Nick Riewoldt 300: Current and former coaches pay tribute to St Kilda captain ahead of milestone match
ONE former coach rates Nick Riewoldt more consistent than Wayne Carey, while another never thought he would make it in the AFL, let alone play 300 games.
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ONE former coach rates Nick Riewoldt more consistent than Wayne Carey, another reveals a deep bond for life, and another never thought he would make it in the AFL, let alone play 300 games.
GARRY McKENZIE
Broadbeach coach under-14, 15s, 16s
McKENZIE’S oldest son, Travis, was best mates with Riewoldt, so Riewoldt, all arms and legs with striking white hair, was a constant at the McKenzie home.
He coached both boys for three years at Broadbeach, before they departed for Southport as young men with dreams, and McKenzie admits he didn’t know if the talent matched their hopes.
As a 13-year-old, even as a 15-year-old, Riewoldt was nothing special.
“Nick at that age was no better than other kids in the team, believe me,’’ McKenzie said.
“He was just an honest kid who listened to everything, always doing what he was told, but you could just see he had the determination to be a good footballer.
“My philosophy as coach was to play every kid in every position so they can get to learn. Nick was one of the kids who stood up, not so far as dominating, but he mastered every position you put him in.
“He was good, he was reliable, if you put him on a good centre half-forward he could shut them down. If you put him at centre half-forward he would kicks goals for you, but he didn’t dominate if you know what I mean.
“It’s difficult to describe his determination, but it was just something you could see. He’d listen, he would ask questions, he had something different about him which is difficult to put your finger on, but when he went to St Kilda you could see what he wanted to do.
“He was an excellent team person. If a kid was struggling at training Nick would help him out. If a kid did something wrong in a game, Nick would put his arm around him, he was just such a good kid to have in your team.”
There was a turning point. They won the under-16 premiership and Riewoldt and Travis were invited to powerhouse Southport for the next season, where Riewoldt would play wing and half-forward.
“That’s when he seemed to blossom, when he went into the senior ranks,’’ McKenzie said.
Garry and wife Kathleen will attend tonight’s game on the invite of Riewoldt’s parents Joe and Fiona, although Travis can’t make it because he’s living in Vancouver, Canada.
“We’re very proud,’’ McKenzie said.
“He used to be around home pretty often, we went to his 21st, it kind of makes the hair on the back of the neck stand up with some of things he does, on and off the field. What he’s doing with Maddie and the foundation is enormous. It’s typical Nick. I’m very, very happy to see him have so much success.”
MARK BROWNING
Queensland state coach
“I ACTUALLY think that if he had a career at centre half-back he would’ve been the best centre-half back in the history of the game.’’
As coach of the Queensland under-18 team in 2000 and 2001, Mark Browning enjoyed the prodigious growth in Riewoldt from under-16s to bottom-age under-18 player.
And it was initially as a key defender where Browning say the talent.
The bets of all time?
“He was unbelievable at centre half-back, nothing got past him,’’ Browning said.
“This was when he was 17, we won the championship, he played centre half-back as a bottom-ager. We threw him the ruck for the last 10 minutes of the last game against NSW, which we had to win, and he won the game for us in the ruck.’’
From 16 to 17, Riewoldt grew from 185cm to 191cm and played some of his footy at Southport and Brisbane’s seconds team.
He played with ridiculous courage at times. He was fierce on anyone who didn’t go hard at the ball, or took their eye off the ball ... but he was also an incredibly inclusive leader. He’s a very tactile person, warm, he’d hug you, very affectionate.
Ross Lyon
At 18, he played centre half-forward for the state team.
“He was unbelievable at 18. At 17, I knew he was real talent, always at training early, wanted to do extras.
“There’s no secret in the fact he always takes the ball at the highest point because he religiously wanted me to come out and have a kick with him before training and just pop the ball as high as I could and he would run and jump and take the ball at the highest point.
“At the under-18 national championships, he strained a hamstring halfway through the second quarter. He had taken 12 marks at that stage.
“At halftime, he was devastated, he said, ‘Mark, I’m not going to get drafted, I’ve done my dash’. I said, ‘Nick, I think you will be OK.’
Browning says Riewoldt was a whisker away from being a Brisbane Lions player.
He said the “Riewoldt Rule’’ stopped it.
