Nick Riewoldt

=Early life= Born in Hobart, Tasmania, Riewoldt and his family moved to the Gold Coast, Queensland when he was nine years old.[1] He attended Robina State Primary School from Year 5 and later became the school's vice captain and UNICEF representative and then went 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[1] where he was identified as an outstanding junior talent.

 =Draft= Nick Riewoldt was picked by St Kilda with the No.1 selection in the 2000 National Draft and was 193 centimetres tall and weighed 81 kilograms when he was drafted as an 18 year old. The profile for Riewoldt in AFL 2001 said “The Gold Coast teenager is a tall, strong marking centre half forward who has already played in a premiership side with Southport. Born in Tasmania, his father Joe played for Clarence, and after moving to the Gold Coast when he was 10 Riewoldt did not take up football seriously until he was 13.”1

 =2001 SEASON= Riewoldt injured his knee in the 2001 pre-season and after playing two VFL games he ma’de his AFL debut in Round 15 against the Adelaide Crows. St Kilda lost by 97 points at Colonial Stadium in what turned out to be Malcolm Blight’s final game as coach. After player four consecutive AFL matches Riewoldt missed Round 19 and 20 with a shoulder injury, he played six of St Kilda’s last eight matches predominantly at half forward but was also given stints on the wing. In Round 17 against Geelong Riewoldt had 14 kicks, seven marks and five handballs.

In 2001 Riewoldt played 6 matches averaging 7.2 kicks, 2.3 handballs and 4.3 marks per game with a disposal efficiency of 80.7%. Riewoldt’s teammate and the player taken 1 pick behind him at the 2000 National Draft, Justin Koschitzke won the Rising Star Award playing mostly at centre half-back.

 =2002 SEASON= In 2002 the roles were reversed for the top two selections from the 2000 National Draft as Koschitzke after playing the first four games was kept on the sidelines with a back injury and Riewoldt had an impressive injury-free year and won the Rising Star Award on 34 votes from Chris Judd on 29 and Luke Hodge on 12.

Riewoldt was ranked second at St Kilda for kicks and first for marks, 80 ahead of Steven Lawrence in second place and became St Kilda’s all-time youngest best and fairest winner at just 19 years and 349 days. Riewoldt polled 132 votes to finish ahead of Lenny Hayes on 125 and Steven Baker on 120. Riewoldt played all 22 matches in 2002 averaging 10.2 kicks, 4.3 handballs and 6.1 marks per game with a disposal efficiency of 86.5%. Although he was not a permanent forward Nick kicked 21 goals to be ranked third at St Kilda behind Stephen Milne with 50 and Aaron Hamill with 22.

 =2003 SEASON= By the start of the 2003 season Riewoldt had bulked up to weigh 92 kilograms, an 11 kilogram increase on his weight when he was drafted. Nick spent the 2003 season playing as a key forward and kicked three or more goals on five occasions. Riewoldt finished fourth in St Kilda’s best and fairest behind Hayes, Robert Harvey and Stephen Powell. Riewoldt was ranked fifth in the AFL for marks and equal eighth for contested marks. Nick kicked 30 goals to be ranked second at St Kilda behind Fraser Gehrig with 55 goals. In 2003 Riewoldt played 22 matches averaging 11.0 kicks, 5.0 handballs and 7.7 marks per game with a disposal efficiency of 82.7%. Nick was ranked fifth at St Kilda for kicks and inside 50s.

St Kilda finished the 2003 season very strongly winning four of their final five games of the season, with each winning margin being more than 10 goals. In Riewoldt’s 50th AFL game St Kilda suffered a surprise 19 point loss to Geelong at a very blustery Skilled Stadium in Round 22. St Kilda finished the 2003 season with 11 wins, the same number that they accumulated in the previous three seasons combined.

 =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,[2].

Riewoldt was recognised for his season with selection in the 2004 All-Australian Team as a forward player. His first career All-Australian Team award.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">Riewoldt played in St Kilda’s 2004 AFL Wizard Home Loans Cup winning side – St Kilda Football Club’s 2nd AFL Pre-Season Cup Win.[3]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;"> =2005 season= <p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">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. 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. Riewoldt had, however, waved away the trainers indicating that he was fine to continue playing, so no action was taken against Scott or Michael.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">He was later seen crying on the sideline later in the game.[5]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">After a brief return to playing later in the season, Riewoldt again broke his collarbone at the hands of aggressive treatment from opposition players.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">Riewoldt later recovered in time to play in the 2005 finals series.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;"> =2006 season= <p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">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.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">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.[citation needed]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">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.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;"> =2007 season= <p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">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.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">Riewoldt started the season well, with eight goals in his first two matches.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">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.[6]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;"> =2008 season= <p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">Riewoldt played in St Kilda’s 2008 NAB Cup winning side – the club's third pre-season cup win.[7][8]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">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.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">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.[9]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;"> =2009 season= <p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">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.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">He was a significant player in a St Kilda team which went through the home and away season with 20 wins and 2 defeats.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">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.[10]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">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.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">In the preliminary final against the Western Bulldogs, Riewoldt kicked four goals, one of which was in the final minutes. He was also substituted in that game and threw up on the sidelines as a result of how hard he had pushed himself.[citation needed].

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">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.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">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= <p style="line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">During the Round 3 match against Collingwood Riewoldt seriously injured his hamstring in the final minute of the first half and the injury would cause him to miss 11 matches. It was a huge setback for Riewoldt who had been in some of the best form of his career in the opening two rounds of the season.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">Riewoldt missed 11 matches and along with Jason Gram returned to the St Kilda side for the Round 15 match against Brisbane. Understandably after such long lay-offs Riewoldt and Gram both looked to be underdone against Brisbane but they steadily regained touch and match conditioning in the following weeks.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">Riewoldt’s form had been improving to the point that he was on the cusp of tearing a game apart. In Round 20 it all come together and for the second time against North Melbourne this season key-forward Riewoldt was goalless in the first term and kicked seven goals after quarter time to clearly be the best player on the ground.