Jack Riewoldt should be hitting his peak and can drive Richmond to greatnessRON REED
Herald Sun
February 27, 2016 8:15pmIT’S never too early to get the Richmond bandwagon on the road.
And when it’s Jack Riewoldt with the ignition key in his hands, nobody is safe from being run over — not even the reigning premiers.
Read what you will into a 71-point thrashing of a Hawthorn team missing almost half the 22 Grand Final heroes — resting, injured or retired — in a glorified practice match, but the black and yellow faithful can be easily excused if they broke into their famous song on the ride home from the NAB Challenge hitout in Beaconsfield.
There were plenty of reasons for the euphoria but none more impressive than Jack’s captivating contribution.
He is, of course, a cult hero for the Tigers, much like Matthew Richardson before him.
But there is a sense that his best might still be yet to come, and if that proves to be correct then the Tigers’ long flag drought will be that much closer to closure.
At 27 and entering his 10th season, with 180 games behind him, the multi-skilled forward should be at the peak of his powers and as experienced as he will ever really be.
He missed the deflating 60-point loss to Fremantle last week, as did a number of other stars who began their campaigns with immediate impact, no one more than Dustin Martin, Riewoldt’s main rival for best afield.
Riewoldt led the way from the opening bounce, taking six marks in the first quarter, four of them contested, with one qualifying as a screamer.
James Frawley seemed to have most responsibility for shutting him down but it was hard to tell as Riewoldt covered plenty of ground, the warm conditions having no noticeable effect.
He was looking impressively fit and maybe even a little lighter.
The highlight came midway through the second quarter when he ran around an opponent and unleashed a booming kick that travelled at least 55m for the only nine-point supergoal of the afternoon.
Jack Riewoldt was outstanding for the Tigers with 10 marks, a goal and a supergoal. Picture: Getty Images
That put the Tigers 20 points in front and given that they were exerting significant superiority in almost every statistical category, it was to all intents and purposes the end of the contest.
By the time Richmond had wrapped it up 1.15.5.104 to 4.9.33, Riewoldt had accumulated 12 kicks, five handballs, 10 marks — half of which were contested — two goals and five score assists.
Half a dozen other piled up more stats as the Tigers dominated the latter stages but there was no doubt who set the tone when the issue was still up for grabs.
Given that the missing Hawks — basking in the sunshine — included at least three of their regular matchwinners, skipper Luke Hodge, Sam Mitchell and Jarryd Roughhead, the Hawk fans would not be losing all that much sleep. But a 12-goal defeat is never easy to stomach.
The hosts, the Beaconsfield Football Club, which plays in the Mornington Peninsula Nepean League, were probably happy with the result because two of their three best-known former players, Chris Newman and Shane Tuck, are former Tigers, although Newman is now on the Hawthorn coaching staff. Their other big name is Brendan Fevola, while one-time Test cricketer Len Maddocks was also a local at one stage.
The well-appointed ground easily accommodated a pleasing crowd of 6384, with the black-and-yellow colours probably outnumbering the brown and gold narrowly. But as the afternoon wore on, there was no question who was making the most noise.
The Tigers are on the prowl — already.
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