Maddie’s Match #3

The clash that supports Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision and the children suffering in silence from a horrible disease.

Madeline Riewoldt tragically passed away three-years ago due to a rare bone-marrow disease. The young 26-year-old suffered from the deadly disease for over five-years. With no successful cure yet to be found, the disease continues to destroy young Australia’s every year. For those who aren’t familiar with Maddie, Maddie is the sister of former St. Kilda captain and forward, Nick Riewoldt and is the cousin of Richmond Tigers forward, Jack Riewoldt. A result of Maddie’s heart wrenching death was a foundation dedicated to Maddie and for children and young Australian’s suffering from the silent disease. The foundation was named after Madeline called Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision.

After Maddie’s passing, her brother, Nick and cousin Jack, decided to help fundraise and educate others about the disease by holding an annual Maddie’s Match clash between St. Kilda Saints and Richmond Tigers at Etihad Stadium. This clash was Maddie’s favourite match to watch. To see her brother and cousin battle it out on the field a bit like they use to in the family backyard. On Friday night another heartfelt Maddie’s Match took place under the Etihad Stadium lights. The clash never fails to pull on the heart strings of all who are involved whether it’s the families or children suffering, the players who have experienced it first-hand or simply the spectators supporting the cause. This clash was a bit different to the other Maddie’s Match’s with Jack having to run out onto this field on his own without his cousin. It was Nick’s first absence from Maddie’s Match as a result of his retirement which was announced last season.

As the colour purple (Madeline’s favourite colour) dominated the stands with supporters from both clubs wearing their Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision beanies and scarves, the match begun with the bounce of the match day ball. Richmond dominated from the first minute of the game. Dustin ‘Dusty’ Martin scored the first goal of the night from a free-kick awarded thanks to a David Armitage holding on the reigning Brownlow Medallist. Jack Riewoldt scored the Tigers second goal and it certainly wasn’t his last. The Tigers continued to roar leading by 6 goals to 1 at the end of the first quarter but they destroyed the Saints in the second heading into the half-time break with a 9 goal advantage. The only second quarter highlight was Jack’s goal from 45m-out kicking to the Riewoldt end of the stadium. What a special moment for him and the Riewoldt’s. At the beginning of the third, St. Kilda forward, Jack Steven, kicked a ‘Goal of the Season’ contender with a mind-blowing mid-air shot that stunned many and looked as if it should have been on the highlight reel of the Russia 2018 World Cup. It also brought out the best commentary from the most loved, Bruce McAvaney. The Saints came back in the third scoring three goals, closing the margin to 57-points. In the fourth quarter, the Saints dominated on the scoreboard which is something to be proud, considering the fourth quarter is usually when Richmond bring out there best performance and St. Kilda managed to stop them from producing their best. Jack Riewoldt and his Tigers won the third Maddie’s Match 111-57.

After the match, it was announced that $1.4m was raised thanks to community donations. All money raised will assist with the research done to help find a cure for bone-marrow disease. Now this is what it’s all about. What happens on the field, stay’s on the field. After all is said and done, we come together as a community and help each other out. We celebrate our achievements and the work we’ve done. In this case, we celebrated the life of Maddie and how precious life is to everyone. In my opinion, no other code, whether it’s Rugby League, Football etc., has the ability to bring a community together better than the AFL. They do so much to make it feel like a community rather than distancing supporters and fans at arm’s length. For example, in Rugby League, they have rounds that promote and get the supporters involved like ‘Women in League’ round and ‘Indigenous’ round but that’s where it ends. In the AFL, they do so much off the field and behind the scene to continue the ‘community’, ‘family’ feeling. It’s even better when you see the athlete’s themselves reach out to their fans and show their appreciation and because of this, it makes it more enjoyable to not only watch but get involved. This is what fans want, to get close and personal with their heroes, to feel a deeper connection with them rather than just watch them kick a footy. They want to feel like they are a part of the game whether they're watching from the sideline or out on the field.

Anyway, let’s get back on track. Maddie’s Match #3 was a huge success once again, even better if you’re a Richmond supporter but that’s not what it was all about. It was about Madeline. Raising awareness for sick children and young Australian’s in need of support. There was also a gorgeous moment between Jack Riewoldt and young Elliot who is also suffering from this horrendous disease. This is a good example of what I mentioned above. The player’s taking time out to put smiles on the faces of their fans. Riewoldt kicking the footy with Elliot should have put a smile on everyone’s face. I know it certainly put a smile on mine.

If anyone would like to donate, head over to https://www.mrv.org.au/ where you’ll find all the information you need to donate and find out more about Maddie and the foundation. (This is not sponsored. I was not asked to do this; I just believe this is a fantastic foundation and one I hold close to my heart.)

Thank you for giving this blog a read, your support is truly appreciated. I look forward to writing more blogs for you guys and girls so stay tuned. To do this, you can sign up to become a member, join the mailing list or fill out the contacts form on the home page. Also, don’t forget the hit that heart button and join the chat by hitting the 'Let's Chat!' icon in the corner.

Thank you!

Lucy xx