[1] Born in Hobart, Tasmania, to father Joerg ("Joe", a former Clarence Football Club player[2]) and mother Fiona,[3] Riewoldt and his family moved to the Gold Coast, Queensland, when he was 9 years old.

After being kept virtually touchless for the first half, he was moved into the ruck and kicked two important goals in the 11-point grand final victory.

He won the AFL Rising Star Award in 2002, earning his nomination in round 5 for his efforts in a drawn match against Sydney.

[8] His breakout season was 2004 when he took an AFL record 256 marks and also finished in the top ten for both the Coleman and Brownlow medals.

[9] Riewoldt was rewarded for his 2004 efforts when St Kilda named him club captain for 2005 as part of their rotating captaincy policy.

[13] Early in the 2006 season, Riewoldt returned close to his best form, kicking five goals against former powerhouse Brisbane in Round 3.

In achieving this feat, Riewoldt has already emulated some of the Saints greatest players such as the 1966 premiership captain Darrel Baldock, former skipper Nathan Burke and past champions Wells Eicke, Jack Davis and Jim Ross.

At the beginning of the 2007 season, Lyon appointed Riewoldt Co-Captain of the St Kilda Football Club, along with Luke Ball and Lenny Hayes, both former captains themselves.

Despite the Saints missing the finals, Riewoldt enjoyed a better year statistically than 2004, narrowly winning St Kilda's best and fairest Trevor Barker Award ahead of defender Sam Fisher.

Early in the season Riewoldt became a target for the fledgling Gold Coast Football Club, which was awarded the 17th licence to enter the AFL in 2011.

Riewoldt played in 21 of 22 matches in the 2009 home-and-away rounds in which St Kilda qualified in first position for the finals series, winning the club's third minor premiership.

After the game, the two captains, Riewoldt and Nick Maxwell of Collingwood, both stated that they would have preferred an extra time period.

[22] In the second game, however, Riewoldt was infamously chased down and tackled to prevent an otherwise certain goal from point-blank range by Collingwood's Heath Shaw.

On 1 September 2016, at the Saints' best-and-fairest awards night, Riewoldt announced that he would stand down as St Kilda captain.

[24] He played the final game of his career in Round 23 when he had 15 disposals, 8 marks and 1 goal in a loss to the Richmond Tigers, his cousin's team.