Nick Riewoldt

Nick Riewoldt (born 17 October 1982) is an Australian rules football player in the Australian Football League. A centre half-forward, he was the first draft selection in the 2000 AFL Draft he has won many awards including the AFL Rising Star, All-Australian selection and the Leigh Matthews Trophy. He is the captain of the St Kilda Football Club.

Early life/career

Born in Tasmania, Riewoldt and his family moved to the Gold Coast, Queensland when Riewoldt was nine. He attended Robina State Primary School from Year 5 and later became the school's vice-captain and UNICEF representative. Nick went to All Saints' Anglican School during his high school years. Although Australian rules football is not offered in most Queensland schools, he still 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, Nick also excelled in studies of physics and chemistry.

He is the cousin of Jack Riewoldt, who plays for the Richmond Tigers.

Riewoldt played his junior and early senior football at the Broadbeach Football Club before moving to the Southport Sharks where he was identified as an outstanding junior talent, making the All-Australian U18 team in 1999.

AFL

He was drafted with the first selection overall in the 2000 AFL Draft and debuted in 2001. Riewoldt won his first St Kilda Best and Fairest Award in 2002 and was the league's best first year player, winning the National AFL Rising Star Award.

His breakout season was 2004 when he took an AFL/VFL record 256 marks and also finished in the top ten for both the Coleman and Brownlow medals. He received the AFL Players' Association MVP award, the Leigh Matthews Trophy, which is second only to the Brownlow Medal in terms of recognising the competition's best player. Riewoldt was named in the All-Australian and International Rules teams in 2004. He was a key member of the St Kilda side that finished third under coach and mentor Grant Thomas.

Riewoldt's 2004 season was considered by many to have been the best season by a young key position player since Wayne Carey in 1993. Many saw Riewoldt as the league's best player at the end of the 2004 season, with respected scribes Mike Sheahan and Robert Walls placing him at Number 1 on their top fifty lists.

2005 season and hard times

Riewoldt was rewarded for his 2004 efforts when St Kilda named him club captain for 2005, as part of their controversial rotating captaincy policy. Riewoldt's 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 in Australia 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. Riewoldt was seen crying on the sideline later in the game, an act which sparked widespread discussion.

After a brief return to playing later in the season, Riewoldt broke his collarbone again at the hands of aggressive treatment from opposition players. Riewoldt recovered in time to play in the 2005 finals series, but St Kilda were eliminated from the premiership race by the Sydney Swans in a preliminary final match at the MCG. Riewoldt relinquished the captaincy at the end of the 2005 season under the club's rotating policy.

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.

At the end of the 2006 season, the St Kilda Football Club sacked then coach Grant Thomas, in a surprise move. Riewoldt, who values Thomas as a mentor, was upset at the decision, although quickly threw his support behind new coach Ross Lyon.

2007 season

At the beginning of the 2007 season, Lyon appointed Riewoldt co-captain of the St Kilda Football Club, along with fellow Saints 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 8 goals in his first two matches. In Round 7, Riewoldt dominated against the Sydney Swans, and this 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, the Trevor Barker Award ahead of defender Sam Fisher.

He is captain of St Kilda in 2008.

References

External links

• Unofficial Website