Recently retired AFL great Nick Riewoldt opened up about the sudden passing of his sister Maddie, and the affects it had on him both on and off the field during the twilight of his career with the Saints.
“It still affects me, but it more changes the way you view the world," Riewoldt said on SEN's The Run Home.
“That was a period in my life where I underwent fundamental changes as a person, as I became a father three months after I buried my sister."
The 336-gamer expressed how he dealt with the sudden tragedy leading up to his games on the weekend while performing on the field between 2015 and 2017.
“It was such a difficult period to balance the highs and the lows of the two events, and at the same time trying to be captain of a football club and perform at a high level.
“Generally footballers are really good at compartmentalising (before they head up the race at the beginning of a game), and I was able to do that and play and do what I needed to do,” he added.
The five-time All-Australian also confessed that his emotions spilled out on certain weekends immediately after Maddie’s death, and he took a while to compose himself prior to the opening bounce.
“I had games in 2015 a month after Maddie passed away where I would have to find somewhere quiet to sit in the rooms and I shed a tear before I ran out to play, so that was a difficult period.”
Riewoldt is continuing to lead Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision with cousin and Richmond forward Jack Riewoldt, in which expressed his joy when Jack became a premiership player a few weeks ago.
“It was incredible, and I was so proud of him," he said.
“It was a wonderful day to have it culminate in Jack winning a premiership and then going up on stage thinking he was a rockstar was pretty special as well.”