TO ALAN Richardson, Nick Riewoldt isn't just St Kilda's captain. 

The skipper is an extension of the coaching group who has the added ability to rally his troops on the ground and inspire with his actions. 

Riewoldt's huge third quarter against Melbourne on Saturday night inspired the Saints to their 17-point victory. 

He took advantage of his team's sudden acceleration in the midfield and dominance at the clearances to exploit his admittedly injured opponent Tom McDonald to kick two important goals. 

His nine possessions and three marks for the quarter, plus his vintage ventures up the ground, were just icing on the cake. 

But it wasn't his on-field exploits that impressed his coach most. It was his leadership and the direction he gave his teammates as Richardson left them before the third quarter when the difference was a mere seven points. 

"He's incredible. He just outworks the bloke he's playing on; he gives our defence something to kick to when it is he needs to push up the ground; if it is we need to score, he'll go deeper and maximise opportunity," Richardson said. 

"Probably the most encouraging and impressive thing for me today was to leave the huddle at three-quarter time. There's an opportunity to win a game of footy that's pretty important (in) round one when you've worked for three or four months.

"To turn around and see Nick's grabbed the group and re-focusing them in terms of reinforcing my message (and) the message of the leadership group, I thought that was impressive.

"He's a fantastic leader and I'm blessed, really. It's like another assistant coach out on the ground in many ways."

Then there was Clint Jones' performance across half-forward and in the midfield after what Richardson said was a strong pre-season. 

The 30-year-old has been maligned for his disposal but shone when called upon on Saturday with the Saints missing key midfielders Lenny Hayes, Leigh Montagna and Jack Steven. 

"I thought he was just outstanding," Richardson said, of Jones' 39-possession, five-clearance game. 

"I think his ability to be able to play tough, win the ball inside and play with real composure with the ball in his hands [was excellent] and that's probably at times been a knock on Jonesy, his ability to use the footy.

"He only had six ineffective disposals and when you get 39, that's a pretty good ratio. 

"He was tremendous, he played a real leader's game for us today. He played his role and he's worked his backside off. He was probably that plus tonight."

For Richardson himself, the experience of coaching an AFL side for the first time for premiership points came with ups and downs. 

The "synergy" he seeks within the team wasn't there at times, there were occasional losses of momentum and there were the usual early-season mistakes. 

But he had plenty to be pleased about with the defenders standing strong, Luke Dunstan remarkable on debut, Sam Gilbert running out the game better than expected and Tom Curren acquitting himself well against Bernie Vince. 

He also said there was a "good illustration" his side was getting better faster than he thought it would, as demonstrated in the Saints' late composure. 

"I turned up today with the anxiety that I just hope the boys have embraced the way we want to play," he said. 

"We want to be tough, we want to make sure we defend really hard as a team, we want to value that when given a role, we execute our role.

"That was my only anxiety. The scoreboard, the result was not really an issue for me.

"If you get what you plan for, then often you're going to get the result."