AFL greats and multi-time premiership winners Jordan Lewis and Jack Riewoldt are at odds over Collingwood’s high-fiving incident in its loss to Sydney as the 0-2 reigning premiers come under the microscope.
Lewis was first to call out the vision, which saw Jordan De Goey and Brayden Maynard engage in a high five during live action while Sydney was transitioning the ball forward, labelling it “lazy” and claiming the pair were “not involved in the game.”
Magpies vice-captain Jeremy Howe defended his teammates on Fox Footy’s AFL 360on Tuesday night, saying he doesn’t have a problem “at all” with the act.
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Speaking on AFL 360 on Wednesday night, Lewis noted he had less issue with the high five as he did with “five or seven” Collingwood players jogging when Sydney had the ball.
But the four-time premiership Hawk maintained that the high five was “part of it,” believing it all points to a side that hasn’t come out hungry to defend its flag.
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“You can only comment on what you see. Once you’ve played in a grand final and won a grand final … the biggest challenge for teams is to find motivation for the start of the season. That is real and the hardest thing you can possible find,” Lewis began on Fox Footy.
“If this was the last game of the season, do you think those efforts would’ve been increased? Clearly. So for sides looking to go back to back and sides wanting to become teams that are spoken about for years and years, you have to be better at the start of the season.
“That is just what I’ve learned over the years and being a part of it.”
However Riewoldt, who won three flags for Richmond, was quick to come back to the high giving incident, arguing it shouldn’t be used as part of the criticism against Collingwood’s motivation to start 2024.
Riewoldt said to Lewis with a laugh: “You’ve joined the GOFs mate – grumpy old footballers.
“We’re happy to separate the two incidents, aren’t we? We’re not lumping the high five in with the defensive running? That’s one of the great trivial things of all time that high five – to make issue out of that.
“The defensive running, I’ll cop that. But (not) the high five.”
Lewis questioned: “Why’d they need to it?,” to which Riewoldt responded: “Why not? They won a premiership off those behaviours. That’s what being teammates is about, encouragement.”
But Lewis thinks De Goey and Maynard “weren’t engaged in the game,” saying “it’s all in the one basket.”
Riewoldt concluded: “No! no. You’re a GOF.”
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