Petulant ... Jack Riewoldt denies being a bad influence for the Tigers. Source: Daniel Wilkins / News Limited
Jack Riewoldt insists no one at Richmond has a problem with his attitude or the way he behaved during Friday's loss to Fremantle.
Riewoldt spoke on Wednesday of his disappointment in his own performance against the Dockers, in which he kicked one goal and collected just 10 possessions.
The Tiger's body language was questioned after the game, while triple premiership forward Mark Maclure labelled the Coleman Medalist a "prima donna".
The 24-year-old said the fact he wore his heart on his sleeve could "definitely" be misconstrued.
"I'm an emotional person ... I play with emotion and I reckon I'd be a pretty boring person and a pretty boring player if I didn't do that," Riewoldt said at Etihad Stadium, where he was announced as an ambassador for "Mac Pack", a McDonald's program that encourages participation in junior sport.
"It's a double-edged sword (in the) AFL. There's definitely cries for players to have a bit more personality, but if you show a bit of personality, you can be shot down pretty quickly.
"I'm an easy target, I know that."
Speaking on AFL 360, Maclure said Riewoldt wasn't always a team player and worried more about his statistics than the one percenters.
"(Richmond) are in a special place and Jack's got a big role to play," he said.
"It takes good people, good work ethic, it takes all those things to get the job done and I don't think he's doing it.
"The good culture improvement and honesty ... I'm certain he's not honest at the moment because he's denying the things he's done. Selflessness, I'm not certain he's got much of that."
This is not the first time Riewoldt's attitude has been questioned.
Premiership coach Paul Roos said last year Riewoldt would be testing Tigers boss Damien Hardwick's patience with his on-field behaviour.
Fox Footy analyst David King said the Tigers forward didn't work hard enough when the ball wasn't in his possession.
"I've got no problem with him being emotional. There's a difference between being emotional, being competitive and being a leader ... without the football he was non-existant on Friday night," he said.
"I might be being pigeon-holed a little bit like that I reckon," Riewoldt said when asked if his attitude issues remained.
"But I'm always trying to work to become a better leader. I'm in the leadership group, I try to go out there and lead the football club that I love as best as possible.
"How someone in the media portrays what I'm doing to how I'm portraying it is obviously completely different."
The two-time Coleman medallist said he had not been spoken to by Hardwick or captain Trent Cotchin about his attitude on Friday night.
Cotchin said the club had no problem with Riewoldt's passion.
"He's a passionate guy, he loves the footy club and he loves playing footy," he said.
"He's a great guy and we love playing with him ... we don't have a problem with the way he wears his heart on his sleeve."
-with Ben Higgins
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