Richmond star Jack Riewoldt tells Mark Robinson he wants to be a senior coach in life after footyMARK ROBINSON
Herald Sun
June 25, 2016 RICHMOND star Jack Riewoldt talks openly with Herald Sun chief football writer Mark Robinson on his game, maturity, cousin Maddie and a willingness to one day turn to coaching.
MARK ROBINSON: This is going to be half serious, half fun, Jack
JACK RIEWOLDT: Righto, that’s how I live my life.
MR: But when did you realise it was more serious than fun?
JR: When I started to feel older at the footy club. I was always the class clown when I grew up. I loved having a laugh, a bit of showing off. Then I started feeling like an older player at the footy club. I also had a lot of things going on in my life, the biggest being my cousin Madeleine passing away. The thing with Maddie passing, and this comes from that jovial person I was, I never thought it would get to the situation it got to. It’s pretty daunting ... a jolting realisation that it’s over. What came of it, and obviously in the lead up to the first Maddie’s Match, and the media ... it’s bloody hard to get in front of media entities you don’t know a lot, and talk about death and family. It all became a part of the learning curve and growing up curve. Maddie was the oldest girl of the Riewoldt clan and she sort of encapsulated what we are as a family.
MR: Your first loss?
JR: I lost my grandad when I was 12 and I was away on an athletics camp and I was really close to him. That was my first experience of death. But in terms of being really close, and in age, that was the first time and scared me.
MR: A realisation that life can be very dark.
JR: Yes. It’s changed a lot of my feelings and thoughts and what’s really important. I love footy, and if I didn’t play footy I don’t where I would be. And I worry a little bit post-footy about what am I going to do. Do I have to stay in footy because since I was 13 all I’ve done is work to get drafted? It certainly made me realise a lot about myself in terms of what I needed to do to prepare myself for life after footy and realise that footy isn’t the be all and end all.
MR: So Maddie’s experience was the trigger point?
JR: I used to ride the roller coaster of footy more than anyone and probably more so how I was going than the team. I have calmness when footy is finished for the weekend. You know, you could be in a worse situation than just losing a game of footy.
MR: Before that calmness came to you, describe yourself?
JR: An erratic personality. I would ride the highs, love the highs, but then I’d really ride the lows as well. I’d let them affect the way I acted, affect my mental position, how I would approach the week.
MR: Were you an unpleasant person to be around when in those lows?
JR: Yes. I let a lot of it affect my relationships at the footy club and I let people judge me on the decisions I made when I was low, in terms of what I said, how I spoke, what I thought.
MR: Recalling those times, do you feel embarrassed by your conduct?
JR: I’m a pretty firm believer in you are who you are. As much I like to think I can change the way way I am, I’m still really passionate and sometimes I let that passion bubble over the top and confuse my decision-making. I think I’ve matured and as silly as it sounds, I’m glad I’ve had these lessons. Footy is a really weird environment to grow up in, especially when you’re 18 and move away from home. A lot of life lessons people learn come through university or they go out and live normal lives. Whereas it’s a pretty big culture shock moving from Tasmania and moving into a professional environment. I’m glad I’ve taken the path I’ve taken because I feel it’s made me a pretty good person now.
MR: Since you joined AFL360 this year, people have admired your passion and honesty and like it or not, people ask, why isn’t he the captain? It’s a tiring subject for you, but have you heard those comments?
JR: I’ve heard snippets. But it’s because I’m on the TV a little bit more, but also, I think I’ve become a better judge in terms of the decisions I make and how I portray myself.
MR I’m not going to talk about the captaincy at length ...
JR: And that’s the one thing the club was worried about (laughs).
MR: But you’re not captain for a reason and not in the leadership group. Do you think your battle with the highs and lows infected people’s thinking of you?
JR: Respect is probably the wrong word, but it’s really easy to lose and it takes a while to get back and I’m in the transition process of getting a lot of that back from people around the footy club.
MR: Do you bite your tongue because you aren’t in the leadership group?
JR: Probably my greatest leadership trait is I’m not afraid to be wrong and not afraid to say something if it isn’t the best thing for the club.
MR: Is it right to say if you’re never captain it’s not the end of the world?
JR: Definitely not. Contrary to a lot of media beliefs, I think we’re really well-placed with our leadership program. Trent (Cotchin) has been outstanding this year. He has a certain calmness about him which rubs off on the player group.
MR: Have you realised why you weren’t in leadership roles?
JR: It came down to a little bit of the old Jack in terms of shooting-from-the-hip comments.
MR: Are we allowed to still laugh in footy, Jack?
JR: Yeah.
MR: Do you look back at the run to the train station?
JR: (Laughs).
MR: So, yes?
JR: I would throw myself under a bus for a laugh, but it’s just part of growing up. How I didn’t get away with it, I don’t understand. I jumped the fence and Mark Stevens was sitting in the car. I was literally looking at him and I saw him grab for the phone. I thought I was home free, but I didn’t have a MYKI on me to get away.
MR: At the same time, you were criticised plenty. How did you deal with that?
