Shane Edwards and Jack Riewoldt are the current longest-standing teammates at Richmond, both having been picked up by the Tigers in the 2006 AFL national draft. Edwards recently provided a fascinating insight into Riewoldt the footballer in an interview with the Herald Sun. Here’s what he had to say about the star key forward . . .
“I was drafted to Richmond alongside Jack Riewoldt, but that was not the first time I met him.
“We had crossed paths months earlier at the AFL draft camp and you couldn’t miss him.
“He was the loudest kid by a mile, cracking jokes with all the coaches while everyone else was just afraid of their own shadow.
“Early in Jack’s career, the older guys probably would have thought, ‘Who is this loud and confident kid?’
“That is just Jack, though. He’s never been afraid to speak up.
“He was an absolute gun straight away, even though it took him a few years to get regular games because ‘Richo’ (Matthew Richardson) was there.
“He is just the smartest player and I remember years ago we would call him footy’s ‘Rain Man’ because he just knew where the footy was always going to go.
“The only problem with fitting into game plans is Jack is smart enough to almost beat the system and just kick a goal.
“It’s almost like stopping him from kicking a goal and playing into the system, because he’s just ridiculously smart.
“I fully believe that if Jack had just played in the midfield from day one he’d probably be one of the best mids in the comp. He’s just good at everything . . .
“In my time at the Club, I’ve played with some truly remarkable players.
“It’s almost impossible to split them, but three players come to mind.
“Dusty Martin is probably at the highest peak.
“Richo is probably the best overall player, but I reckon Riewoldt is the most under-rated.
“I reckon he’s had the highest degree of difficulty in his position for the longest and been the best player at that.
“So I’d almost say Riewoldt is the best, just by the fact he’s an undersized key forward who’s held the fort down for years and actually thrived at it.”
