If you didn’t watch or listen to Richmond’s thrilling victory over Sydney at the MCG last Saturday night, and simply glanced at the list of Tiger goalkickers for the match, you could be excused for believing star forward Jack Riewoldt was well beaten.

You’d also be totally wrong making that assumption . . .

Yes, Riewoldt did register only the one goal off his own boot for the night.  His overall contribution to the Tigers’ team throughout, however, was enormous.

Tiger thoughts on Lloyd’s golden goal

Riewoldt, roaming further afield, had 19 disposals, including an equal-game-high 10 score involvements, a team-high six inside-50s, took a team-high nine marks, and finished with the second highest total of metres gained in the match of 493 (Dustin Martin had 570, which was the most).

What doesn’t show on the ‘stats’ sheet, is the sheer shrewdness and exquisite skill of Riewoldt’s creativity, to consistently set up scoring opportunities for teammates.

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick paid tribute to Riewoldt in his post-game media conference . . .

“He’s had a wonderful season,” Hardwick said. 

“Credit where credit’s due . . . I’ve been really impressed with Jack. 

“I reckon I say this every year about Jack . . . he’s grown as a player. 

“He’s an incredible player.”

Tenacious Tiger midfielder Anthony Miles also sang Riewoldt’s praises.

“Once he got up the ground, that allowed (Ben) Griffiths to be one-on-one and kick five goals,” Miles said on 3AW.

“He’s playing some really selfless footy, and reaping the rewards from it. 

“I think he had nine or 10 marks, which is massive . . .

‘He’s a good user when he has the ball in his hands. 

“He’s been great all year and, hopefully, he can continue that form.”

Riewoldt is averaging 16.4 disposals and 7.1 marks per match in season 2016 and he’s kicked 20 goals.