Harper Sercombe
Footscray Lacrosse Club’s Richard Tonelli further enriched his legacy in the sport on Saturday.
The veteran suited up for game 600 on the weekend in a match against Williamstown at Angliss Park, making him the first Australian to do so.
In a game that is obscure and unknown to many Australians, Tonelli said he was lucky to stumble across the sport as a 14-year-old.
“I had a friend I was at school with and he was explaining this game of lacrosse during a maths class, as you would, and it just intrigued me,” he said.
“He said why don’t you come check it out and I went for a training session and loved it from day one.”
Thirty five years on and his whole family is at the club. His son Samuel was among his team mates on Saturday for the milestone game.
“My kids are involved, my wife’s team manager for my kids team and pretty involved,” he said.
“I always encourage my kids to talk to opposing players, I say you might be playing against them for the next 20 years.”
Breaking records is never something Tonelli had his eyes set on, but even after smashing multiple, he said it is still a strange feeling.
“I was pretty surprised to realise (he had broken the Australian games record), I just never thought anything of it,” he said.
“People say how do you hang around for 600 games, I just say it pays off to be stubborn, my wife could probably vouch for that.”
Throughout his long career, Tonelli has reached great heights with his Lacrosse winning multiple premierships for Footscray, including a division two flag last season. He has also represented both Victoria and the nation.
He said just playing with mates is reward enough for him.
The sport is addictive to Tonelli, he said he constantly encourages others to see what makes his game so great.
“Come down, check it out, give it a go, it’s a game that once it’s in your blood you’ll never look back you’ll just want to keep playing,” he said.
“The mate ship, it’s a different sport, a challenging sport, you really have to work and dedicate yourself to it.”
Throughout his long career Tonelli said he has played against a lot of familiar faces, and now feels comfortable in most opposing team change rooms across the state.
“I’ve made great friends from other clubs,” he said.
“I’ve been lucky, I’ve met some great people on the journey.”
It was a tough day for Footscray on Saturday, losing to ladder leaders Williamstown, 10-1.
Footscray is currently sitting in third on the ladder in the men’s community cup season with one match to go. Footscray plays MCC-Bendigo in the final round.
The club’s state league side sits on top with two rounds remaining.
