AFL legend Nick Riewoldt has revealed he grabbed a “w***er” fan after they attacked and bloodied country singer Riley Green by throwing a phone at him during a gig on Saturday.
Green, 37, was playing in front of a sold-out Margarent Court Arena when the ugly incident took place.
He stopped the Melbourne show and said: “Can we get the house lights on?”
Green then pointed to a man in the crowd and instructed: “Get his a** out of here!”
The fan was promptly removed by security and was struck by a bottle on his way out of the building as a chorus of boos rang out from the crowd.
Now ex-St Kilda captain Riewoldt, 43, has elaborated on the altercation as he was in attendance to see it unfold.
“We had GA tickets because Cath (Riewoldt’s wife) wanted to be on the floor,” Riewoldt said on Triple M.
“I saw this happen; it unfolded right in front of me. We wanted to be as close to the stage as possible. I pegged this bloke early on — the bloke who has eventually thrown his phone — as being a real w***er.
“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.”
Riewoldt went on to add: “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 in the head.
Riewoldt joked it was “an amazing throw” because he estimates the fan was between 10 and 15 metres away from the singer but still managed to “smash Green in the side of the head”.
But despite not being in a position to stop the fan from throwing the phone, the former AFL star was quick to react to the violence.
Riewoldt said: “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 carried on with the gig after the incident, but did not appear to realise the blood dripping down from his head onto his chest.
After the concert, the American took to Instagram to reveal: “Five stitches later… sewed up.”
He went on to add: “Ole buddy bout ran outta anytime minutes last night… but a hell of a time was had.”
