Richmond AFL star Jack Riewoldt appears to have grown up in a hurry - 48 hours to be exact.

After behaving like a tantrum-throwing toddler on Saturday night as he gave the Hawthorn bench an obscene hand gesture and team-mate Dustin Martin a gobful, the 22-year-old manned up on Monday.

Fronting a media conference, Riewoldt apologised profusely for his on-field dummy spits.

There were no written statements, no hand-holding from senior figures at the club.

Just Riewoldt out front of the media pack, answering questions off the cuff, admitting he had done the wrong thing and hoping the experience would make him a better person.

The Coleman Medallist said his passion and will to win had spilled over into unacceptable behaviour during the Tigers' 63-point hammering.

"I'm really disappointed personally in what's happened. I've let the club down, I've let myself down, I've let my teammates down, and most importantly, I feel like I've let my family down and my close friends," Riewoldt said.

"I have great passion for this football club and this jumper and I have to be very careful how I portray it. The hand gesture's probably the dumbest thing I've ever done.

"It's something I've got to work on."

Riewoldt was fined $1200 by the AFL match review panel for flipping his middle finger, which is likely to be reduced to $900 as he indicated he would make an early guilty plea.

He was also carpeted by coach Damien Hardwick and Richmond's leadership group - of which Riewoldt is a part - on Monday over the incident and blowing up at Martin.

But he has been spared punishment by his club.

Riewoldt's body language has been in the spotlight after his anger spilled over the previous week when Richmond's medical staff refused to let him come back on after he suffered a heavy head knock.

The Tigers spearhead hopes his weekend meltdown will become a watershed moment - a 48-hour growth spurt that turns man-child into man.

"I've had a pretty quick leap up into becoming a more public player ... and it's something I've really got to take on.

"This is a minor setback. I know the positive things I'm going to do for this football club are going to outweigh the negatives.

"It's something I can learn from, become a better person, and a better player and make this a better club."

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