I don't think Mick is wrong, Reiwoldt has looked a bit slower and older. He is clearly getting closer to retirement. Mick Malthouse also pointed out that Riewoldt has been a key forward for 12-13 years, he is right, that really does take a toll.
But Riewoldt still has a bit of time left. He has footy smarts, he can be a foil to Lynch and in the process get a few goals by leading in a different direction. The opposition can't ignore that he is there. One of the keys to this is being able to slot some goals from maybe 40-50m out. He kicked a nice one from 45 last night and that was significant as his kicking has been a bit off. It also means the opposition have to put some effort into making sure he doesn't mark it, they can't have 3 up against Lynch and leave Riewoldt alone, even if he is marking 40 out. Throw Mabs in there when he isn't in the ruck and suddenly we have 3 tall forwards the opposition have to mind. So Riewoldt can pick up a few kicks, score a few goals, and then there's Martin hanging around too. If Riewoldt was our sole spearhead I would be worried, but in combination with Lynch, Chol at times, Martin going forward for parts of games, the smalls prowling around, he can continue to contribute to a potent forward line.
All this depends on us continuing to get good forward entry though, nothing can fix rubbish forward entries.
DS
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