Jack's knack
Jack Riewoldt says he will put in plenty of work on his goalkicking after a wayward showing against the Demons
JACK Riewoldt started Richmond's clash with Melbourne at the MCG on Saturday in fine style, booting the first goal of the game with a clever left-foot snap.
But after that his radar went on the blink, and he finished the afternoon with 1.5 to his name.
"I get paid to kick goals but I kicked a lot of points, so that's something I've got to work on during the week," Riewoldt told AFL.com.au.
"I've got to get back on the bicycle and try to get it right against Gold Coast next week."
The dual between Riewoldt and Melbourne defender James Frawley was among the few highlights of what was an extremely scrappy match.
Riewoldt ended up with 16 possessions and took seven marks, while Frawley had 20 touches and took 10 marks.
Both committed their share of skill errors.
"I've played on him now probably 10 times," Riewoldt said. "He's just a sensational player.
"We were both All Australians in 2010 and went away on the Irish tour together, so we know each other reasonably well and we get along really well.
"As a football player, you want to challenge yourself against the best.
"Trent Cotchin wants to play against the Chris Judds and Dane Swans of the world, and I'm no different.
"I want to play on the Matty Scarletts and the James Frawleys; the premier backmen in the competition.
"Today I thought I held my own, and if I kick straight I probably beat him, but you'd say it was 50-50 in the end."
Many of Riewoldt's behinds were kicked from long-range or deep in the pockets.
"Playing on 'Chip' Frawley makes it tough," he explained.
"He gives you those leading lanes sometimes, but often he forces you out to the 50m line or out wide and you're having shots from there.
"That's a credit to him and a credit to their defence. But those shots are the ones as a key forward you have to nail."
Riewoldt admitted that the Tigers' 23-point win over the Demons was not one of their finest performances for the year.
"It was very frustrating," he said. "But we had 35 shots on goal, and if you get that many in an AFL game, you're rarely going to lose.
"So we'll continue to work on our goalkicking and hopefully next week it's 23.13 rather than the other way around.
"We've got to work on scrambling goals. We had a few handball errors that probably cost up a few more shots on goal and cost us having easy shots.
"That's a focus for us during the week."