Jack Riewoldt fears no more sport will be played in 2020 due to coronavirus pandemic
Jack Riewoldt has been holding onto hope footy and sport will be back at some stage this year. But the premiership Tiger has revealed just how extreme his frustration and fears are getting.
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Richmond star Jack Riewoldt fears there won’t be any sport played this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The AFL will wait until the end of this month to provide an update on when the season could potentially resume, while the NRL has drawn criticism for its determination to restart on May 28.
AFL bosses are considering a number of ideas to get the season back up and running, including introducing hubs that can house several teams.
But the Tigers goal kicker is fearing the worst.
“I’ve been really positive about starting footy but I’m starting to think, the community announcements that are coming through and the way the health professionals are speaking, I’m really starting to doubt whether we’re going to see sport at all this year,” Riewoldt said.
“To come through the other side, the sporting landscape in Australia and in the world is going to look a lot, lot different to what it did in 2019.
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“The NRL are talking about playing on the 28th of May – I suppose that’s ludicrous but it’s just what sports are doing at the moment, they’re on their knees.”
All players are banned from training at their clubs during the AFL’s shutdown and are instead completing individual programs at home to keep fit should the league get the green light to return.
The season has been postponed for just under a month and frustration amid the uncertainty is reaching boiling point.
“I reckon I’ve probably got two weeks left in me of just what the current situation is,” Riewoldt said on the Balls and Bumpers podcast.
“I’ve switched off from footy completely. I’m doing my program, I’m training and then I’m not watching any of the replays, I’m trying to keep myself busy.
“There’s frustration and it’s building up in everyone – footballers, normal people that work and do whatever they do. It’s just at the moment we’re in a holding pattern.
“At the moment we’re really just in no man’s land. It really is frustrating.”
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