Nick Riewoldt
Encyclopedia
Nick Riewoldt 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
.
, Tasmania
, Riewoldt and his family moved to the Gold Coast, Queensland
when he was nine years old. 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 where he was identified as an outstanding junior talent.
and made his debut in 2001.
and Brownlow
medals. He received the AFL Players Association Most Valuable Player Award, the Leigh Matthews Trophy
.
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.
Riewoldt played in St Kilda’s 2004 Wizard Home Loans Cup
winning side, St Kilda's second pre-season cup win.
. 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.
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
.
" 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.
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.
winning side – the club's third pre-season cup win.
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.
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
.
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. He was also substituted in that game and threw up on the sidelines as a result of how hard he had pushed himself..
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.
by a 17-year old girl. 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. 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. 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". 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. The girl later admitted this to be lie, stating that she fabricated this claim of ownership so as not to get into any trouble. 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. 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.
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
(AFL). He was the first draft selection in the 2000 AFL Draft
2000 AFL Draft
The 2000 AFL Draft was the annual draft of talented Australian rules football players by teams that participate in the Australian Football League. It consisted of a pre-season draft, a national draft, a trade period and a rookie elevation....
.
Early life
Born in HobartHobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
, Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, Riewoldt and his family moved to the Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
when he was nine years old. 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
All Saints Anglican School
All Saints Anglican School is a private, co-educational school established in 1987 under the Aegis of the Anglican Archdiocese of Brisbane. The school is located on a 40-hectare campus on the Gold Coast Hinterland at Merrimac, near the Robina Central Business District...
during his high school years. Australian Rules football is not offered in many Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
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
Broadbeach Football Club
Broadbeach Australian Football Club, also known as the Broadbeach Cats, is an Australian rules football club representing the suburb of Broadbeach on the Gold Coast...
before moving to the Southport Sharks where he was identified as an outstanding junior talent.
AFL career
Riewoldt was the No.1 Draft Pick in the 2000 AFL Draft2000 AFL Draft
The 2000 AFL Draft was the annual draft of talented Australian rules football players by teams that participate in the Australian Football League. It consisted of a pre-season draft, a national draft, a trade period and a rookie elevation....
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 ColemanColeman Medal
The Coleman Medal is awarded yearly to the Australian Football League player who kicks the most goals in regular-season matches in that year...
and Brownlow
Brownlow Medal
The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
medals. He received the AFL Players Association Most Valuable Player Award, the Leigh Matthews Trophy
Leigh Matthews Trophy
The Leigh Matthews Trophy is an annual award given by the AFL Players Association to the Most Valuable Player in the Australian Football League. It is named in honour of Leigh Matthews, who won the first MVP award in 1982, when the league was still known as the Victorian Football League...
.
Riewoldt was recognised for his season with selection in the 2004 All-Australian Team
All-Australian Team
The All-Australian Team is an all star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including interchange players and a coach, of the best performed during the season....
as a forward player. His first career All-Australian Team award.
Riewoldt played in St Kilda’s 2004 Wizard Home Loans Cup
2004 Wizard Home Loans Cup
The 2004 Wizard Home Loans Cup was the Australian Football League competition played in its entirety before the Australian Football League's 2004 Premiership Season began...
winning side, St Kilda's second pre-season cup win.
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. His 2005 season began badly as he broke his collarbone in the third quarter of the first game of the season against the Brisbane LionsBrisbane Lions
The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...
. This drew controversy as he was then bumped after the injury by Lions players Chris Scott
Chris M. Scott
Christopher Michael "Chris" Scott is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League best known as being a dual premiership player with the Brisbane Lions and is a current premiership AFL coach of the Geelong Football Club.-AFL career:Scott was picked by the Brisbane Bears...
and Mal Michael
Mal Michael
Malcolm Roberto "Mal" Michael is a former Australian rules footballer. He is notable for his successful professional Australian Football League career. Following a career spanned 238 games and three clubs in two Australian states he is best known as a triple premiership full-back with the...
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.
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
2005 AFL finals series
-The finals system:The system is a final eight system. This system is different to the McIntyre Final Eight System, which was previously used by the AFL, and is currently used by the National Rugby League....
.
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 "yipsYips
Yips or the yips is an expression used to describe the apparent loss of certain fine motor skills seemingly without explanation in one of a number of different sports....
" 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
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the 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
Trevor Barker Award
The Trevor Barker Award is an Australian rules football award for the player voted the St Kilda Football Club Club Champion during the home and away season in the Australian Football League by a voting panel....
