Jack Riewoldt raising the bar after avoiding post-season surgeryAlex Malcolm
afl.com.au
December 22, 2014 5:08 PMRICHMOND forward Jack Riewoldt says he is enjoying one of his best pre-seasons after not requiring post-season surgery for the first time in five years.
The two-time Coleman medallist told SEN he has been able to handle an increased running load this pre-season courtesy of being surgery-free.
Riewoldt, who has kicked 58 goals or more in each of the past five seasons, said he has had to develop his running capacity due to the demands of the modern game.
"This is the first time in five years that I've actually started pre-season with the main group on day one and I haven't missed a beat since then," Riewoldt said.
"It's not about me playing further up the group or me playing in a different position or stuff like that.
"It's the fact that if I want to continue to be a valued member of the football club, then I've got to push up the ground, I've got to defend and that's the same with all of our forwards and our backs and our mids.
"You can't be the guy that's just resting in the goalsquare anymore.
"If you want to play your part for the side you've got to work your butt off and it starts from day one in pre-season and hopefully it takes you through to that last Saturday in September."
The Tigers enjoyed a barnstorming finish to 2014, winning their last nine home and away games before being beaten by Port Adelaide in an elimination final.
Riewoldt admitted Port had shown Richmond just how hard players needed to train during the pre-season.
"The running loads and just general training loads for us have had to go up," Riewoldt said.
"That's just the modern game. We've followed on with a lot of clubs from that Port Adelaide philosophy of training hard and improving our running."
The Tigers took part in a seven-day training camp in Townsville before the Christmas break.
The players trained for three days before participating in a three-day 'Amazing Race' challenge organised by Richmond's elite performance manager Peter Burge.
Riewoldt said this year's challenge was not as fun as previous camps.
"It's more about pushing the boundaries and challenging our group in different ways," Riewoldt said.
"We've matured now as a group under the five years of Damien Hardwick and … we're starting to get to the stage where we expect more of each other and we know each man is capable of more, and I think the fitness staff and coaching staff have seen that. And that's why we've had the increased load and that's why we've been able to train ourselves to another standard."
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-12-22/riewoldt-raising-the-bar
