And the sport of football is lucky to still have her. Not because she wanted out, but because she nearly had no choice.
In 2017, she hit a crossroads — play out of town or give the sport away.
‘‘I’d played football through school at Moama Public, then played in the under-14 boys side with Moama Football Club,’’ she said.
‘‘It was awesome. The boys and coaches were welcoming, there was no awkwardness, we all just loved playing football together. I had a great year and won the coach’s award.
‘‘Then I had to move to youth level, but Echuca had too many, so it looked like I had nowhere to go.’’
Richardson spent time playing representative footy and with Tatura last year while weighing up her options.
But she had made such an impression on Moama, the club was willing to change to give her and a new group of teammates the chance to play in black and white.
This year Moama has fielded a youth girls side, with Richardson a co-captain.
It made sense for her to stay with the club. Already a regular in Moama’s netball sides, she spends six days a week training or playing in black and white across her two sports.
But the youth girls side became just a stepping stone on her football journey.
‘‘In the early stages of youth girls, the Bendigo Pioneers came to help organise and run a session,’’ she said.
‘‘After a session I got an invite to train with the Pioneers development side, which I jumped at.
‘‘I trained, was able to get a few games in the development squad and, at stages, was able to push into the seniors and get experience against some of the best in the state.’’
Already making a name for herself as one of the best young players in the region, the biggest accolade of her young career was yet to come — a chance to be a part of the 26-player squad to represent Victoria Country.
While the side played its first game on Sunday, for Richardson, the situation was still sinking in last week.
‘‘It’s pretty hectic,’’ she said.
‘‘We’ve played a practice match against the Richmond indigenous side a week ago, we have our opening game in Mt Gambier on Sunday against the South Australian under-16s, another training in Melbourne the following week and a match against Vic Metro later in the month.
‘‘It’s such a huge honour to play for Vic Country, to get to be at this level and with the best players in the state.
‘‘I’m still new to footy, I’ve only been playing for around two years, so there is still so much I have to learn, but I’m so thankful to get the opportunity in these incredible systems.’’