How retiring Tigers sparked ‘whirlwind’ rise

Retiring Tigers star Jack Riewoldt says he is most proud of “creating a culture” that has been copied by other clubs and stemmed from a pre-season chat with fellow club champion and premiership captain Trent Cotchin.

He said the pair sat down at Essendon cafe St Rose at the end of 2016 and discussed the legacy they would leave at the club, with their shift in focus creating immediate results.

“I spoke to the guys about the legend of the St Rose cafe … Trent and I sat down and had coffee, and we spoke about legacy and what it looked like for us as older players even at that time,” Riewoldt said.

“(It was about) what we were going to do to create that 11th premiership for the likes of Daniel Rioli, who was in his second year at the time.

“Funnily enough, it happened in a whirlwind, everyone invested, we found the thing that connected our group together, which was storytelling … it turned around in a matter of five or six months.

“It all came together, and while we spoke about Daniel playing in the next premiership and being part of that next Richmond cup, we found ourselves smack bang in the middle of it.”

Addressing Richmond players, staff and reporters on Tuesday, Riewoldt became emotional when he described the importance of bowing out at the same time as Cotchin, with the duo to both play their final games against North Melbourne at the MCG on Saturday.

“It only seems like yesterday I was sitting on the porch of his parents’ holiday house in Moama, having a couple of VBs with his old man and just having the times of our lives at 19 years of age,” he said.

“We’ve lived amazing lives over the period of time we’ve been at the football club … me and Trent are really excited about what the next period of our journey is.”

Riewoldt joked he knew the end of his playing days was nigh after trying to take a trademark jumping mark over a St Kilda opponent on Sunday.

“I tried to jump on Jack Sinclair on the weekend, and that was probably the moment I realised it was all over,” he said.

“I’ve gone from kneeing blokes in the back of the head or on the shoulders … I think I might have got him just above the tailbone.

“This week’s going to be an emotional cocktail really of happiness, sadness … there’s an element of grieving in there as well … ultimately it will be the reflection on what is 17 years of lifetime memories.”

The three-time Coleman medallist and All-Australian said he was “intrigued” by the Tigers’ potential to rise rapidly, comparing the disappointing campaign to the 2016 season when they finished 13th before going on to win the flag the next year.

“We’ve got some amazing talent in the room, talent we haven’t seen at AFL level yet that I can’t wait to see,” he said.

“We’ve got some great guys to come through who need to grab the leadership mantle, and I’m looking forward to being on the other side of that fence and experiencing that journey through a new lens.”

Originally published as ‘It all came together’: Jack Riewoldt proud of cultural impact at Tigers, pays tribute to Trent Cotchin