The Richards-Pannam families are as fundamental to Collingwood as black and white stripes. They span the history of the club for a hundred years from the first game though to the 1990 premiership side. Ron Richards with a young grandson Ed. Ed Richards' granddad is Ron Richards, his great uncle the famous Lou. From his grandparent to his great uncles and his great-great-grand father across five generations, the Richards and Pannams played about 1000 games of VFL football for Collingwood. The patriarch Charlie Pannam snr played for Collingwood in 1894 when it was in the VFA and then in the club’s first game in the new VFL. Charlie Pannam snr was Ron Richards’ grandfather. Ron’s uncles played for Collingwood too. When Ron and Lou were good enough to ply vFL there was only one club for them. It was out of their hands. Ironically now it was also of Ed’s hands who he would play for – it was the draft that would decide, not family history. Ron knew Ed had it. "He’s got something," he told Ed’s dad, Kane, as they watched him play juniors.

"Ron used to go to Ed's games all the time until he got a bit ill and the cold would get to him," Kane said. "Dad could spot good young players anywhere. He said to me, 'Make sure he follows through with it because he has got something'. Ed was only nine or 10 at that stage, but Ron could see it." Ron Richards did everything at Collingwood. He came to the club as a player, the younger brother of Lou, but made his own mark. He was voted their best player in the finals and won a flag as a player alongside Lou in 1953. He coached the under 19s and the reserves for years and even filled in as senior coach for two matches. He was the chairman of selectors and Leigh Matthews assistant coach in 1990 when they won the flag. He worked for Collingwood in some capacity for six decades. He was the talkative but never quoted backroom man. Lou was the front man – football's first and ultimate showman.

Ronnie was out of Collingwood by the time Ed was along so Ed didn't really know that side of him. Collingwood premiership heroes Ron (left) and Lou Richards. Credit:The Age "He did get us great seats at game," Ed laughed. "As a junior I didn't know much about it but then kids moved around in teams and new kids came in and they knew me and I became aware the family was prominent in football, but to me he was just Poppa." Going through the system Ed knew that the Magpies had no tie to him so he just aimed to make it as a footballer, not a Collingwood player.

"Every player grows up dreaming of playing for he club they barrack for and I was no different, I had the family history too, but it was always more unlikely than likely it would be at Collingwood. I just wanted to focus on myself then and be good enough to play. I couldn't be happier. I am at a great club," Ed said. Red Dog: Ed Richards has quickly adapted to the pace of AFL football. Credit:AAP The idea that Ed, the grandson of this family that is as intrinsically Collingwood as the Magpie itself, would play somewhere else breaks the heart of the club's own Ed, president Eddie McGuire. “We would love to have him. It doesn’t feel right to me that he is not at Collingwood. In these days when 25 per cent of the kids in the draft will go to clubs through zones and academies the grandson of probably the strongest family tie in the history of the AFL-VFL doesn’t go to that club. [It] doesn't feel right,” McGuire said. “I like seeing families in football, I would like to see a brothers rule where brothers play together – I think the Brayshaws should all be playing together at North where their dad was on the board and their uncle was president. We saw Tom Phillips and his brother Ed playing against one another last week.

“At the moment the way the rules are if my sons were good enough to be drafted they couldn’t go to Collingwood despite 20 years as unpaid president but if I was in the draft I’d be in a zone to a club because my dad is Irish and my mum Scottish. That's the way it is.” Collingwood could have drafted Richards last year with their first pick but they chose Jayden Stephenson. Pick six was a little too high in the draft for him. The Bulldogs were thrilled. Their then recruiter Simon Dalrymple, now at Sydney Swans, liked Richards enough that after taking Aaron Naughton at 9 they regarded Richards the next best talent. They were chuffed that he was still there when hey had their next crack at 16. Kane sees his dad in Ed. “He has a lot of Ronnie about him,” he said. Though he thinks football has to thank his wife, Carey, for Ed making it as a footballer, not the Richards family. At 16 Ed was no good thing to make it. He was too short.

“He had the Richards height!” Kane said. “Then he shot up, so he has his mum’s side to thank for that." He also has his mum's side to thank for the red hair – a great aunt had bright red hair like Ed's. He's a throwback to her. And to the four Charlies and Albies and to Lou and Ron. "Where Ed is now and how well he is going is down to him. It’s about Ed’s story now not Collingwood.” PANNAM-RICHARDS DYNASTY

Charlie Pannam snr

229 games for Collingwood

111 goals

League leading goal kicker (1905)

2 premierships (1902, 1903)

Collingwood captain (1905)

Collingwood Hall of Fame Albert Pannam

Charlie’s younger brother

28 games (1907- 09)