Nick Riewoldt

Nick Riewoldt
Personal information
Full nameNick Riewoldt
Nickname(s)Roo, Rooey
Date of birth17 October 1982
Place of birthHobart, Tasmania
Original teamSouthport (QAFL)
Draft#1 (PP), 2000 National Draft, St Kilda
Height/Weight193cm / 96kg
Position(s)Forward
Club information
Current clubSt Kilda
Number12
Playing career1
YearsClubGames (Goals)
2001–St Kilda283 (622)
International team honours
YearsTeamGames (Goals)
2004Australia2 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to end of 2014 season.
Career highlights

Nick Riewoldt (/ˈriːvoʊlt/ REE-volt; born 17 October 1982) is an Australian rules footballer who is the current captain of the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was the first draft selection in the 2000 AFL Draft.

Early life

Born in Hobart, Tasmania, Riewoldt and his family moved to the Gold Coast, Queensland when he was nine years old.[2] He attended Robina State Primary School from grade 5 and later became the school's vice captain and UNICEF representative. He then switched to All Saints Anglican School during his high school years. Australian Rules football is not offered in many Queensland schools but he made a name for himself as an overall sportsman, participating in the school's athletics, cross country, cricket, soccer and touch football teams at a high level. Academically, he also excelled in the studies of physics and chemistry.

Riewoldt played his junior and early senior football at the Broadbeach Football Club before moving to the Southport Sharks[2] where he was identified as an outstanding junior talent.

He is a cousin of Richmond Tigers AFL footballer, Jack Riewoldt.

AFL career

Riewoldt was the No.1 Draft Pick in the 2000 AFL Draft and made his debut in 2001.

2004 season

His breakout season was 2004 when he took an AFL record 256 marks and also finished in the top ten for both the Coleman and Brownlow medals. He received the AFL Players Association Most Valuable Player Award, the Leigh Matthews Trophy and was selected in the 2004 All-Australian Team for the first time.[3]

2005 season

Riewoldt was rewarded for his 2004 efforts when St Kilda named him club captain for 2005 as part of their rotating captaincy policy.[4] His 2005 season began badly as he broke his collarbone in the third quarter of the first game of the season against the Brisbane Lions.[5] This drew controversy as he was then bumped after the injury by Lions players Chris Scott and Mal Michael when it was obvious he was hurt.[6] Riewoldt had, however, waved away the trainers indicating that he was fine to continue playing, so no action was taken against Scott or Michael.

After a brief return to playing later in the season, Riewoldt again broke his collarbone.

Riewoldt later recovered in time to play in the 2005 finals series.

2006 season

Early in the 2006 season, Riewoldt returned to close to his best form, kicking five goals against former powerhouse Brisbane in Round 3. This match seemed to have put Riewoldt's kicking "yips" to bed, but they returned during the Round 7 match against Geelong when he missed a simple but critical goal from 15 metres out. This miss was forgotten the next week when Riewoldt kicked 9 goals against Carlton and took many contested marks. Riewoldt also took a match saving mark for the Saints against Sydney in Round 11, a match the Saints won in wet conditions, and one that kept their finals hopes alive.

Riewoldt topped off the 2006 season by winning his third Trevor Barker Award. In achieving this feat, Riewoldt has already emulated some of the Saints greatest players such as the 1966 premiership captain Darrel Baldock, former skipper Nathan Burke and past champions Wells Eicke, Jack Davis and Jim Ross.

Riewoldt was recognised for his season with selection in the 2006 All-Australian Team as a forward player, his second career All-Australian Team award.

2007 season

Riewoldt at training prior to the 2009 AFL Grand Final

At the beginning of the 2007 season, Lyon appointed Riewoldt Co-Captain of the St Kilda Football Club, along with Luke Ball and Lenny Hayes, both former captains themselves. Back and hamstring injuries forced Riewoldt to miss the first three matches of the season.

Riewoldt started the season well, with eight goals in his first two matches.

