Richmond coach Damien Hardwick urges critics to leave Jack Riewoldt alone Jon Ralph
From: Herald Sun
February 14, 2014 11:02PMRICHMOND coach Damien Hardwick has urged critics to lay off Jack Riewoldt, believing his spearhead is a victim of tally poppy syndrome.
But while Riewoldt was this week dropped from the leadership group and then declared a media ban upon himself, Hardwick defended the enigmatic Tiger.
“I think we have got to lay off some guys a bit. I think overall these guys live in a bubble and it’s hard. People don’t understand how it feels.
“I know Jack and a lot of people know what a quality kid he is. The disappointing thing is Jack improved as a leader last year, but other people improved more. So we were really pleased with where he was at. And I think we can cut some people some slack. They are easy targets and us Aussies, we do it as well as anyone (tearing people down).’’
http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/richmond-coach-damien-hardwick-urges-critics-to-leave-jack-riewoldt-alone/story-fndv8t7m-1226827746985