Angry Jack Riewoldt back in his box by: Jon Ralph
From: Herald Sun
February 17, 2012JACK Riewoldt can't pinpoint the moment, but the stuff from the past year confirms his gut feeling.
Somewhere along the line in a turbulent, controversy-filled season, the Richmond superstar became misunderstood.
Even Riewoldt knows some of his on-field antics last year crossed the line.
But his message to Tigers supporters is blunt: don't confuse his exuberance and will to win with smugness or arrogance.
"It's a bit of a tightrope in terms of the line I walk between how I am perceived and how other people perceive me," Riewoldt said.
"I don't think I have a bad bone in my body. And I don't try to make anyone feel bad. Sometimes I can come across a little bit full-on, and that can be perceived as arrogance. But the way I perceive myself is just confident.
"I am confident in myself, and in my ability, but I am confident in my own skin at this club. The biggest thing is that unfortunately you are not going to be liked by everyone.
"There are 17 other teams out there and their supporters, no matter how good a person you are, they will think you are a smart-a--e or a ratbag. It's tough to get over people not liking you.
"They don't know you, but they don't like you because of who you are. Unfortunately that's AFL and it's sport and it's life."
Why does Richmond pin-up boy Riewoldt even need to defend himself after a 62-goal season in which he battled constant pain?
Well, let's rewind.
First there was the comical Round 2 incident when he was concussed, crawled up the MCG stairs, then argued forcefully to return to the field.
In April Riewoldt was censured by coach Damien Hardwick for flipping the bird to the Hawthorn bench, then yelling at teammate Dustin Martin during play.
Soon the barbs from opposition supporters were flowing and comparisons with Matthew Richardson's erratic mid-2000s antics being made.
If he is unrepentant about his personality, Riewoldt admits the incident with Martin forced him to review his on-field behaviour.
"It comes down to an understanding of the relationships you have with players and the way you can have an impact on other players in terms of your body language," he said.
"I didn't talk to Richo at all about it. He felt like he had kind of thrown me under a bus a bit because I was in the same mould as him.
"I spoke a lot to Wayne Campbell, who ran our leadership program, and I spoke to Dimma (Hardwick) about it, and they are the only two people I really needed to talk to about it.
"I didn't need to talk to other people about how I needed to improve, because ultimately the people I want to impress and have an impact on are the coaching staff.
"Their words ring truer than anyone else. In regards to myself and my actions, all I want to do is get out there and play and help the team win."
If Riewoldt is aware the battle of perception is still to be won, he has emerged stronger from what in many ways was a trying year.
As he battled through a year seemingly inferior to his Coleman Medal-winning, 78-goal haul of 2010, few knew the extent of the battering his body was taking.
In February he stretched his anterior cruciate ligament during a training mishap, and the injuries soon began piling up.
By season's end he would need operations on both hips, a serious ankle problem to his jumping leg, a shoulder clean-up and a finger reconstruction.
Add to that two cracked ribs before the Round 15 clash against Carlton, and soon Riewoldt's feeling of invincibility from the previous season had washed away.
"The biggest thing was I didn't have a lot of continuity with my in-season training. It probably affected me a lot, but I am not making any excuses because I thought I still had a pretty reasonable year. But given what I want to provide for the club, I know I have a lot more in the bank than last year," he said.
"I broke a couple of ribs in a Thursday scratch match before the Carlton game, which was a bit flattening. I wore a guard for a couple of weeks, and in terms of superficial pain you can dull it with painkillers.
"It was more of a mental one, making sure I could get over it. I copped little knocks like that over the year and the year before I had a dream run. I felt great for the whole season and then last year little things went wrong when they didn't need to, but I think I have come through as a more mentally strong person.
"I played under fatigue and duress, and it makes you a better player and a better person."
When the dust settled, it took forwards coach Danny Daly to put Riewoldt's season in perspective.
"At the end of the year I sat down with Danny," he said.
"He said, 'You have kicked 60-odd goals (62.26), but you have had 30 to 40 goal assists', and the year before I kicked 75 (78.39) and I only had 10 to 15 score assists. I looked at it and went, 'Yeah, I am pretty happy', and I am also enjoying other players having success."
Riewoldt's off-season was a blur of operations, spaced out over September and early October to ensure he was not under anaesthetic too often.
The surgeries have kept him away from the gym, but not the training track. He approaches tonight's NAB Cup first round pleasantly surprised with his conditioning; Riewoldt has plenty of miles in his legs.
"Pretty much two or three weeks after I got back, I started running. I have had a pretty good season in terms of running and fitness, but I haven't done as much gym work as I would have done in the pre-season last year," he said.
"I thought I would play the third NAB Cup game, but I have come on quicker and am feeling good and pulling up well from sessions, so I will go out there and have a run around."
In between operations, Riewoldt sat down and watched last year's Grand Final, dreaming of the possibilities but aware how far away that contest is for Richmond.
He says the Tigers are building towards something special, but only if they do not get ahead of themselves.
"You watch the Grand Final and you think, 'This is the goal. This is what we want to get to'," he said. "Every player in the AFL should be thinking that, and finals are amazing to watch and make you jealous."
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/angry-jack-riewoldt-back-in-the-box/story-e6frf9jf-1226273187673
