AFL great Nick Riewoldt has been caught up in incredible scenes at a country music concert as he restrained an unruly fan who threw their phone at a singer and left him needing stitches for a head wound.
The St Kilda great has been a lifelong fan of country music, recently taking his whole family to see American star Lainey Wilson at Rod Laver Arena.
Riewoldt then backed that up on the weekend, standing near the front of the crowd at Margaret Court Arena to see US star Riley Green perform on his Cowboy As It Gets tour.
The five-time All Australian revealed on Triple M’s Mick in the Morning show that he played a role in having a fellow concert-goer ejected for pegging their phone at the singer’s head.
The show was briefly paused late in Green’s set when the phone cracked him directly in the ear, drawing blood and an audible gasp from the crowd.
Riewoldt revealed that he was standing near the perpetrator and made sure he didn’t get away with it.
AFL great Nick Riewoldt has revealed his role in getting an unruly country music fan ejected from a concert in Melbourne for leaving a singer needing stitches for a head wound
Riewoldt had been at Margaret Court Arena to see country and western star Riley Green (pictured right with Arielle Kebbel)
The fan threw his phone at the singer during his set, hitting him in the ear and drawing blood
‘I saw this happen; it unfolded right in front of me. We wanted to be as close to the stage as possible,’ he told Mick Molloy.
‘I pegged this bloke early on – the bloke who has eventually thrown his phone – as being a real wanker.
‘He was a loose cannon, he was real ‘big energy’ vibes.
‘The sort of bloke that comes over asks you for a photo, you pose for him, and then he starts heaping shit on you afterwards… he did this to me. He was filming [me] during the concert….’
Molloy then asked: ‘Filming you without your permission or approval?’
‘Yeah and just saying some pretty ordinary stuff. It was a bit inappropriate and weird,’ Riewoldt replied.
‘Eventually, the second to last song finishes and out of nowhere he has launched – like he was trying to throw the stumps down from mid-wicket – his phone at Riley Green and hit him in the head.’
Molloy asked: ‘Why?’
Green required five stitches backstage after the incident which saw the fan ejected from Margaret Court Arena
The American singer joked with the crowd about how ‘tough I am’ while he was cleaned up following the incident
Riewoldt, pictured in his white cowboy hat, helped apprehend and identify the man who threw the phone
‘I don’t know, you can only assume!’ Riewoldt said.
‘It was an amazing throw, I reckon we were 10-15 metres away. He smashed him in the side of the head and took everyone by surprise.
‘I was standing right behind him, so I grabbed him.
‘He’s done it and everyone was a bit shocked. Riley Green handled it pretty amazingly; he just said can we get the lights on.
‘I pointed the guy out and within three seconds security came and grabbed him. Security whisked him off.’
Green handled the situation with class, stopping the show and asking for the house lights to be turned on.
The perpetrator was quickly identified and Green said: ‘Get his fat a** out of here’.
‘Look at how tough I am,’ the singer then joked as a stagehand mopped up blood streaming down his neck.
He also shared an image of the aftermath to his Instagram, revealing he needed five stitches in his ear.
It is not the first time Riewoldt has become tangled with an unruly fan in public.
In 2025, the St Kilda great was involved in a brief altercation with a fan outside Adelaide Oval before the 2025 AFL qualifying final between Adelaide and Collingwood.
A supporter approached from behind on the footbridge and grabbed the Channel 7 commentator while he was preparing to go on air with Bruce McAvaney.
Startled by the unexpected contact, Riewoldt instinctively pushed the fan away to protect himself and those nearby.
The fan had been taunting him about Heath Shaw’s famous 2010 Grand Final smother moments before the incident occurred.
