Richmond's Jack Riewoldt in box seat against Brisbane Lions Ben Dorries
Herald Sun
June 17, 2010THERE'S one man in the Brisbane camp who won't be totally surprised if rising Richmond superstar Jack Riewoldt kicks another bag of goals against the Lions on Saturday.
Craig McRae - the three-time Lions premiership player - played a pivotal role in the development of the young goalkicking whiz and says he has the skill and personality to become one of the game's great forwards.
McRae spent three years as development coach of the Tigers before returning to Brisbane's coaching ranks and says the Lions have good reason to be wary of Riewoldt.
The 21-year-old Tiger cub kicked 10 goals against West Coast last weekend and is a surprise leader in the Coleman Medal with 45 goals ahead of Barry Hall (43), Brendan Fevola (41) and Matthew Pavlich (40).
"Jack is up and about at the moment ... he is at the top of his game," McRae warned.
"He has always shown the capability of kicking a number of goals. He is leading the Coleman Medal, so you have got to take him seriously. He is an energetic guy with lots of enthusiasm."
Recruited from Clarence, Tasmania, in the 2006 draft, Riewoldt last weekend became the first player to kick 10 goals in a match since Lions spearhead Jonathan Brown against Carlton in Round 16, 2007.
It's been no surprise that he has been at his best in the last couple of weeks as Richmond emerged from the doldrums with consecutive wins.
Every sport needs a young rising star to captivate attention and Riewoldt has been a dream for AFL promotion this season.
Phil Jauncey, a leading sports psychologist who has consulted to several high-profile sporting teams and athletes, classified Riewoldt a "mozzie" - a player who is at his best when he performs on instinct.
"In the personality traits, according to Phil Jauncey, he is a mozzie," McRae said.
"He is a leader of instinct and a habit creator. He is playing on his instincts at the moment."
By their own admission, the Lions have been the worst team in the competition in the last eight weeks and the clash against Richmond won't be easy. McRae has an intimate knowledge of the Richmond structures and development programs and is sure his former side is building impressively.
"They started the year slowly and you would probably expect that, after the season they had last year and with 14 changes," McRae said.
"Things were going to take a little bit of time to build, but they have hit their straps and now we meet them after they have won two games in a row.
"They have certainly shown some real spirit the last couple of weeks. Their game plan is coming together nicely.
"I've got mixed emotions. There are a lot of good people there and I've got a lot of good friends there."
McRae echoed the thoughts of head coach Michael Voss when he claimed the rest of the season was about effort rather than premiership points for the Lions.
"You look at anything else other than just pure effort at the moment and I think you are a bit naive," he said. "Players have to be accountable for their actions and not make excuses - it gets us nowhere.
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