. In achieving this feat, Riewoldt has already emulated some of the Saints greatest players such as the 1966 premiership captain Darrel Baldock
Darrel Baldock
Darrel John Baldock , commonly nicknamed "The Doc" and "Mr Magic", was an Australian rules football player and state politician who in 1966 was the first captain of a premiership-winning St Kilda Football Club. Baldock was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame as a "Legend"...
, former skipper Nathan Burke
Nathan Burke
Nathan Burke is a former Australian rules footballer.He was a tough rover who always backed himself in a contest and was one of the most courageous footballers to play for the St Kilda Football Club. He set the club record for most number of games at his retirement, with 323 games which was broken...
and past champions Wells Eicke, Jack Davis
Jack Davis (footballer)
Jack Davis was an Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda in the VFL during the 1930s....
and Jim Ross
Jim A. Ross
James A. "Jim" Ross is a former Australian rules footballer in the VFL. He was a star ruckman and centre half-forward.Ross won three club Best and Fairest awards. He left St Kilda and coached in Tasmania when only 26 years old, winning All-Australian selection in 1958.He was the fifth Tasmanian...
.
Riewoldt was recognised for his season with selection in the 2006 All-Australian Team
All-Australian Team
The All-Australian Team is an all star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including interchange players and a coach, of the best performed during the season....
as a forward player, his second career All-Australian Team award.
2007 season
At the beginning of the 20072007 AFL season
The 2007 AFL Season was the 111th season of the Australian Football League, the highest-level professional Australian rules football league in Australia...
season, Lyon appointed Riewoldt Co-Captain of the St Kilda Football Club, along with Luke Ball
Luke Ball
Luke Patrick Ball is a professional Australian rules football player currently playing for in the Australian Football League....
and Lenny Hayes
Lenny Hayes
Lenny Hayes is a professional Australian rules footballer playing with St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League.Hayes is a former captain of St Kilda and continues to be an onfield leader in the Saints' midfield....
, both former captains themselves. Back and hamstring
Hamstring
In human anatomy, the hamstring refers to any one of the three posterior thigh muscles, or to the tendons that make up the borders of the space behind the knee. In modern anatomical contexts, however, they usually refer to the posterior thigh muscles, or the tendons of the semitendinosus, the...
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
Trevor Barker
Trevor Barker was an Australian rules footballer with the St Kilda Football Club in the Victorian Football League ....
Award ahead of defender Sam Fisher.
2008 season
Riewoldt played in St Kilda’s 2008 NAB Cup2008 NAB Cup
The 2008 NAB Cup was the Australian Football League pre-season competition played in its entirety before the Australian Football League's 2008 Premiership season began...
winning side – the club's third pre-season cup win.
Riewoldt had a consistent 2008 season, coming second in the AFL for marks (behind Matthew Richardson
Matthew Richardson (Australian rules footballer)
Matthew "Richo" Richardson , is a retired professional Australian rules footballer who played for Richmond in the Australian Football League...
) 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
All-Australian Team
The All-Australian Team is an all star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including interchange players and a coach, of the best performed during the season....
as a forward player. This was his third All-Australian Team award.
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
2009 AFL season
-Round 1 :-Round 2:-Round 3 :-Round 4:-Round 5 :-Round 6:-Round 7:-Round 8:-Round 9 :-Round 10:...
.
Riewoldt was recognised for his season with selection in the 2009 All-Australian Team
2009 All-Australian team
The 2009 All-Australian team represents the best performed Australian Football League players during the 2009 AFL season. It was announced on 14 September 2009, as a complete Australian rules football team of 22 players and a coach. An initial squad of 40 players was previously announced on 1...
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. He was also substituted in that game and threw up on the sidelines as a result of how hard he had pushed himself..
St Kilda qualified for the 2009 AFL Grand Final
2009 AFL Grand Final
The 2009 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the St Kilda Football Club and the Geelong Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 26 September 2009...
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
Trevor Barker Award
The Trevor Barker Award is an Australian rules football award for the player voted the St Kilda Football Club Club Champion during the home and away season in the Australian Football League by a voting panel....
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 FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
by a 17-year old girl. 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. Another nude photo, of fellow Saints player Nick Dal Santo
Nick Dal Santo
Nick Dal Santo is an Australian rules footballer for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League .-Early career:...
, 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
Sam Gilbert
Sam Gilbert is a professional Australian rules footballer for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League .-Early life:Gilbert is a rugby league convert who didn’t start playing AFL until he was 16 years old...
, and that he had asked Gilbert to immediately delete the photo. 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". 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. The girl later admitted this to be lie, stating that she fabricated this claim of ownership so as not to get into any trouble. 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. 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.