Richmond forward Jack Riewoldt has spoken about the emotions surrounding Saturday’s post-game on-field tribute to the late Phil Walsh.
When both teams came together to form a circle of silent reflection in the middle of the MCG on Saturday afternoon, it was Riewoldt who seized the opportunity to deliver a poignant message to the players.
“I was more just speaking to all the players and imploring them to go home and tell their parents they love them, tell their brother, their sister, their close friends,” Riewoldt explained on 3AW.
“Because we've seen personally, with Madeleine, and obviously with what we saw with Phil, that life is short, and you never know when you'll get that last chance to say your last goodbye.
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“It was more just thanking them for playing the game in the right spirit.
“You never know when life ends. It can be brutal sometimes."
While the football community continues to mourn the loss of Walsh, Riewoldt reflected on the difficult period his family is currently living through.
“Our family is going through a bit of a rough trot at the moment. Our grandfather is pretty close to passing away too,” he said.
“It’s been an emotional rollercoaster. What we’ve been able to do with Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision and the Saints has been phenomenal for us to be able to put our time and effort into something.
“In the end, footy is just a game. Although sometimes we write about it and it feels like it’s the be all and end all, it isn’t.
“We’re out there and we’re playing because we love to play footy.
“But as we’ve seen over the last 48 hours, it can be cruelly taken away from you.”
During the last year, life experience has changed Riewoldt’s mindset to football, and life.
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It has made him a more mature, inwardly emotional player on-field, and an improving leader off it.
“I’ve grown up as a person over the last 12 months. I’ve had a lot of things go on in my life, and it’s made me mature as a person,” he said.
“My mates at the footy club have helped me grow up. I think it’s starting to reflect on the way I’m playing football out on the ground.
“There’s still the emotion that I love playing for the Tiges and love playing footy with my mates, but it’s not that outward emotion that we could see probably at the start of my career.”
