Jack Riewoldt and the Tigers are in a funk. Can they snap out of it?
Has Jack Riewoldt lost his hunger? Is his best behind him? Are the Tigers to blame? A premiership coach and cousin Nick have their own theories — and some simple advice for the Richmond star.
Mark Robinson
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The best jokes also have a hint of truth.
If Maddie Riewoldt was alive today, says brother Nick, she’d have some advice for cousin Jack.
“Pull ya finger out, Jack, and get a kick,’’ Nick said.
“She would say that. As much as she was our biggest defender, if anyone chipped either of us, anyone criticising Jack at the moment, she would be getting into Twitter wars with people and defend him as fiercely as anyone.
“But she was also out biggest critic one-on-one.
“So, pull ya finger out and get a kick … that’s the absolute truth.”
Nick voiced a promo for Fox Footy this week, ahead of Saturday’s Maddie’s Match, and called Jack to tell him the tease and that he would be using Maddie’s advice. Jack probably smiled. “He was fine,’’ Nick said.
Jack and his Tigers are in a rut at the moment, if they can be after losing in their first game for 12 months.
The drew with Collingwood, a game devoured by defence, and were then carved up by Hawthorn for three quarters in Round 3.
For large parts of the Hawks game, they looked dispirited, a few of them were a touch jumpy in the contest, which is unlike Richmond, and too fumbly.
The real issue is the midfield, their use of the ball and synergy with forwards going inside 50m. That issue is exacerbated by the workings of an unproductive forward group. The Tigers kicked five goals in each of their past two games.
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Numbers show the Tigers can win the footy, but their game breaks down in the forward line.
Their inside-50 differential is +4.5, ranked fourth in the AFL. But they are ranked 15th for kicking inside 50 and keeping possession and 16th for scores per inside 50.
They are not getting bang for their back. There’s a host of reasons, such as he form of Lynch, Riewoldt, Rioli and Castagna (Rioli was dropped) and the Hawks seemingly filled their defensive area with personnel.
Jack’s frustration is obvious. He and Lynch are competing in the air against their immediate opponents, plus a third up, plus sometimes an extra interceptor. It’s an aspect of footy which is killing the enjoyment of the game and a serious issue for the AFL.
Little wonder the appearance of Paul Van der Haar on the The Front Bar on Thursday was raved about. Seeing the highlights of Vander and Hawthorn’s Peter Knights square up one-on-one at Windy Hill in 1978 would’ve surprised viewers younger than 30. Seeing one forward versus one defender for an entire game is rare in today’s game.
That day, Vander and Knights took 16 contested marks between them — 10 of them to Knights.
This year, Tom Lynch has taken just four marks inside 50m and Riewoldt nine.
Still, it’s Riewoldt being dissected.
That comes with the territory for great players. Play well and you get the headlines. Don’t get a kick and you still get the headlines.
Riewoldt has been the centre of discussion this week about form, motivation and the impact of a crowd-less MCG. “It is what it is,’’ he said.
Clearly, he’s not enjoying his footy.
AFL great Malcolm Blight is an unorthodox footy purist and he also had some advice for Jack.
“Do what you do,’’ Blight said. “At training by yourself or with a mate, I’d get out there and I’d stand in front of him, and I’d throw the ball up over my head and let him jump on my head,’’ Blight said.
“Just have some fun.
“When he’s jumping and got that spring in his leg, he’s a very good player, he’s a dangerous bugger.
“He mightn’t have been able to do that for a while, but just go have a bit of fun and jump on blokes’ heads.’’
Riewoldt has played 12 quarters this year, with a strong first quarter against Carlton in Round 1 and the final quarter against Hawthorn in Round 3 book-ending lean pickings in between.
Arguably, Riewoldt is symbolic of the Tigers.
“I’m not worried about Jack or the Tigers,’’ Nick said.
“They’re in a bit of a funk, I reckon. I watched their last quarter against Hawthorn behind the goals and they got a bit of their game back. I reckon that last quarter was a turning point for them. The proof will be in what happens Saturday, but it looked to me they had their game back.’’
“Look, the they’ve lost one game in a calendar year and the pile-on has been pretty out of whack.’’
And what of the cuz?
Nick noted Jack played only 13 games last year because of wrist and knee injuries and when the moment arrived — on Grand Final day — Jack delivered.
He says the system is failing the team this year, which affects all forwards, not only Jack.
“When you’re a team like Richmond and when you play such a team-oriented brand of football — they are a system-based team — when that system is not functioning as efficiently as it can, then that makes everyone look bad.
“I wouldn’t call it a pattern of behaviour yet.
“Tom Lynch doesn’t look as good as last year, Rioli the same. The only blokes who look as good is the backline because they’ve been under the pump. It’s because the ball is coming in probably more than it has to they have had more opportunities to be good.’’
He’s curious about the discussion of motivation.
“You might say he’s struggling for motivation, but I trained with him through all the COVID break, and he trained like an animal. I know because I did it all with him.
“He might’ve struggled for the motivation, but he still trained like an animal.’’
That it’s Maddie’s Match, which raises funds to #FightlikeMaddie and find new treatments for Bone Marrow Failure, won’t be a defining emotional trigger for Jack.
“Jack will want to play well, of course he will,’’ Nick said.
“But he’s got a great enough understanding and maturity to know all about how the team plays. For him, it will be all about how we get the team up and going again.
“This isn’t about going in and giving extra in milestone games, 100 per cent effort is 100 per cent effort, like he gives every game. You can’t try harder more than he does every week.’’
Blight is observing Richmond and Jack like everyone else.
He says that at 31, and with those wrist and knee injuries, and then COVID, Jack’s emotional balance could be out of kilter. “After 14 years he might be a bit more emotional than most, which is good.’’
But Blight’s not reaching for the harpoon.
“I always quote Michael Tuck,’’ he said. “He had a bad year when he was 31, but he held up the premiership cup at Hawthorn at 38.’’
As for the Tigers, who have been the best team of the past three years, it’s only a matter of time until they are toppled.
“You only know this in retrospect … Brisbane going for their fourth fell over and then fell over. It was a magnificent team and you would’ve thought, ‘Hang on, they could win five, maybe they could win six,” Blight said.
“Adelaide fell off at the six-minute mark of the second quarter of the 2017 Grand Final.
“Richmond still has enough really good players to be top-eight finals stuff, end of story.’’
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