“Brisbane had access to players who played in state league, the old QAFL, but what they did, the smarties from other clubs, they got the rule changed so you had to live 50km from the centre of Brisbane to be eligible to be zoned to Brisbane.
“Nick lived 73km from Brisbane (at Broadbeach). He would’ve come into the Lions in the premiership era when they had Brown, Lynch and Bradshaw. Imagine throwing in Riewoldt?’’
GRANT THOMAS
St Kilda coach 2001-06
ANYBODY and everybody would say Riewoldt was Thomas’ favourite at the Saints.
The two were close, far beyond coach and player because with Riewoldt’s parents still living in Queensland, Thomas became a second father.
“Nick let’s you in and not every player lets you in and that’s OK,’’ Thomas said.
And Thomas pushed him hard because a) he would be the best player and b) Thomas believed the best players needed it and the team needed the best players to get ounce of talent out of themselves.
“Absolutely, I drove him hard,’’ Thomas said.
“I drove Joey, Kosi, Dal, BJ, I drove them all hard because I wanted them to learn had facts early.
“I was hard as far I was demanding in relation to what Nick was capable of and what standards he should set for himself and alert him to things such as complacency and mediocrity.’’
Thomas said Riewodlt was more consistent than the one of the game’s greats in Wayne Carey.
“I said to Matty Rendell in 2005 or 2006, ‘Has this guy never not tried in a game?’ He might get different results but is flatline 100 per cent effort.’’
Thomas was at North Melbourne as chairman of selectors under Denis Pagan and saw Carey weekly.
“The criticism I had of Duck ... I reckon he had a few gaps.
“I wanted Duck to play well because he was such a good player to watch, but I remember being disappointed so many times because he was beaten or he didn’t seem to be in it all the time.
“I don’t think he was consistent Carey.
“Gee, Riewoldt was consistent, every week the same. His preparation before the game, he would go down to Brighton beach before the game. At the ground he would go out, do his sprints, make sure his energy levels were right from the first bounce and bang, off he’d go and he’s done it for 15 years.’’
Thomas had Riewoldt in his captaincy rotation before Riewoldt secured the role permanently and Thomas says it has been challenge.
“You could not possibly be a natural leader with a self-driven determination squeeze every drop of talent out of his body,’’ he said.
“You cannot possibly diverse yourself on other people’s interests and circumstances when you are as focused as he was on his own performance.
“He as an athlete and wasn’t a footballer per se. Look at the way he plays. He had to work very hard.
“And as a result of that, it takes so much concentration in his preparation and his mindset, it’s just impossible to have natural leadership qualities apart from leading by example.’’
They will always be close and as life has it they will always be bonded through Riewoldt’s son James.
With wife Kath on tow, Riewoldt spent a weekend at Thomas’ farm in the Otways.
“Nick and Kath procreated their son James at our farm,’’ he said.
“Isn’t that funny. They went down there on their own and that’s where James was conceived.’’
ROSS LYON
St Kilda coach 2007-11
LYON couldn’t get it to happen in 2007 and the first half of 2008, before there was significant game against Sydney in Round 12.
“There is a significant game, we got smashed by Sydney in Round, I’m thinking I’m cooked and Nick walked in and put his arm around me said, ‘We’re with you, we believe in you, and we’ll do whatever you want us to do’.
“It was him and Hayes and Robert Harvey, and that was when we dropped a couple in Milne and Dal Santo. Then we beat Fremantle, Rooey kicked five (it was three) and Lenny had 20 in the first quarter, Luke Ball had 14.
“My point is the measure they were had unconditional support for me.
“Grant had a big influence on him and that group and as much as Nick had respect and a relationship with Grant, he was unconditional with support of me as a young coach and I’m forever grateful.’’
Lyon and Riewodlt shared heartbreaking losses in 2009 and 2010, which bonds them forever. As do the games, where Lyon demanded even more form his skipper.
“Some of the tight games, you would send the message, come up and get to work, and he’d be marking on the wing, marking in the goalsqaure, helping drag the group across the line.
“His ability to play with injury was amazing. His mental toughness. He is no excuse. There was, no, I’m not playing with Nick. There was a night game, early 2008 or ‘07 and we were playing s---house, and it was like a compound fracture of his finger.
