PLAYING with a degenerative left knee and in the twilight of his career, champion forward Nick Riewoldt was afforded responsibility over his future few others would be allowed.

With his American wife Catherine's family based in Texas, the then-captain was given control over what his training program would look like.

Chris Pelchen, who was St Kilda's football manager before Jamie Cox, explained the freedom Riewoldt was given.

"In the last 12 months that I was at the club, which was in 2014, (Riewoldt) was on a program off-season which really he managed himself, because he was starting to travel to the US," Pelchen told AFL.com.au.

"He was managing his own program prior to Christmas and I think that's just an indication of Nick's professionalism that he was able to do that remotely and still continue to play at the level he has."

It certainly didn't have an impact on his form. Riewoldt was named vice-captain in the All Australian team that season, the first time he made the side since 2009.

Riewoldt wouldn't return to the club until early January when he made those trips to the US but as his former coach Ross Lyon told AFL.com.au, there were no qualms around the six-time best and fairest's leadership.

"He was iron-willed at training and in games. He led and they followed to a man," Lyon said.

Pelchen, who has more than 20 years' experience in the AFL industry, agreed with that sentiment.

"While the modified training program meant he didn't spend as much time on the track as he would've in his earlier years, he spent just as much time as any captain I've ever seen working with the players around him, and on his own game as well," Pelchen said. 

"He certainly wasn't resting while he wasn't playing on-field. He was doing more and more work in the gym, he was doing more off-legs work and he was doing just as much as any captain I've been involved with in my time in footy with players around him."

For all his individual excellence, flags are the ultimate goal and Riewoldt's Saints came so close in 2009 and 2010, when Geelong and Collingwood finished premiers respectively.

"That's an aspect of my career I've beaten myself up over at various stages. It's not until you really take inventory of everything that's occurred and asked yourself the question and really, the reason I'm content is because going through those experiences, what more could we have done? And personally, could I have trained any harder, could I have pushed any more, could I have prepared any better? The answer's no," Riewoldt said at his media conference on Monday. 

"Until they start giving away premiership medals, I'm content knowing we gave it an absolute crack and ultimately fell short.

"We did our part, we took the emotional risk and I certainly took the emotional risk to be great.

"I can cop that, that we gave it everything we could and fell just short." 

That attitude meant the club's hierarchy could have faith its longest-serving skipper (220 games) would always undoubtedly present himself in shape, regardless of what country he was in.

There were seemingly no limits on how fit he could become. Ahead of the 2016 season, when a move to the wing was mooted to allow the Saints' younger forwards to flourish without Riewoldt's imposing presence, he toured Ireland with the International Rules team before going to the US.

In the process, he dropped five kilograms.

Being allowed to spend time overseas gave Riewoldt a chance to mentally freshen up, but the weight loss from someone considered possibly the fittest forward to have played AFL meant not only less strain on those troublesome knees, but even more running power.

He covered the wide expanses of the ground that year, often going third-up in the ruck, running to the last line of defence and also spending time up forward. His reinvention was reflected in with his highest-ever Brownlow Medal votes tally of 19.

Being able to do what he did for so long came down to one main factor, as former teammate Nick Dal Santo told Melbourne radio station SEN.

"He wasn't necessarily fitter than anybody else, because in this League there are so many that are fit, but he was mentally stronger," Dal Santo said.

The 34-year-old's career culminates at the end of the season and the way he presented himself on Monday showed a man who knew he squeezed everything out of a career that began when he was drafted with the No.1 selection in 2000.