St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt has explained his absence from the recent Australian Football Hall of Fame event.

Reports have surfaced that the AFL was upset with Riewoldt — who is based in the US — for missing the night.

Riewoldt was inducted into the HOF last year, however, he was unable to attend, with AFL chair Richard Goyder declaring in 2023 that the Saints champ would make it the following year for an official induction.

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Riewoldt was the No.1 draft pick in 2000 and had an amazing 336-game career at the club until his retirement at the end of 2017.

He is a five-time All-Australian and a six-time best-and-fairest winner.

His inclusion into the Hall of Fame was always guaranteed.

But after missing consecutive events, veteran AFL journalist Caroline Wilson has reported that AFL chiefs are disappointed.

“The elephant in the room quite literally was Nick Riewoldt,” Wilson said.

“What really disappointed them was the fact that Nick Riewoldt was in the country very recently, a few weeks ago, but chose not to remain (in Australia) to be inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame,” Wilson said.

“We know he’s living in Texas at the moment, trying other career opportunities. That is absolutely fine with the AFL.

“But they expected Nick Riewoldt, and announced, he was coming back to be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year.

“To coin a phrase from an ex-president, they don’t give them out in Weeties packets.”

Since Wilson’s report, rumours have swirled about Riewoldt’s fallout with the event’s broadcaster (Fox Footy), but now the 41-year-old has moved to clarify the matter.

“I want my kids there when I do it, and they weren’t able to make it out this year,” Riewoldt said on LiSTNR’s Footy Talk podcast.

“They had stuff that was really important to them.

“One was playing All-Star baseball, and one was on summer camp, which is a really big thing over here for kids – almost a rite of passage.

“When I do it, I would love to have my family with me. It (the story) was a non-event; the AFL were fine with it.

“That (story) came out of the blue from Caro.”