When Nick Riewoldt walked through the door for the first time, Grant Thomas had his reservations.

He thought to himself that St Kilda had used their prized No. 1 pick on a blonde bombshell from Queensland, who would be more dominant inside a nightclub than on a football ground.

It didn’t take too long for the man who would become Riewoldt’s coach between 2001 and 2006 and become a long term close confidante to realise that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

“When I first saw him I thought, here we go again another typical blonde St Kilda good looking surfy type character. How are we going to pin our hopes on this bloke?” Thomas recently told Melbourne radio station SEN.

“When he started to play you could see his determination and the fact he was so driven and had such a thirst for knowledge and information; he always wanted to get better.

“When you have someone who is that driven and wants to improve and goes to the end of the earth to find that improvement and then has such a professional approach to their task – I think you have three very strong components.

“I think he was that driven and focused on winning the footy he ran leading patterns and running patterns that opponents struggled to handle.

“It’s become legend that if you run like Nick Riewoldt and work your man over you will get him late in the game."

After taking over from Malcolm Blight as the Saints caretaker coach midway through 2001, Thomas coached Riewoldt from his second game through to the end of 2006, helping mould the champion centre-half forward during his infancy.

Thomas described the six-time Trevor Barker Award winner and the man who has captained St Kilda more than anyone else as an 'ornament of the game' and a player who has left an ‘indelible mark’ on the Saints.

“I think Nick has pulled the right reign here and gone out on his terms and he is now in a position where he can use these next few weeks to be recognised and celebrated as he should be for a very unique and unbelievable career,” Thomas said.

“I think he has an indelible mark not only on the St Kilda Football Club and its fans, but also on a lot of young players who have modelled their game on him. He has been an absolute ornament to the game.

“He has got enough in the tank to get through these next few weeks with dignity and I think that’s a terrific thing. I wouldn’t confuse the fact that he gives absolutely everything he has got to someone that is running on empty."