Round Seven

Some could say this week’s nominee was more villain than hero, having missed the goal that would have won the game for the Tigers. I can’t really blame him for that. There were 3 players who could have kicked goals in those last frantic few minutes: Nathan Brown, had he kicked that it would have been close to goal of the year and it would have been a fluke, Kelvin Moore, him I do blame for missing, it was 30 – 40 out, directly in front and he couldn’t kick straight, not good enough Kel and Jack Reiwoldt, you have to feel for the kid, the siren’s gone, it’s kick it or lose, he’s 55 out, legs feel like lead and nerves are stretched tight. He couldn’t make the distance and it was a huge ask to expect it of him. Anyway Jack got the nod this week.

Jack’s from Tasmania, just like Richo. His cousin Nick plays for St Kilda and is one of the game’s biggest names. Rumour has it that Richmond’s recruiting manager; Francis Jackson, was really dirty when the Tigers gave Fremantle pick 8 as part of the Polak deal, because he had it earmarked for Jack and did not believe he would still be available at pick 13. As luck would have it Collingwood used pick 8 (they got it from Freo for Chris Tarrant) on Ben Reid and Jack was still there at 13 so Francis Jackson gleefully read out his name. Despite being a skinny 17 year old for most of 2006 Jack actually played a fair bit of senior football for Tasmania’s VFL side. He was expected to spend most of 2007 playing for Coburg and bulking up. He kicked goals early in the season and was compared favourably to the Hawthorn legend Dermott Brereton. He was selected to make his debut in the Dreamtime game against the Bombers, it was not the most auspicious of debuts, he didn’t do anything wrong as such, but spent most of the game on the bench and didn’t have enough ground time to assess him properly at all, Richmond lost a close game in controversial circumstances as well. He kicked a few goals against Port, although the team were well beaten, and showed signs that he was a future player. He’s been a regular for most of this season and despite the fact that he needs weight before he can move into a key position role he is looking good. Saturday night was a genuine 4 quarter effort, he’s quick and has curbed some of his boundless enthusiasm to deliver the ball well. He didn’t give up, kicked a very nice goal and kept putting himself where he believed he could do the most damage and generally did so. He should not be judged on what he couldn’t do after the siren, but rather the fact that he took the mark which led to it and that he was prepared to do everything within his power to win the match. There will be other games and Jack Riewoldt could very well be the difference between winning and losing.

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