Jack Riewoldt kicks off Tasmania AFL team’s quest to discover its founding ‘Fabric’

It has a special place in Tasmanian football folklore and some big names have contributed skin to its gravelly dance floor, as Jack Riewoldt discovered.

Jack Riewoldt gets a feel for Queenstown's famous gravel oval. Picture Jasper Da Seymour

It has a special place in Tasmanian football folklore and some big names have contributed skin to its gravelly dance floor over the years but the first time AFL legend Jack Riewoldt set foot on Queenstown Oval was on his honeymoon in 2017.

There is every reason to be in awe of the place which, built in 1880 of gravel to withstand the West Coast’s heavy rains, has been inducted into the Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame.

Gravel – surely not – but it is true and Riewoldt has tried to explain it to disbelieving “mainlanders”.

‘You’ll always lose skin’: 500-gamer’s take on gravel oval

And that if you are a footballer on the West Coast, you too will inevitably donate skin to its abrasive welcome mat.

“The comparison I draw on is probably how American athletes look and watch AFL and go ‘how do they do that without pads’, and then people who play on grass ovals on the mainland go ‘wait a minute, you play on gravel?’ – there’s just that disbelief more than anything else,” Riewoldt said.

Jack Riewoldt gets a feel for Queenstown's famous gravel oval. Picture Jasper Da Seymour

“You can’t measure soul or spirit, it’s a feeling, and whilst I have never played on there, I speak to non-Tasmanians about the Queenstown oval like it was my home ground because I’m really proud of the fact that I come from close to somewhere that has that and has those stories.”

As if gravel was not enough, until only recently the boundary line was the inside edge of the concrete cycling track that encircled the pebbly pit.

It is something of a badge of honour to have played on Queenstown’s famous gravel track but the triple premiership, 347-game 787-goal Tiger is yet to have skin in the game.

Riewoldt walked the ground before meeting locals for his the first of nine Community Engagement events on his crusade to build the Fabric of Tasmania’s AFL team before it joins the big time in 2028.

Abbey Green former AFLW player. Tasmania Football Club first Community Event at Queenstown Football Club. Picture: Jasper Da Seymour

“For part of my honeymoon we spent a week in Berlin, because me and my wife have both got German heritage, so I thought we’d all go there for Christmas,” Riewoldt said.

“Then we did a trip around Tassie and took the cup to cup Queenstown – so I’ve got a photo with the 2017 [Richmond] premiership cup by the Queenstown Oval.”

Riewoldt says the purpose of the Community Engagements is for Tasmanians to “share their stories to help us create and piece together the history of Tasmanian football.”

At the Queenstown event, local Lindsay Newman told how VFL umpires _ including AFL Hall of Fame field umpire Glenn James _ were flown in to officiate the grand finals, because it was too “fierce” and willing for the locals to umpire, and being a tight community bias might have event crept into the decision-making and anger could have boiled over after the final siren.

Jack Riewoldt at Queenstown's famous gravel ground. Picture: James Bresnehan

Another local, Phil Evans, blamed Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan for contributing to his Queenstown Oval “nightmares”.

“He used to boundary umpire out here in my day, when I was a young aspiring ruckman up against these older, evil fellas from up the coast,” Phil said.

“Whenever there was a boundary throw-in, I would be in the front trying to get to the ball before these old guys, and I blame Chris for my ‘punch-drunkenness’ because each time he’d throw the ball in I’d get a punch in the back of the head.”

Sterle Welling will never forget the scalding he copped from local legend Betty Archer at Queenstown.

Tasmania Football Club first Community event at Queenstown Football Club. Picture: Jasper Da Seymour

“The language, let me tell you, it was ‘pretty’ _ you copped it,” Sterle said.

“But you’d go into the pub after the game and the first one to buy you a beer was Betty – she never held a ground for what happened on the field, but by geez she’d give it to you.”

Jack was also told why Queenstown’s honour board is missing a best-and-fairest winner in 2008 _ the home of a committeeman was broken into and the votes were stolen, so no count could take place.

West Coast footy stalwarts Phil Evans, Sterle Welling and Lindsay Newman told old stories that brought down the house. Picture James Bresnehan

Then there were two fierce onfield rival, one from Lyell-Gormanston and the other from Queenstown, who had a punch-up for the ages outside the Queenstown Football Club social rooms.

It was said that at the 35 minute mark they gave up beating each other, walked battered and bloodied back into the clubrooms, bought each other a beer and next day turned up for their shift at the mine.

The Crows' wall of fame at the Queenstown Football Club. Picture Jasper Da Seymour

“This is the start of the journey and everyone who came out for the first one are a crucial part of the journey and the stories they told will be art of what this great club is made of,” Riewoldt said.

“Hopefully some of the young’uns who came might get their chance to pull on the jumper and play for the state and play AFL, and when that happens we’ll be watching with big smiles on our faces.”

Originally published as Jack Riewoldt kicks off Tasmania AFL team’s quest to discover its founding ‘Fabric’