Jack Riewoldt on dealing with isolation and the Tiger he’s happy to keep at a distance
Richmond star Jack Riewoldt says the isolation measures in place to prevent the coronavirus spread have been tough, with daughter Poppy’s grandparents missing out on her first birthday, but there is one Tiger he’s happy to keep at a distance.
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While Richmond star Jack Riewoldt says he is missing his mates and extended family in isolation, there’s one Tiger he’s happy to enforce social distancing rules on.
Riewoldt joked dealing with young father-son acquisition Patrick Naish was like “looking after a second child”.
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Naish, son of clever forward Chris Naish, made his debut for the Tigers in Round 12 last season and Riewoldt said he was working on a podcast called Pat’s Chat while in isolation.
And what will he talk about in that podcast?
“Himself and that’s about it, I think,” Riewoldt said on Fox Footy Live.
“He’ll be covering what he’s done.
“He’s a very funny young chap, but sort of 20 minutes a day is my max with him and maybe two or three text messages.”
Riewoldt even joked Naish would be “filthy” he didn’t make the Herald Sun’s list of the top-20 Tigers of the modern era.
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The 31-year-old has become somewhat of a spokesman for the footy community in tough times and he said, like all Australians, he was missing social interaction during the COVID-19 shutdown.
“That was the one thing I really missed with the fans early on, that Round One game (in an empty stadium) was as eerie and as soulless as I’ve ever played, really,” he said.
“The interaction between staff members. I miss seeing my mates at the club.
“I miss seeing my family as well. My daughter’s (Poppy) turned one and neither of her grandparents could come over for her first birthday.
“Everyone’s missing loved ones, while facetime and video chat is good, the personal touch is one that we all crave.”
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Originally published as Jack Riewoldt on dealing with isolation and the Tiger he’s happy to keep at a distance
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