  2. He later joined SANFL club North Adelaide and progressed through the ranks there, making his senior debut with the Roosters as a 17-year-old in 2006.
  3. At the AFL’s 2006 National Draft Combine, he had top three scores in the beep test, the three kilometre time trial and the standing vertical leap test.
  4. His father, Greg, was a top-class full-forward with SANFL club Central District, kicking 100 goals in the 1982 season.
  5. He was not part of a winning team in his first 12 senior appearances for Richmond (11 losses and a draw).
  6. He had an AFL career-high 30 disposals against Geelong at the MCG in Round 6, 2013.
  7. He has kicked 136 goals throughout his league career, with a season-best return of 29 in 2012.
  8. The most goals he’s kicked in a match for the Tigers is four against the Western Bulldogs in Round 20, 2012 at the MCG.
  9. He has never been part of a winning Richmond team against Geelong, but has played in just one losing side against Brisbane.
  10. His best result in the Brownlow Medal is six votes in 2015.