Geoff Raines was a bit of a party lad.
He liked a drink, and the ladies, and the ladies liked him.
Mike Richardson arrived at Collingwood on the same day in 1983, albeit in different circumstances
Richo was different. He liked training. He had a casual drink, but never went overboard.
Early into his career he met and moved in with pop star Colleen Hewett.
Raines was often injured at Collingwood.
He missed a lot of 1983, and given he was on massive money, played through it in 84 & 85.
Raines would often not train through the week, just so he could play on weekends.
Richardson, on the other hand, would train extra.
Raines somehow found his way to their place one day, while everyone else was at Collingwood preseason training.
Apparently he knew Colleen would be the only one home.
Richardson came home to find Raines’ ute out the front.
While opening the door he hears a scrambling inside. By the time he opens the door and gets inside, Raines has collected his clothes, and is running naked down the hall way away from him.
Richo takes off after him, but Raines, with a head start, jumps over the back fence into a lane way behind the house, and gets away.
“Your ankle looks like it’s OK” he yells after him.
Richo and Colleen have a little heart to heart, and it’s decided it would be better if he sleep somewhere else that night.
They try to make a go of it, but eventually split up soon after.
Raines goes into the club and says he wants out. He thinks he needs a fresh start.
Richardson goes into the club, unbeknownst to Raines, and also requests a trade.
Collingwood need money more than they need players.
Plus, while there were rumours around the club, no-one officially knows the reason why either want out.
During the R1 game v Essendon officials from both clubs discuss the possibility to trading them to the Bombers.
During the game Richardson injures his ankle.
Sheedy gets wind of it and thinks the two of them will replace Vanda & Daisy who got injured in R 2 against Geelong.
While the Bombers do the physical and decide he’s worth the investment, Raines plays the next week against Sydney.
The trade goes through. Collingwood give us Raines and Richardson, we give them the proceeds of the back to back premiership merchandise sales and Peter Bradbury. Raines gets withdrawn from the R3 team and fronts up to Essendon training the Monday before R4.
Both of them arrive at Essendon on the same day.
With the threat of them punching the suitcase out of each other, and with Richardson and Hewett now officially history, the two have a beer at the Social Club. Then a few more, then a few more.
Today they are best mates. When Richardson came to stay in Melbourne a while back to try and kick off a footy academy, he lived with Raines.
Some or None of this might actually be true. But it is Forgotten Footy Folklore.