In Round 7, Riewoldt dominated against the Sydney Swans, which kick started another outstanding year. Despite the Saints missing the finals, Riewoldt enjoyed a better year statistically than 2004, narrowly winning St Kilda's best and fairest Trevor Barker Award ahead of defender Sam Fisher.[7]

2008 season

Riewoldt played in St Kilda’s 2008 NAB Cup winning side – the club's third pre-season cup win.[8][9]

Riewoldt had a consistent 2008 season, coming second in the AFL for marks (behind Matthew Richardson) and kicking 57 home and away season goals (63 all up) to finish ninth in the competition. This performance earned him his third All-Australian selection, his first at centre-half-forward. He was also selected to play in the Hall of Fame Tribute Match, but was ultimately unable to play due to a knee injury.

Riewoldt was recognised for his season with selection in the 2008 All-Australian Team as a forward player. This was his third All-Australian Team award.[10]

2009 season

Riewoldt took the most marks of any player in the league, averaging 9.7 a game and kicking 65 goals in the home and away season, averaging 3.3 a game.

He was a significant player in a St Kilda team which went through the home and away season with 20 wins and 2 defeats.

Riewoldt played in 21 of 22 matches in the 2009 home and away rounds in which St Kilda qualified in first position for the finals series, winning the club’s third minor premiership.[11]

Riewoldt was recognised for his season with selection in the 2009 All-Australian Team as a forward player. He was also named captain of the 2009 All-Australian Team, his fourth All-Australian Team award.

In the preliminary final against the Western Bulldogs, Riewoldt kicked four goals, one of which was in the final minutes..

St Kilda qualified for the 2009 AFL Grand Final after qualification and preliminary finals wins but were defeated by Geelong by 12 points. Riewoldt kicked one goal.

Riewoldt won the 2009 Trevor Barker Award for St Kilda's best and fairest player, setting a new club record of five career best and fairest awards. He was also St Kilda's leading goal kicker in 2009.

2010 season

During St Kilda's 28 point Round 3 win over Collingwoood, on 9 April 2010, Riewoldt experienced a high grade hamstring tear. He underwent surgery and made his return in Round 15, playing 15 games in the season for 39 goals. Riewoldt has now passed 400 goals in his career and is the 4th highest goalkicker in St Kilda's history.

Photo controversy

On 20 December 2010 a photo with a nude image of Riewoldt was posted on the social networking site Facebook by a 17-year old girl.[12][13] The girl, whose name was initially withheld in the media due to her age, stated that her actions were a result of unfair treatment at the hands of the AFL regarding an incident earlier in the year, in which she claimed she had become pregnant as a result of having sex with two St Kilda players following a school football clinic.[13] Another nude photo, of fellow Saints player Nick Dal Santo, was also posted. In a subsequent press conference Riewoldt claimed to have never met the girl and that the photo had been taken over a year prior, during an end-of-season trip, in Miami, Florida, by teammate Sam Gilbert, and that he had asked Gilbert to immediately delete the photo.[14] Gilbert stated that the photos had been stolen from his own personal computer, describing the incident as a "significant breach of privacy without my knowledge or consent".[14] The girl disputed Gilbert's statement, saying that she had taken the photos and was in possession of at least 19 more images of other AFL players.[15] The girl later admitted this to be a lie, stating that she fabricated this claim of ownership so as not to get into any trouble.[16] She then claimed to have been sent the photos by an unnamed St Kilda player in April of that year. On 24 December 2010 a Federal Court granted a permanent injunction on the images, supporting Riewoldt and Gilbert's statement that the photos had been stolen from Gilbert's laptop computer without consent.[15] Justice Shane Marshall ordered the images and any others be deleted from the girl's computer, with mediation between her and the St Kilda Football Club scheduled to take place on 28 January 2011.[15]

Personal life

Riewoldt is married to Catherine Heard. The pair married in October 2012 at her parent's property in Waco, Texas.[17]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2014 season [18]
Legend
 D  Disposals  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  M  Marks  T  Tackles  H/O  Hit-outs  G  Goals  B  Behinds
Led the league for the Season only*
Led the league after finals only*
Led the league after Season and Finals*

*10 games required to be eligible.

