I agree with you re hampo and rads but feel pat deserves more than simply "good player" status. If you start to name better wingers than him for Wigan you'd get a very short list IMO.

This is the one that always sticks in my mind, think it was 22-4 at the time it happened and we went on to draw 22-22, with Dixon missing a conversion to win it.

He's rubbish that Richards!

Was worth the entrance fee, just to watch Radlinski's reading of the game.

Pat is a good allrounder. Reliable in defence, great in the air, decent finisher, good kicker.
However, he's not a true great in any one of the disciplines.

He's a modern great, but not a Club legend. We have sooo many good players, you have to be a bit special to earn that accolade.
Ask yourself this - purely as a winger would you have him instead of Offiah, Robinson, or Charnley ? not me.
As a full back would you have him ahead of Radders or Sam ? no.

A great bloke. A true Club man. A worker. Respected by his peers. Mr Dependable. The backs version of Mick Cassidy, Neil Cowie or Lockers.

And Pat is the one you'd want to either;

Be on the end of a cross field kick

Or

Sink the match winning conversion from the touch line.

Pat is equally as good at the above as what the players you've mentioned are as good at the skills mentioned.

I think 8 years service + his points record total makes him very, very close to legendary status as well.

Pat sits at no 3 on the all time points scorers list, doesn't he? Only Sullivan and Farrell have scored more points wearing the cherry and white. He has conducted himself on and off the field in a manner which has reflected the values of our great club. He won the MoS in 2010 after a superb season.

Mention has been made of Offiah and Robinson, two of the greatest players in world rugby history. Was Pat as good a player as those two? No. Was his 2010 season as good as anything either of Offiah and Robinson produced? Arguably.

Just because he may not have been as good as Offiah or Robinson doesn't mean he isn't/won't be a legend. Pat Richards has played a significant role in the modern history of this club. People will talk in years to come about him, his long service to our great club and most of all that special 2010 season.

For me a truley great player is someone who can change a game single handed. Farrell, Hanley, Kenny, Edwards, Gregory, Offiah, Robinson, Miles, Barrett, Tomkins even Carney showed this ability. Richards doesn't. I can't remember him beating a man one on one with a dummy, drop of the shoulder, step or putting someone through a gap with a short or cut out pass.

A great player? Not for me. He has been a very good player and a great ambassador for the club in his 8 years though (well, the last 7 of them anyway). Nice fella too.

Offiah couldn't defend could he? I'd take an inform Richards over Charnley too purely because he's much safer in defence, more of an aerial threat and he's an outstanding kicker. Are we getting mixed up between which player is most entertaining and which is actually best to have in the team? I'm surprised you don't rate him as a 'true great' in the air or as a kicker by the way. Some of his Aussie rules style catches have been superb. I don't have time to check his licking stats right now but they must be up there with the best

I was going to post a long list of Wigan wingers that were better RL players than him, but that's not fair. In a CC constrained competition he has been very good value for the Wigan club. From a personal perspective I have heard very few bad things about him too.

As others have posted, he's been a workhorse for Wigan, and a good one at that. His kicking has been in Wigans top 3 or 4 that I can remember. Not a legend for me, but a valuable team member who will be missed.

I won't ask how you know this

This.

The only thing I would add is that I rate Richards as an outstanding professional and that will be the biggest hole he will leave.

Do you know the way to Oldham?