Hardwick deserved more scrutiny than Jack RiewoldtBy Ronan O'Connell
theRoar.com.au
28 May 2014Jack Riewoldt does himself few favours. He on occasions deliberately, and at other times unwittingly, makes himself a media target with his erratic off-field behaviour.
Meanwhile, he has the strongest on-field body language seen since his former teammate Matthew Richardson was gesticulating with displeasure up forward.
But he was unfairly becoming the scapegoat for Richmond’s lousy 2014 season until he sidled up and slotted 11 goals against GWS on the weekend.
Riewoldt has not been close to Richmond’s most disappointing player this season. He has been cruelled by the state of the side.
Poor delivery into the forward line makes it difficult for any goalscorer. When your team is also so lacking in confidence it frequently moves the ball up field at a glacial pace, what chance do you have?
He has routinely found himself trying to win the ball in a forward half packed with opposition players who have had ample time to push back and block space.
In spite of these trying circumstances, the controversial spearhead had been serviceable. Prior to the weekend blitz he had averaged 12 touches, 5 marks, 3 tackles and kicked 17 goals from 8 games.
Those numbers may be well shy of what he has posted at his best, but they are far from deplorable.
Riewoldt was certainly poor in Round 9 when the Tigers’ finals hopes were all but ended by an upset loss to Melbourne, though he wasn’t alone on a day when Richmond thoroughly embarrassed themselves.
However, in the previous two rounds, against heavyweight opponents Geelong and Hawthorn, Riewoldt had been lively, with 16 possessions and 2 goals in each match.
But the combination of the loss to Melbourne and some ill-advisedly honest comments last week left the 25-year-old under siege from not just the media but also his own coach.
Damien Hardwick implied he was considering dumping Riewoldt for the GWS game after the footballer publicly criticised the team’s tactics.
Riewoldt had told the media that Richmond had tried unsuccessfully to replicate the game plan of the reigning premiers Hawthorn.
“Unfortunately we went one way with our game, and the game went the other way, really,” he said.
It was a foolhardy piece of candid commentary from Riewoldt. He would not have got himself into that predicament had he followed through on his petulant pre-season promise that he would not be talking to the media at all this season.
But it did not warrant the force of criticism Riewoldt copped as he become the lightning rod for all things bad at his floundering football club. It culminated in the bizarre scene of him trying desperately to avoid more hounding from the media pack outside Richmond training last Wednesday.
When he hopped a fence over a construction site and then hid behind a car to avoid detection by the media, it revealed a truly rattled player incapable of absorbing further scrutiny.
Riewoldt was seen shaking his head in apparent bemusement and frustration as he was filmed buying a train ticket at the end of this strange sequence of events.
If only he had kept his mouth shut about his side’s tactics the focus would instead have been shining on the more appropriate target of Hardwick, who has failed in all but one season since joining Richmond in 2009.
Riewoldt answered his coach, and his critics, in the most emphatic manner possible on the weekend. In doing so, he bought himself some time in a softer form of spotlight.
Ronan O'Connell has been a professional journalist for more than a decade, including 9 years at daily newspapers in WA, with 7 of those at The West Australian. He is currently traversing the world while working as a freelance sports and travel journalist. Twitter @ronanocohttp://www.theroar.com.au/2014/05/28/hardwick-deserved-more-scrutiny-than-jack-riewoldt/
