THE START was fitting, the first half staggering.

Nick Riewoldt's contested mark and goal two minutes into a game dedicated to his late sister – Maddie's Match 2.0 – heralded a St Kilda ambush that took no-one more by surprise than Richmond.

The Saints knew a loss would cost them their top-eight spot and they instead blitzed the bitterly disappointing Tigers early, then put them to the sword in a devastating second term that reaped 9.5 to 0.1.

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It was St Kilda's best quarter ever at Richmond's expense and put an 82-point gap between the sides by half-time. That pace was never sustainable, but the Saints still inflicted an emphatic 21.12 (138) to 10.11 (71) thumping on Damien Hardwick's men.

They did it with aggressive ball movement – which Hardwick noted mid-week as a threat – and spread the ball wonderfully between a committed group that harassed its rivals with manic pressure.

Winning coach Alan Richardson described the first-half avalanche "as good as we've played for a long time.

"It was really pleasing. We rate Richmond really highly, and it's for Dimma (Hardwick) to talk about them, but I think it's fair to say they probably weren't at their best," Richardson said.

"But I'd like to think that we contributed to that with our pressure, with the way we went after our own footy with or without the ball in a really strong manner.

"We felt the Kangaroos game was a pretty positive performance and we took a bit out of that game, (then the) Gold Coast and Freo over in Perth, we hadn't won there for a while.

"There was certainly a sense the way we were training and the way we were coming together as a group that our best footy wasn't far away."

The majority of St Kilda's goals came off Tiger turnovers, a trend set early from giveaways by stars Dustin Martin and Trent Cotchin.

Saints Riewoldt, Seb Ross, whose highlight was a brilliant chase down that denied Jason Castagna a shot on goal, and Jarryn Geary started the rot. Then Jack Steven, Billy Longer, Jack Newnes and Leigh Montagna went ballistic in the second term.

SHOWREEL: A special night for Riewoldt

The numbers in St Kilda's favour by the half-time siren were extraordinary: 248-142 disposals, 84-55 contested possession, 43-14 inside 50s, 23-9 clearances.

Steven's superb long-range finish completed the Saints' opening-half scoring, the 11th of 12 straight goals for his club and his 14th possession in the second quarter.

Incredibly, the damage would have been worse if not for Josh Bruce's pair of elementary misses from within 10 metres in scenes reminiscent of his errant kick from the goal square against Hawthorn in round six.

Bruce's 1.5 first-half haul edged Richmond by one behind.

"They were outstanding. To be down (by) 30 in contested ball in the first half, the game was effectively over at half-time," Hardwick said.

"They were terrific around the contest and away from the contest, and we just couldn't match them in any facet of the game.

"It was incredibly disappointing. We set ourselves up for a big game, but they outplayed us in all areas tonight."

The margin peaked at 95 in the third term, courtesy of Riewoldt's third goal. The 34-year-old was masterful, hauling in 12 marks and running the AFL's best defender, Alex Rance, ragged with his famed work ethic.

Rance had three touches to the main break and was not the only senior Tiger that failed to fire a shot. Martin had six possessions to that stage and Jack Riewoldt just two.

Five talking points: St Kilda v Richmond

Captain Cotchin's numbers were comparatively gaudy and he slotted his team's sole goal in the first half, but was also reported for a gut punch to Jack Lonie that gifted the Saints six points.

St Kilda forward Tim Membrey (five goals) also faces a worrying wait for the Match Review Panel's verdict after his late hit in the second quarter on Dylan Grimes in a marking contest left the defender with an immediate shiner. He played out the remaining minutes of the term, but took no further part after half-time.

There was genuine doubt about the Saints' finals credentials after Adelaide exacted a third straight defeat on them by at least 40 points and a sixth overall from 11 matches.

What followed is four consecutive victories of increasingly impressive fashion that crucially give St Kilda breathing room inside the top eight.

The Saints' aspirations might be significantly higher now.

Richmond has now suffered two hidings in 2017 – the other a 76-point defeat to Adelaide – ahead of match-ups with the Brisbane Lions and Greater Western Sydney.

MEDICAL ROOM
St Kilda: Ruckman Billy Longer received treatment for a corked thigh midway through the opening quarter, but returned to be the dominant big man on the ground. The Saints used Sam Gilbert and Josh Bruce more in the ruck as a precautionary measure, but coach Alan Richardson was hopeful Longer wouldn't miss any time. 

Richmond: Dylan Grimes did not play after half-time because of concussion suffered from an incident where Saints forward Tim Membrey collected him in a marking contest. It is unclear whether Grimes sustained any other damage despite sporting physical evidence of the clash on his cheek.

NEXT UP
The Saints return to the Friday night stage gunning for a fifth-straight triumph, with Essendon standing in their way at Etihad Stadium. Richmond will start a hot favourite against the Brisbane Lions at the same venue on Sunday week, hoping to bounce back from its worst effort of the year.


ST KILDA     5.3  14.8  19.8  21.12 (138)
RICHMOND  1.3   1.4    4.9   10.11 (71)

GOALS
St Kilda: Membrey 5, Riewoldt 3, Bruce 2, Stevens 2, Gresham 2, Montagna 2, Ross, Billings, Longer, Steven, McKenzie
Richmond: Castagna 2, Cotchin, Caddy, Grigg, Martin, Butler, Lloyd, Ellis, Riewoldt 

BEST 
St Kilda: Ross, Steven,Riewoldt, Montagna, Stevens, Steele, Membrey, Sinclair, Longer
Richmond: Lambert, Grigg, Ellis, Edwards, Astbury 

INJURIES 
St Kilda: Nil
Richmond: Grimes (concussion) 

Reports: Trent Cotchin (Richmond) was reported for striking Jack Lonie (St Kilda) in the second quarter.

Umpires: Schmitt, Ryan, Mollison

Official crowd: 47,514 at Etihad Stadium