The 34-year-old informed his teammates this morning of his choice, and on Saturday afternoon at the MCG, he will play one more game against North Melbourne.
Tigers president Brendan Gale predicted that the club would celebrate all week long as Riewoldt and former captain Trent Cotchin, who has already declared his retirement, played their final match at the MCG.
“Riewoldt’s Reflection at Punt Road: Family, Career, and Legacy”
At Punt Road, Riewoldt reflected on his career and his time with the club while being surrounded by his family, holding his daughter Poppy in his arms, and having teammates look on.
He thanked the Tigers for helping to organize his announcement, saying, “I’m forever grateful and thankful for everybody who has invested in me… all the way back to when I went to school and had my first football in my hands, to the club who have shown so much care and support over the last three days.”
In what turned out to be his final season, Riewoldt said he made a point to set aside time to run with colleagues Cotchin and Dustin Martin, who had been with the squad for the duration of his time at Tigerland.
“It has personally meant a lot to me. Due to his and Cotchin’s impending retirement, he stated, “it’s kind like the end of an era.
He said, “It seems like yesterday we were sitting on the front porch of (Cotchin’s family’s) beach house at Moama, having a VB at 19 years old,” alluding to how far they had both gone as friends and teammates.
“Only about 1,100 people have ever played for this fantastic club, and I was fortunate enough to be one of them.”
Among his most treasured Richmond memories were the three premierships, but he said he was most proud of being a part of a group that established a culture that was imitated elsewhere.
Championship
Riewoldt said he saw similarities between now and 2016, the year before Richmond ended a 37-year championship drought with a victory against Adelaide, as he got ready to bid goodbye to playing for the Tigers.
“We haven’t had the year we hoped for (in 2023),” he said, noting that Richmond had some promising young players, some of whom had not even played at the AFL level yet.
We know (from 2016–2017) that we can recover rather fast from a challenging situation, and I am looking forward to watching from the front row (as a fan).
With 786 goals from 346 games, Riewoldt is 13th on the all-time list of AFL/VFL goal kickers.
Riewoldt, a talented and sincere performer who was selected at pick 13 in the 2006 AFL Draft, made his professional debut in 2007.
In 2014, after publicly criticizing the team’s game plan, he memorably leaped a fence at Punt Road Oval before fleeing to Richmond railway station to avoid media and TV crews.
The star forward has cemented his place in Richmond history as a vital component of the team’s three championships in four years between 2017 and 2020, though he is approaching the end of his 17th season.
Celebrations in Richmond are led by rock sensation Riewoldt.
While Richmond players and supporters put on a wild celebration of the Tigers’ first championship in 37 years, premiership star Jack Riewoldt’s entrance into The Killers’ post-game concert was the pinnacle of revelry.
He gained notoriety when he performed Mr. Brightside on stage with American band The Killers at the post-grand final concert in 2017, following their first flag victory.
On the list of the club’s highest scorers during the AFL era, he ranks second behind Matthew Richardson (800 goals), with Tigers icon Jack Titus finishing ahead of both of them with 970 goals.
Riewoldt, who has participated in 20 of the Tigers’ first 21 games this season and has 30 goals overall, is the team’s top goal scorer.
Riewoldt earned three Coleman Medals in his career and three All-Australian selections. The Coleman Medal is awarded to the top AFL goal scorer each year.
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In the latter stages of his career, he has frequently been in the media; just last week, he told Fox Footy that he was in “fluid discussions” about his future with the Tigers.