Silly Billys may have to glance twice

The giant paint job in honour of Billy Slater is right in the heart of Melbourne’s epic sporting precinct.

Billy Slater of the Storm poses in front of mural of himself at Richmond railway station. Picture: Getty Images.

There must be a few coffee-­gulping, boutique beer-sipping, scarf-wearing hipsters in Melbourne who walk past the larger-than-life mural of Billy Slater near the MCG and ask from their mouths framed so delicately by meticulously groomed facial hair, “Who’s he play for? Collingwood or Richmond?”

The giant paint job in honour of Slater is outside Richmond train station in the heart of Melbourne’s epic sporting precinct. You jump off at Richmond to walk to the MCG and beyond, to little old AAMI Park for something called rugby league. The Melbourne Storm’s home ground sits in the background like a house extension that is a pretty snappy little joint in its own right … a belter, really … but nothing compared with the main enclosure. It’s a curious mix on a night like this upcoming Friday. Thousands upon thousands of Melburnians, about 100,000 of them, many of whom will alight at Richmond station, will walk directly to the AFL preliminary final between the Tigers and Pies. The stragglers, about 30,000 of them, will head out the back to watch the Storm host the Cronulla Sharks. It’s the lesser of the two occasions, but potentially the most historic and sobering. Because if the Storm lose their bar-room brawl against the Sharks, it will be the final ­appearance by the greatest fullback who’s ever lived.

“Friday is a huge occasion,” Slater says. “It’s not about me. It’s about the opportunity we have.”

For any rugby league player to make an impact in Melbourne is an achievement. Slater, Cameron Smith and Coper Cronk have managed to do it. Most of these murals don’t have the player’s name on it. Slater’s name is on this one, just in case the hipsters need an education.

The 35-year-old has recovered from two shoulder operations, won two premierships and perfumed a magic trick of David Copperfield proportions by being man of the series in an Origin series he hardly played. He’s at the peak of his powers but retiring anyway. He’s made his mark in a town that has AFL in its blood and league only in the corner of its eye. But he’s captured more attention than most and win or lose on Friday night, it’s going to be his last hurrah in Melbourne.

“It’s been pretty special,” he says. “This club and this city have given me an opportunity to do what I’ve done in the last 16 years. And to be honest, they were the first and only club who gave me that opportunity. I’m grateful for that, and hopefully I can say goodbye in the right way on Friday night. But the situation we’re in is far bigger than myself.

“If we play well, we’ll get ourselves in a position to play in a grand final, which is what we’ve been working for over the last 11 months.”