Risdon celebrates 100 game milestone

Bunbury's Josh Risdon had a couple of extra reasons to remember his 100th A-League game on Saturday.

The Perth Glory defender recently-capped Socceroo was named captain for his milestone match against Western Sydney Wanderers and was surprised by the man selected to toss the coin.

Risdon’s father Ray was on the pitch to conduct that ritual, which the 23-year-old described as a “little surprise”.

“It was very special and had a few mementos all in the one night, ” he said.

“It’s a night I’m definitely going to treasure.”

Risdon was moved from his usual right-back position to the left side of Glory’s defence for the 2-2 draw at nib Stadium and described his milestone as a “great honour” at an “historic club”.

He said reaching 100 A-League games was never a direct target, instead saying he “aimed to play as many games as I could”.

Risdon’s character and work rate was praised by assistant coach Andrew Ord in a special post-match presentation, where club owner Tony Sage presented him with a match ball signed by the entire team.

The Bunbury United product has built a significant list of achievements since making his debut against North Queensland Fury in 2010.

He singled out the 2012 A-League grand final as a highlight despite the team’s loss.

Risdon is the only Perth Glory player from that match still at the club.

Among the other highlights are winning the club’s best player from that grand final season, selection in the A-League All Stars team to play Manchester United — where he ended up with Dutch star Robin Van Persie’s shirt — and his Socceroos debut against Bangladesh last month.

Rumours have long existed about potential moves to European clubs and Risdon admits it remains his goal, however soon the chance might present itself.

“I’ve always had the ambition to go overseas and if it comes along, I will take it, ” he said.