Year Team # Games D K H M T H/O G B D K H M T H/O G B
Totals Averages (per game)
2001 St Kilda 12 6 57 43 14 26 3 1 2 2 9.5 7.2 2.3 4.3 0.5 0.2 0.3 0.3
2002 St Kilda 12 22 319 225 94 178 30 61 21 18 14.5 10.2 4.3 8.1 1.4 2.8 1.0 0.8
2003 St Kilda 12 22 351 241 110 170 29 66 30 17 16.0 11.0 5.0 7.7 1.3 3.0 1.4 0.8
2004 St Kilda 12 25 432 324 108 256 25 22 67 32 17.3 13.0 4.3 10.2 1.0 0.9 2.7 1.3
2005 St Kilda 12 16 232 182 50 131 18 9 33 36 14.5 11.4 3.1 8.2 1.1 0.6 2.1 2.3
2006 St Kilda 12 23 385 299 86 214 23 27 60 35 16.7 13.0 3.7 9.3 1.0 1.2 2.6 1.5
2007 St Kilda 12 20 361 293 68 194 20 18 42 25 18.1 14.7 3.4 9.7 1.0 0.9 2.1 1.3
2008 St Kilda 12 24 410 288 122 240 18 28 65 39 17.1 12.0 5.1 10.0 0.8 1.2 2.7 1.6
2009 St Kilda 12 24 413 318 95 231 51 21 78 47 17.2 13.3 4.0 9.6 2.1 0.9 3.3 2.0
2010 St Kilda 12 15 257 174 83 120 26 16 39 34 17.1 11.6 5.5 8.0 1.7 1.1 2.6 2.3
2011 St Kilda 12 22 354 221 133 154 50 23 36 31 16.1 10.0 6.0 7.0 2.3 1.0 1.6 1.4
2012 St Kilda 12 19 276 200 76 125 47 6 47 31 14.5 10.5 4.0 6.6 2.5 0.3 2.5 1.6
2013 St Kilda 12 21 390 281 109 202 41 12 50 36 18.6 13.4 5.2 9.6 2.0 0.6 2.4 1.7
2014 St Kilda 12 22 367 262 105 191 31 11 49 21 16.7 11.9 4.8 8.7 1.4 0.5 2.2 1.0
Career 281 4604 3351 1253 2432 412 321 619 404 16.4 11.9 4.5 8.7 1.5 1.1 2.2 1.4

Honours and achievements

Brownlow Medal votes
Season Votes
2001 —
2002 11
2003 7
2004 17
2005 3
2006 8
2007 14
2008 12
2009 15
2010 8
2011 4
2012 9
2013 5
Total 113
Key:
Green / Bold = Won

Team

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "AFL Tables - Most Goals At Docklands". AFL Tables. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "St Kilda AFL star Nick Riewoldt leaves Coast door ajar". News.com.au. 31 January 2008. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
  3. ↑ Lane, Samantha (11 September 2005). "Breaking new ground". The Sunday Age. p. 13.
  4. ↑ Smith, Patrick (13 September 2006). "St Kilda restores law and order". The Australian. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
  5. ↑ "Riewoldt out for at least a month". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 25 March 2005. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  6. ↑ "Lions deny victimising Riewoldt". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 25 March 2005. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  7. ↑ Lane, Samantha (6 October 2007). "Riewoldt wins record fourth gong". Real Footy. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
  8. ↑ "St Kilda wins NAB cup". The Age. 8 March 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  9. ↑ "Saints are NAB Cup Champions in 2008". Jeld-Wen. 8 March 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  10. ↑ "St Kilda's All-Australian duo". afl.com.au – Alistair Hogg. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  11. ↑ "2009 Season Scores and Results – Ladder". AFL Tables. 2009. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
  12. ↑ QMI Agency (24 December 2010). "Girl releases naked photos of Aussie rules players". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Ewart, Heather (21 December 2010). "Footy photo scandal". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Connolly, Rohan (22 December 2010). "Gilbert sorry as Riewoldt fumes". The Age. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Reilly, Stephen (11 January 2011). "St Kilda on back foot as Facebook girl gatecrashes training". The Australian. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  16. ↑ http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-premiership/teenage-girl-who-posted-nude-photos-of-st-kilda-afl-players-turns-up-to-a-training-run/story-e6frf3e3-1225985067044
  17. ↑ McFarlane, Glenn (1 December 2012). "‘Adopted American' Nick Riewoldt still has burning desire to lead St Kilda to premiership". Sunday Herald Sun.
  18. ↑ Nick Riewoldt's player profile at AFL Tables

External links

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