“It was through the skin, it was a cold night, they injected it, stitched it up and he put the glove on, and he just came out and started clunking everything. I thought wow.
“He played with ridiculous courage at times. He was fierce on anyone who didn’t go hard at the ball, or took their eye off the ball, which is fantastic for me.
“But he was also an incredibly inclusive leader. He’s a very tactile person, warm, he’d hug you, very affectionate.
“As a young coach, I would cook them after a game and then I would check in with Nick and he’d say, ‘Mate, there’s no need to check in with us, you just tell us how it is’.
Lyon ranks him with Hodge, Fyfe, Mitchell and Hayes for big-time players
“He wasn’t remarkable as he was reliable. They just get it done. The mental toughness. The physical buffering and the hits he used to cop, the checks, the physical battering. I haven’t said this too often, but I never saw him take his eyes off the ball.’’
ALAN RICHARDSON
St Kilda coach 2014-16
RICHARDSON arrived with a clear plan for the Saints and it centred around Riewoldt and how the skipper would react to the necessary changes, including positional and personnel change.
First of all, and despite watching Riewoldt dominate from afar for a decade or more, Richardson wanted to know why Riewoldt was captain and not Lenny Hayes.
Appointed just before the draft, Richardson flew to Colorado soon after and remembers a conversation on a gruelling 30km trek.
“I had had a chat to leaders over there and one day we had a trek and I was walking along with Aaron Hamill and Danny Sexton (assistant coaches),’’ Richardson said.
“I asked the question: ‘Why is Lenny Hayes not the captain?
“Pretty quickly both boys turned to me sand said, ‘You wait’.
“You asked what was my perception of Nick, well, I saw a person who set an incredible example, but his effort was getting on the end of people’s work as opposed to the traditional captain who is at the coalface, like Lenny Hayes.
“It quickly became apparent Nick was the leader, people follow Nick, including Lenny.
“When Nick walks into the room, he has this incredible presence about him, couple that the way he prepares, the standards he sets on the track, his constant efforts on game day, and then there’s the way he challenges, the way he communicates with his teammates.
“He certainly doesn’t baulk at having the tougher conversation.
“I left Boulder most definitely knowing why Nick Riewoldt was captain.’’
The next phase was to get buy-in from the skipper with the agenda.
“Everyone needs purpose, everyone needs to understand their role in life let alone their role within a footy club,’’ Richardson said.
“Call it a challenge, but that my was immediate focus in respect to the captain, that he had real clarity around what he was doing.’’
The buy-in came on two fronts. The skipper had to give up the forward 50m for Bruce and McCartin and had to play high forward/midfielder.
He also had to embrace the young players. On that Richardson said the induction camps at Riewoldt’s Tasmanian home at Orford have been special.
“He’s done a really good job there and I’ve got to know him probably as close as I’ve got to know any player in my time and obviously I’ve worked at a few footy clubs.
“Rooey has really evolved in my time. It would be unfair really for me to comment on what he was like as a captain prior to me getting here, but I will have a stab it.
“He set great example, he held people accountable and he challenged really strongly and that was reflection of their winning times. The part he’s had to embrace is a real care and compassion and full credit to him.
“For him to able to cope and deal and support when the ball doesn’t get kicked the way it should be kicked, or we don’t get our defence right or we don’t set up the way we should set up, he’s got to make sure he’s an extension of me and that’s what he’s doing.
“He has been terrific.’’
A SUPER SAINT
Nick Riewoldt
Club: St Kilda
Drafted: at No.1 in 2000 national draft from Broadbeach/Southport (Qld).
Games: 299 (146 wins, six draws, 147 losses)
Goals: 650
Honours
Best and fairest: 2002, ‘04, ‘06, ‘07, ‘09, ‘14.
Runner-up B&F: 2008, ‘13.
All-Australian: 2004, ‘06, ‘08, ‘09 (capt), ‘14 (vc).
AFL MVP: 2004.
NAB Rising Star: 2002.
International Rules: 2004, ‘14, ‘15.
Pre-season premierships: 2004, ‘08.
Captain: 2005; co-captain ‘07; captain since ‘08.
Grand Finals: 2009, ‘10 (plus replay).
Brownlow Medal votes: 130.
Originally published as Nick Riewoldt 300: Current and former coaches pay tribute to St Kilda captain ahead of milestone match
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