Tigers jump to Jack Riewoldt's defence Matt Windley
From: Herald Sun
July 15, 2011 RICHMOND coach Damien Hardwick leapt to the defence of Jack Riewoldt yesterday, blaming the Tigers' poor forward entries for the full-forward's dip in form.
Riewoldt has kicked more than two goals only once in his past six outings - when he kicked four in his side's 103-point loss to Carlton.
But Hardwick is happy enough with the 22-year-old's output.
"He's running second in the Coleman Medal," Hardwick said of Riewoldt yesterday.
"The easiest person on the ground to criticise is the full-forward. They're very reliant on what happens up the field with ball delivery. The only thing I can suggest with Jack is the area of his game that he can improve is his defensive efforts, and we've had conversations about that.
"Offensively, we're not really worried about the goals, they'll come, but surprisingly, defensively if you get your stuff done then offensively your game will come from there."
Hardwick scoffed at suggestions Riewoldt was carrying a significant injury, but admitted he did have his niggles.
"The majority of the players in the AFL at the moment are either fatigued or injured. He's no different."
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/tigers-jump-to-riewoldts-defence/story-e6frf9jf-1226094910777