A SCINTILATING 14-goals-to-two second half has propelled St Kilda to an 82-point demolition of Richmond in the final Maddie’s Match at Marvel Stadium.
After a rousing upset of Geelong last week, the Saints started slowly on Saturday and were unable to shake the plucky Tigers as they led by just eight points at half-time.
But St Kilda - even without captain Jack Steele, who was a late withdrawal because of a knee issue - hit top gear after the main break to surge to a 20.15 (135) to 7.11 (53) win.
SAINTS v TIGERS Full match coverage and stats
It was St Kilda's heaviest win since they defeated Essendon by 110 points in 2015.
"I looked at it, they kicked five goals at halftime, and two of them were just from terrible turnovers that you couldn't defend when we should have been going in for an entry," Saints coach Ross Lyon said.
It has been an impressive response from the Saints (2-1), who suffered a humbling 63-point smashing by Adelaide in round one.
Dual All-Australian Jack Sinclair was prolific with a career-high 40 possessions, with Richmond sending veteran utility Kaidyn McIntosh to him in the final term.
Mitch Owens booted an equal career-high four goals, while fellow forwards Jack Higgins and Mason Wood booted three goals each.
The dynamic Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (29 touches) was at his silky ball-using best.
Richmond premiership forward Tom Lynch was well held in his return from a one-game suspension, and he earned the ire of Saints players and supporters in some fiery incidents.
In one amusing interaction, teenage midfielder Hugo Garcia ran off the bench and straight to shove Lynch, a far taller and heavier man than he is.
Seth Campbell, who kicked a special goal late in Richmond's round-one upset of Carlton, was the Tigers' shining light with three goals.
"That second half wasn't up to AFL standard, and our boys know that," Richmond coach Adem Yze said.
"We know that as coaches, we weren't good enough in the box.
"We lost a bit of spirit in the third quarter and a little bit of scoreboard pressure."
It was the final time St Kilda and Richmond will play in Maddie's Match, which started in 2015 following the death of club great Nick Riewoldt's sister due to Bone Marrow Failure Syndrome.
It continues Richmond's miserable, winless record across 11 games at Marvel Stadium since former coach Damien Hardwick’s infamous rant about “hating” coming to the venue following a win over Greater Western Sydney in May, 2021.
Steele dramatically withdrew from the game less than 30 minutes before the start.
The Saints were warming up out on the field when the star midfielder returned to the rooms with medical staff.
Debutant Tobie Travaglia, who was set to be the sub, replaced Steele in the starting 22 and impressed with 18 disposals.
St Kilda also lost young defender Liam O'Connell to concussion after a heavy collision in the first quarter.
St Kilda will return to the Adelaide Oval next Sunday for a clash with bogey team Port Adelaide, while Richmond hosts reigning premiers Brisbane at the MCG on Saturday.
When will push come to shove?
The first-quarter head knock to St Kilda's Liam O'Connell will likely get attention from the MRO, not for the contact, but for the push from Richmond's Rhyan Mansell. After a number of similar incidents in the pre-season, including one that saw the Tigers' top pick Sam Lalor's jaw get broken, there were calls to consider reporting players for contributing to a serious incident. There's no doubt it will be a hot topic again this week whether Mansell is cited or not.
Young Saint gets straight down to business
There were big wraps on Tobie Travaglia ahead of the 2024 Draft and he showed a bit in limited time during the Saints pre-season loss to Port Adelaide. Named as sub for his debut, the running defender was moved into the starting 22 with Jack Steele’s late withdrawal and took to the pace of the game from the moment he came on the field, finishing with 18 disposals. Unfortunately his maiden shot at goal sailed wide, but St Kilda fans can rest assured there'll be plenty of highlights in the future.
Lynch can be his own worst enemy
"We expect that our big boys play big and play combative", Adem Yze said during the week of Tom Lynch and his physicality's positive effect on teammates. However, the opposition can also turn the advantage their way, which the Saints did on Saturday. As the Tigers started charging in the second quarter Callum Wilkie took to poking the bear, and the bear responded, spoiling for a fight and losing focus on the ball, which he only touched twice through the rest of the match. Yze is right about Lynch's importance to his side, but as much as he may like the aggression, he needs to control his star goalkicker's temper because Lynch can't inspire from the grandstand.
ST KILDA 3.3 6.6 12.11 20.15 (135)
RICHMOND 1.3 5.4 6.7 7.11 (53)
GOALS
St Kilda: Owens 4, Higgins 3, Wood 3, Sharman 2, Collard 2, Hall 2, Marshall, Hill, Keeler, Wilson
Richmond: Campbell 3, McIntosh, Bauer, Lynch, Brown
BEST
St Kilda: Sinclair, Marshall, Wood, Owens, Garcia, Macrae
Richmond: Nankervis, Blight, Hopper, Campbell, McIntosh
INJURIES
St Kilda: O'Connell (concussion)
Richmond: TBC
Late change
Jack Steele (knee) replaced by Angus Hastie
SUBSTITUTES
St Kilda: Angus Hastie, replaced Liam O'Connell at quarter-time
Richmond: Kaleb Smith, replaced Harry Armstrong in the third quarter
Crowd: 41,147 at Marvel Stadium
