Adam Cooney believes Jack Riewoldt would be a perfect fit for North Melbourne, should Richmond not offer the star forward a contract for the 2023 season.
Riewoldt, 33, remains out of contract with seven games left in the home and away season, but has not yet been definitive regarding if he wants to play on next year.
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick was asked on Monday night whether the Tigers would offer Riewoldt a contract for next year, providing a coy response that has invited speculation about the veteran forward’s future at Punt Road.
“Look, Jack is a wonderful player, he’s been an outstanding player for us and we’re in dialogue with him,” Hardwick said.
“But we’ve got a lot of decisions to make, we’ve got an ageing profile and a young demographic coming through.
“Some decisions will be made but Jack is playing some very, very good footy.”
Responding to Hardwick’s comments, Cooney believes Riewoldt’s current output warrants a contract extension.
“Unless he drops off the perch in the next eight weeks, I think he’s certainly done enough to warrant another contract next year,” Cooney said on SEN’s The Run Home.
“He’s going to end up with 40+ goals, that’s a pretty handy return considering Tom Lynch is their main focal point down there and he’s really unselfish with the way that he moves the footy.
“For him to kick 40 goals and still be the leader in that forward line, unless he has two soft tissue injuries and really starts to slow down over the next couple of months, he could really have an impact.”
The Age’s Jake Niall reported on Monday afternoon that the Kangaroos are in the market for an “experienced” and “highly-respected” veteran player similar to Luke Hodge’s move to Brisbane in 2018.
If Richmond do decide to move Riewoldt on, Cooney says the three-time premiership player would be an ideal fit for the suffering North Melbourne Football Club.
“We speak about the leaders that North Melbourne need, if Damien Hardwick is up in the air about whether Jack plays on next year, he could certainly have that Luke Hodge style of leadership and add that to North Melbourne,” Cooney added.
“I think he plays on regardless. If Damien Hardwick says, ‘sorry Jack, we’re going with youth, we think Noah Bolta can work better than yourself with Tom Lynch down there’, then Jack can just walk down to Arden Street and hopefully straighten them up over the next couple of years.”
Riewoldt is second on the list for most games played for the Tigers, behind Kevin Bartlett only, and has kicked 742 goals which has him fourth on the club’s overall standings.