JR: The media was something I used to get my knickers into a twist a little bit. Like, how could they say that about me, they don’t know what I’m like, they don’t know the circumstances? In the end, it’s only their opinion, but it made me really dislike the media.
MR: You’re 27, has football worked out the way you planned? Have you enjoyed footy thus far?
JR: It has. Results aside, I’ve loved playing for Richmond to the stage where every decision I make going forward and every decision I’ve made is solely based around what is best for the club. Every football decision, that is.
MR: What about the frustrations levels? Three finals, big losing runs, big winning runs ... is it a case of what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger?
JR: The football club is about breaking cycles, tyring to break the tag of: “It’s Richmond, ninth again.” I think we finished ninth once in the past 15 years. There’s a lot of perceptions about our football club, right or wrong. Look, I’d love to sit here and have had the career Joel Selwood’s had, but deep down I know when we do get there, we’ll look back on the journey and say we’ve experienced it all.
MR: You sound confident it’s going to happen?
JR: One thing I’ll never lose in the club is belief in the direction it’s going. I trust and believe in the people in the right positions. We’ve grown as a playing group, we’ve grown so much as a club. Stuff like, obviously what happened on AFL360 this week and Peggy O’Neal’s strong stance. The culture Brendon Gale has brought in has really strengthened us.
MR: You care what people think of you, Jack?
JR: I used to care. One my biggest bugbears was I didn’t understand why people didn’t like me. Deep down I know I’m a good person and I know I do a heap of things right by other people, and I think that comes from my family and what they’ve instilled in me. But it really played on my mind that someone could think I was a bad person because of the colours of my jumper. That really hurt me. But as I’ve gone along, you realise some people can’t see past the jumper you wear on the weekend.
MR: You will support Damien Hardwick, but convince us why he should get the opportunity to again build this footy team?
JR: The impact he’s had on myself and the list — granted we’ve had a blip on the radar this year — has been phenomenal. I believe in the process he’s got in place and I trust him to the nth degree. Trust and belief. Trust is the big one for me.
MR: Did you trust him when he took you out of the goalsquare?
JR: It certainly took some explaining and massaging of my ego a little bit, but I could sit here and tell you now I’ve certainly become a more rounded footballer. It was unhealthy the amount of ball going towards me and we’re in a much better position now with an even spread of goalkickers.
MR: Why is there a nervousness — from the club — about you when you do media?
JR: As I said, it takes 10 seconds of your life to lose it and it takes a long time to get it back and I’m in the process of getting it back.
MR: Can’t remember the last time you did a sit-down interview.
JR: Probably 2010.
MR: The time of erratic Jack?
JR: Probably in 2012, ’13, ’14, I went through a media ban. I was left out of the leadership group and that’s when I had the most robust relationship with the media. I was a bit stand-offish with stuff like this. In terms with what I say, early on I would say the first thing that came into my mind. Now, I prepare myself better for the media. I’m still allowed to be myself and say what I want to say, I just have to be a lot smarter about it.
MR: And you’d speak and it would create a media storm.
JR: I don’t know what it is, I don’t know what about me makes people so bipolar towards me. One maybe is because I play for the Tigers and, two, I’m probably a bubbly personality and a bit different to other people.
MR: Have you looked at life post footy?
JR: I have. I think about where do I want to live, back in Hobart or in Melbourne, with Carly, who I recently got engaged to. I look at guys like (Brisbane’s) Justin Clarke. He was a bloody good player. He gets a bad concussion and his career is over in the click of the fingers. You’d be silly to think it couldn’t happen to you.
MR: Do you fear all you know in life is footy?
JR: I’m trying to expand. I’m doing an apprenticeship in carpentry and building and I love that. It’s given me a release from footy.
MR: Media?
JR: I’ve had discussions, but I’d love to be a senior coach one day.
MR: OK, stuff the media. How serious are you about coaching?
JR: I really would like to coach, at what level I don’t know. I’d love to coach my own side, be it a local level, the TAC Cup, just give it a shot.
MR: Lover of local footy?
JR: I played in a senior flag for Clarence in 2006 and two weeks ago, when we played North Melbourne down home, I went to the 10-year reunion. There’s so many things at local footy level that I’d love to incorporate at AFL level. It’s just pure footy. There’s no big business, no politics. It’s community-based footy, which means so much to people who live in the area. I played with guys who played in a flag with my old man and I learnt a lot from them.
MR: Can you really indulge in the festivities of a reunion or is the AFL too professional that you can’t?
JR: I did. We watched Clarence v Hobart City and sat there with guys 10-15 years older than me. I went home pretty early because I had planned to do something the next day, which was get engaged, so I didn’t want to have a big hangover. You can’t take your life so seriously, you know. A few beers isn’t going to kill anyone. The memories I had from the GF and the memories from two weeks ago are strong. You are reminded what these guys did for me growing up. As a young kid, I got targeted a lot and these guys looked after me on the field and off it.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/expert-opinion/mark-robinson/richmond-star-jack-riewoldt-tells-mark-robinson-he-wants-to-be-a-senior-coach-in-life-after-footy/news-story/46afcf17fbb420c70af03cc63cd96b09
