A selfless Jack Riewoldt big reason Richmond is playing in a prelim final, writes Matthew Lloyd
THERE was a time when Jack Riewoldt was petulant and emotional but he’s become an extremely selfless player and the Tigers wouldn’t be in a prelim final without him, writes MATTHEW LLOYD.
Matthew Lloyd
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JACK Riewoldt has become the quiet achiever at Richmond.
Over the past two years Dustin Martin has become the big-bucks superstar on his way to a Brownlow Medal, Alex Rance is now being spoken of as one of the greatest full-backs of all time while Trent Cotchin has taken his game and leadership to new heights over the last 12 months.
Then there is Jack.
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Long gone is the emotional and sometimes petulant Jack Riewoldt, who would wear his heart on his sleeve while terrorising opposition full-backs with his pack marking and cat-like skills at ground level while kicking bags of goals.
Riewoldt has had to evolve his game to fit in with what Damien Hardwick best believed would bring Richmond team success and also just how the modern game has changed.
Hardwick has been vindicated with the path he has chosen, one I had been very critical of in the past.
Jack is no longer the dominant force he once was but the Tigers would not be playing in a preliminary final without him.
As a matter of fact, they would be lost without him in their side.
Riewoldt has kicked 51 goals this season from 21 games, a far cry from the 78 goals he kicked from 22 games way back in 2010.
He has not diminished at all as a player as the numbers may suggest. He just plays a completely different game these days.
Riewoldt sits behind only Martin and Shane Edwards as the player who has created the most score assists at Richmond.
Jack is an extremely selfless player and doesn’t come from the school of full-forwards who will take a shot from anywhere inside 50 metres.
Jack has become almost too unselfish.
Riewoldt is also ranked fifth in the AFL overall for key forward score assists. Taylor Walker and Lance Franklin are ranked one and two.
Riewoldt’s change in demeanour on the field has been significant.
Looking from afar, Riewoldt to me has always been about team but his emotions have often got the better of him and he has let himself down.
It is for that reason, and maybe one or two more, as to why Riewoldt was never voted in to Richmond’s leadership group in the previous three seasons.
That all changed late last year when Richmond dropped its leadership group down to three after a poor season and Jack was reinstated alongside captain Cotchin and the captain of the backline, Rance.
Rance made the comment in April about how they often looked at Riewoldt’s past and outspoken nature when it came to player leadership voting, which they shouldn’t have and how he’d become one of the main drivers of standards at the football club.
Riewoldt rarely kicks a bag of goals any more, having managed more than four in a game once this year, but he is just as happy celebrating a teammate’s goal as one of his own. I love that about him.
Josh Caddy is the only other big bodied forward in Richmond’s forward line so Riewoldt has done a remarkable job being the sole big target and leading the likes of Daniel Rioli, Dan Butler, Jason Castagna and Jacob Townsend.
Who could have imagined that this group of players could be good enough to quite possibly be a premiership winning forward line.
Like the Bulldogs did last year, the forward group at Richmond led by Riewoldt has an unwavering mindset for discipline and hard work.
The unrelenting pressure of the Tigers broke Geelong on the big stage of Friday night football in a qualifying final.
That would give them enormous confidence but it has to be replicated again and again for the Tigers to go all the way, but aside from two hours against St Kilda and a half against the Crows, they have not looked like dropping off.
Waver against the GWS and Richmond is asking for serious trouble.
If the Tigers bring full heat I don’t believe the Giants will be able to cope with the pressure Richmond can apply in front of what I expect to be the most one-sided, hostile crowds we will have ever have witnessed.
The Richmond faithful have been waiting a long time for a game of this significance and they will never have a better opportunity to enter a Grand Final than this, given the significant home ground advantage.
It’s Tiger Time and unassuming Jack will be central to the outcome.
Originally published as A selfless Jack Riewoldt big reason Richmond is playing in a prelim final, writes Matthew Lloyd
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