ST KILDA skipper Nick Riewoldt's nine-goal haul against the Brisbane Lions reinforced Alan Richardson's thoughts that the 33-year-old is still the club's No. 1 man in attack.
Riewoldt has spent much of his time on the wing this season but with Paddy McCartin out injured with a broken collarbone, Riewoldt had the chance to spend the game in the forward line.
After a quiet start with two disposals in the first quarter, the captain's second term was something to behold.
He took 11 marks, along with 12 disposals and 3.1 in a phenomenal display to help his side open up a 29-point gap at the main break.
Click here for Alan Richardson's full media conference
The brilliance wasn't limited to that term though, as he ended the contest with a career-high 21 marks, an equal career-high nine goals, and 26 disposals.
Richardson said Riewoldt had lost about 10kg over the preceding two years to help cope with a troublesome left knee.
"He's still our best forward, but because of the direction our club's going … Rooey's needed to jump out and play midfield, and he's embraced that. He's been so selfless," Richardson said after the 58-point win.
When he was appointed in November 2013, Richardson had doubts about the length of Riewoldt's playing future.
"Before I got here, (there was) all the noise about the amount of fluid that's taken out of his knee," Richardson said.
"Then my first pre-season with 'Rooey' … I was over in Boulder, Colorado, when I hooked up with 'Rooey'.
"He'd had a minor arthroscope, and the program was going to be fairly limited, and from there I'm thinking, 'I'm not sure how much longer he's going to be able to cope with this'.
"He's just been amazing."
The coach said it would be some time before any announcement on the captaincy for 2017 is made, as was customary.
"We wait until the start of the NAB Challenge, or the first NAB Challenge game (to appoint a captain)," he said.
"The players have a significant vote in who should be the leadership group, then from that leadership group, then we pick the captain."
Winning at Etihad Stadium meant the club doubled its win tally from last season (six wins and a draw in 2015, 12 wins in 2016), but Richardson predicted the Saints would be active in the trade period in a bid for further improvement.
"Because of the age of our defence – whilst (Jake) Carlisle will come in – we've still got a little bit of work to do there," he said.
"To complement guys like (Seb) Ross, (David) Armitage, (Jack) Steven, Luke Dunstan, we need to get a bit more in and around that area."
Whether Gold Coast's Jaeger O'Meara is one St Kilda can require to fulfill that requirement remains to be seen.
"He's a very good player, so we look at all those players," Richardson said.
The out-of-contract 22-year-old recently declared he wants to move interstate. He was the NAB AFL Rising Star in 2013 but has not played a senior game since 2014.
