Ron lived and breathed Collingwood before and after his playing career ended in 1956, serving as reserves coach, on the match committee, on the board and as a trusted sidekick to a succession of Collingwood coaches including Tom Hafey and Leigh Matthews. Quieter than 'Louie the Lip', the late Ron Richards, who died in 2013, earned a reputation as a big game player with many claiming he was best on ground playing off a wing in the 1953 triumph. Collingwood flag heroes Ron (left) and Lou Richards. Ron's grandson Ed has joined the Dogs. Dalrymple, for his part, had become keen on 18-year-old Ed as he watched the youngster grow from a skinny Carey Grammar student to a tearaway Oakleigh Chargers defender in the space of just 18 months as he roared up the draft charts. "His development during the year was really impressive," Dalrymple said.

But nowhere near as impressive as his football lineage which stretches as far back as 1894. That's because Ron and Lou also had a famous footballing grandfather on their mum's side. He was Charlie Pannam, who began with Collingwood VFA from 1894-1896 then became a VFL player with the club from 1897-1907, before spending one season as captain-coach at Richmond when the Tigers joined the league in 1908. Pannam, who had a Greek heritage but shortened his name from Pannamopoulos, was a footballing pioneer who was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996. He's composed. He doesn't panic with the ball and he can defend. Simon Dalrymple on Ed Richards

Along with a three other family members, another Charlie and two Alberts, the Pannam dynasty yielded 939 games, mostly with the Magpies but also with stints at Richmond and South Melbourne. Now Ed has the chance to add to that games tally after the Bulldogs selected him with pick 16 in the national draft. While that moment might have caused the hearts of some diehard Magpies to skip a beat, connecting a famous Collingwood name to the Bulldogs is a positive result from an historical perspective. After all Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge knows better than most what it is like to have a famous grandfather play for the Pies. His grandfather, Jack, played for Collingwood in the quartet of premierships in the late 1930s but Luke played with the Bulldogs, Melbourne and St Kilda before taking the Bulldogs to the drought-breaking 2016 flag.

The Rose family connection to the Bulldogs has also seen the two clubs compete for the Robert Rose Cup since 2000. So the Richards link only charges the current running between the two clubs further. Regardless of his football background, it was Ed's pace and class that made the Bulldogs want him. "He's composed. He doesn't panic with the ball and he can defend," Dalrymple said. Eventually, they think Ed might replace a similarly spindly running defender named Bob Murphy.