The story behind the most courageous mark in AFL history, Nick Riewoldt’s 2004 stunner
“I am going”. From the moment Nick Riewoldt decided he was going for the 2004 mark which has gone down in footy folklore, there was only one thought in his mind. 50 BEST MARKS
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It is extraordinary to think the mark voted the fourth-greatest in the past 50 years by the Herald Sun-Fox Footy judges couldn’t even win the 2004 Mark of the Year.
It remains one of footy’s great mysteries that the Nick Riewoldt mark which redefined bravery was overlooked for Ash Sampi’s high-flying MCG spekky.
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One was a lovely mark perched high on a rival, and the other is one of the few marks on an AFL football field where a player legitimately put his life into mortal danger.
Riewoldt is well aware of the brand of car he would have won for Mark of the Year but he jokes he doesn’t want to give them the publicity.
He is justifiably proud of the mark and the way he passed that test of courage when his mind and body could have failed him.
And if anything he has grown a little grumpier over that intervening years that it was not recognised by the Mark of the Year judges.
Amazingly, his mark and Jimmy Bartel’s back-with-the-flight effort took place within hours on the afternoon of on June 6, 2004.
His honesty is why Riewoldt has become a must-watch Fox Footy expert — he isn’t afraid to call a spade a bloody shovel.
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“It was a car that Sampi won and maybe they had filled the quota with those marks from Browny a few years earlier. Maybe Browny and I should share his prize,” he laughs.
“I think I have been more resolute in holding onto the grudge the longer it goes on.
“My memory of the actual mark is a bit vague but we had been in good form and Fraser Gehrig had kicked a ton of goals and basically I hadn’t had a kick that day yet when it happened.
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“So it’s just instinct. The ball is up there for me and you put your head down and get going.
“When you are running back there is this absolute fear of the unknown and what is coming the other way.
“Robert Harvey had actually made eye contact with me and maybe that played a role as well.
“From the first moment he kicked the ball to me, I said, “I am going”.
“Milney (Steven Milne) has always joked to me I should have called him in, that it was a little selfish of me going back the other way.
“But on reflection I look back on that moment with a lot of pride. That is the moment where you are tested as a player and I still wear it as a badge of honour.
“When I hit the ground my reaction was to stay down. I thought to myself, “I must be in a bit of strife here”. There isn’t a worse feeling in footy because when you are tunnelled you are the mercy of gravity, and that is a pretty uncomfortable feeling.”
Sydney would go on to beat St Kilda in that Round 11 contest — their first loss of the year — and as a result the mark actually received little coverage in the week’s press.
““It was a little off-Broadway, I don’t think there is a live shot of it because it was in Sydney and it got no press in the moment and then it was a slow burn. We had lost our first game of the year and Thommo wasn’t up for blokes doing media so the opportunity for a bit of self-promotion didn’t exist.
“Later in the year I went along to the AFLPA awards which were on the same night as the Mark and Goal of the Year. I thought I might be a chance to receive the mark of the year and then I walked in and saw Ash Sampi so I thought, “There goes Mark of the Year, I am just here for a nice night,” but I ended up winning the MVP.”
Fox Footy judge Garry Lyon rates Riewoldt’s mark so highly he constructed a motivational speech based entirely on his decision to fly for that contest.
And if he didn’t get the kudos for the mark at the time he can at least be content as each year passes its legend grows.
The 12-person judging panel will announce their No. 1 mark on Wednesday.
Originally published as The story behind the most courageous mark in AFL history, Nick Riewoldt’s 2004 stunner