The boot's back: Tigers winger's arsenal of kicks the stuff of legend

PAT Richards is back at the Wests Tigers and he has brought the biggest kick in rugby league with him.

Pat Richards, back with the Wests Tigers, pictured at their Concord Oval base. Picture: Mark Evans

PAT Richards knows exactly where the Steeden needs to be kicked. A sweet spot that, when found, sends balls higher than ANZ Stadium beer prices.

"But you have to watch hours of Andrew Johns video to learn it," the Wests Tigers favourite grins. "At least, that's how it started for me."

After eight outstanding years in the English Super League - a run which included grand final and Challenge Cup triumphs, one Man of Steel award, even stints with Ireland - Richards is back in Sydney and ready to reclaim that tag for which he is most famed, "Biggest Boot in the NRL''.

Yep, in Richards, 31, you have a Wests Tigers winger whose arsenal of drop-outs, drop goals, conversions, even kick-offs are a thing of legend.

And for proof, join the 100,000 league fans who, on YouTube, have watched replays of Richards' famed 45m field goal against St Helens this year. A kick which, from out near the left sideline, rivals that famed 1996 cracker by Western Suburbs Magpie Andrew Willis, which wobbled a whopping 48m to sink North Sydney.

News_Rich_Media: Pat Richards field goal

"I was actually at a promotion the other day and all the fans wanted to talk about was that drop goal,'' Richards laughs.

"It's crazy... there has been a lot of talk but that one, it was totally off the cuff. I got thrown the ball on the last and just decided to have a go."

Elsewhere, the Tigers winger has also been known to send drop-outs 70m on the full. And as for his kick-offs? Well, in 2005 NRL officials actually apprehended his kicking tee and, after putting a measuring tape over every inch, deemed it illegal.

"The idea for your kick-offs is to get the ball twisting,'' Richards explains. "When you get it high, moving around in the air, it means the person underneath it has to start moving too. That's exactly what you want."

And as for his hang time?

News_Image_File: Pat Richards celebrates scoring a try while playing for Wigan.

"I haven't really timed them in terms of seconds or anything,'' the 2005 NRL premiership player continues. "My goal is to get the ball as high as possible. The high kick-offs are something I definitely work hard on."

After initially planning on a two-year stint in the UK, Richards stayed eight.

"So it was time for a new challenge,'' he says. "There are a lot of things I still want to achieve in the NRL and, at 31, I couldn't delay it any longer. There are a lot of good young players here at Wests Tigers. Just making the side is going to be tough."

FIVE GREAT FIELD GOALS

1. Andrew Willis (Western Suburbs)

Magpies playmaker inked his name in league folklore in 1996 when a wobbly drop goal travelled 48m to sink the Bears.

2. Shaun Timmins (NSW)

A great left-footer from 38m in the 83rd minute to clinch the Blues victory in game one of the 2004 Origin series.

3. Nathan Merritt (South Sydney)

Rabbitohs winger earned the 2009 Peter Frilingos Award - for headline moment of the year - after booting a sensational last-ditch field goal against Wests Tigers at the SCG.

4. Cooper Cronk (Queensland)

With the Maroons gone, Cronk kicked an inch-perfect drop goal to win Queensland the 2012 Origin series in game three.

5. Braith Anasta (Roosters, pictured right)

A dramatic Anasta drop goal in the final seconds against the Tigers sends the Roosters into extra time and eventually the 2010 grand final.