Richmond will throw support around Sydney Stack as club expected bumps in the road
Sydney Stack spent almost three weeks in jail over Christmas and has only recently been granted bail. It’s the latest incident for the youngster but Jack Riewoldt was not surprised.
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Richmond vice-captain Jack Riewoldt is adamant coach Damien Hardwick’s marriage breakdown won’t impact the Tigers’ chances of a flag three-peat.
Hardwick’s separation from wife Danielle, who he repeatedly and affectionately referred to as “Mrs Hardwick” during his many media conferences, has made significant headlines over the summer.
The triple premiership coach, who has three children from his former relationship, is now in a relationship with club staffer Alexandra Crow, who is part of the Tigers’ commercial sales team.
That news came on top of young Tiger Sydney Stack being jailed in Perth for breaching Western Australia’s strict COVID-19 quarantine laws.
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Facing the media on Richmond’s post-Christmas return on Monday, Riewoldt revealed Hardwick addressed the playing group on the situation before they emerged for training.
“I don’t think it’s going to have any impact, really. Damien is a good enough character to separate his personal life and his professional life,” Riewoldt said.
“He’s shown over the last four years he’s been arguably the best coach in the land and he’ll continue to support us and we’ll continue to support him over the next period of time.
“It’s hard to say early on … (but) he seemed really strong, so we’re excited to get out and train.”
Riewoldt said the coach’s marriage split took him by surprise but that “these things happen in people’s lives and we just move on”.
“You never predict something like this, but these things happen in people’s lives and we just move on,” he said.
“It’s obviously sad ‘Dimma’ and Danielle’s marriage has come to an end, because Dimma’s obviously been a big part of our football club.
“But the whole Hardwick family’s been a massive support network for us and they’ll continue to be a support network, as we will for them as well.
“You never like to see something like a marriage breakdown and an end but it happens in life and we move on and we continue to support the individuals.”
‘WE’RE NOT GIVING UP ON SYDNEY STACK’
Troubled Tiger Sydney Stack’s impending court case and his hope of being back in Melbourne soon are Richmond’s highest priority, star forward Jack Riewoldt says.
Stack enjoyed a victory on Friday when he was granted bail after spending the Christmas period in jail for allegedly breaking Western Australia’s strict COVID-19 quarantine laws.
The 20-year-old will remain in Perth ahead of his January 20 court appearance.
Riewoldt said Stack’s alleged actions in Perth and subsequent predicament were “disappointing” but that the Tigers were prepared for a bumpy ride when they signed in early 2019.
“We expected we were going to have some small issues with him,” he said.
“When you take on a young man like Sydney, who hasn’t been afforded a lot of the luxuries that a lot of Australian children grow with, you know it’s going to be a project, so we’re not going to give up on Sydney Stack.
“He’s a young man who has got a lot of issues. He’s got a lot of potential but most importantly now, we put the football side of things to one side and we actually want to continue to grow him as a young man.
“He’s got some fantastic traits and, unfortunately, he found himself in a situation which was against the law and certainly the wrong thing to do, but we’re not going to give up on Sydney Stack.
“We’re going to continue to turn him into a Richmond man and continue to instil values in him that we believe in and hopefully turn him into the person we believe he can come.”
Riewoldt declined to give his opinion on whether Stack deserved to be placed behind bars, but said the WA Government was consistently strong on its hard border and the consequences of breaking the law.
“If you break the rules, you serve the consequences and deal with the penalties, as is the case in every decision you make in life,” he said.
“Sydney’s done that, the club’s been able to get him out on bail and we look forward to getting him back in front of the group and getting him back into our culture.”
Stack and teammate Callum Coleman-Jones also have four more games to serve from the 10-match ban they received for breaching the AFL’s quarantine rules last season.
On that occasion, the duo were involved in a fight outside a Surfers Paradise strip club, having also broken the rules by catching an Uber to an unapproved venue.
Riewoldt said it was not his call to decide when Stack’s last chance had arrived.
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