Richmond champion Jack Riewoldt will announce this morning that this will be his final season ending a career that yielded three premierships and helped transform the Tigers.
The 34-year-old told his teammates on Tuesday morning that his career will end just shy of 350 games. He has played 346 games and kicked 786 goals to sit 13th on the all-time goalkickers list with Tiger greats Matthew Richardson (800 goals) – a fellow Tasmanian – and Jack Titus (970 goals) ahead of him.
Jack Riewoldt will join teammate Trent Cotchin in retirement at the end of the season Credit: Getty
He was leading goal kicker at the Tigers 11 times and won mark of the round seven times as a high-flying forward, with Richmond fans to get the chance to farewell both Riewoldt and Trent Cotchin at the MCG against North Melbourne this Saturday afternoon.
Riewoldt has been a brilliant spearhead for the Tigers lifting the club from the depths of the ladder to be the only focal point in their drought breaking premiership year in 2017. He won the AFL’s Coleman Medal for most goals in a season three times (2010, 2012 and 2018).
He gave joy to long-suffering Tiger fans when he kicked a bag of 10 goals against West Coast in 2010 aged 21 and just 12 games into Damien Hardwick’s coaching stint before becoming a star in all three flags after enduing three consecutive elimination final losses from 2013-2015.
Jack Riewoldt and Trent Cotchin arm in arm.Credit: AFL Media/Getty Images
Recruited from Clarence, Tasmania he kicked five goals in the 2019 grand final as the Tigers thrashed Greater Western Sydney, and formed a damaging forward set up alongside Gold Coast recruit Tom Lynch.
Riewoldt matured in front of the fans’ eyes after being pick 13 in the 2006 national draft as he went from a deep forward, who kicked more than 50 goals a season for six consecutive years between 2010-2015, to a more selfless player.
It took Riewoldt some time to accept that shift under Hardwick, but once he did get a handle on what was needed the Tigers improved significantly.
He joined the leadership group and became a key figure in the Tigers’ move to becoming a superpower with three flags in four seasons between 2017-2020.
In 2023, he has won more admiration for his resilience as he played through injury to once again lead the forwardline in the injured Tom Lynch’s absence and has so far kicked 31 goals this season.
A press conference will be held later today.
