After a tough last five matches which have yielded just the one win, the Saints relished their return to the Dome, keeping the Tigers goalless for more than a half, while rediscovering the killer instinct which was so evident early in the year. The 38-point half-time margin probably flattered them but the final score, 16.9 (105) to 9.7 (61), was a fair indication of their dominance of the game.
The success was built on a sublime midfield performance that came in spite of Brad Ottens’s domination in the ruck. Chief among the onballers was veteran Robert Harvey, who defied his 32-year-old legs and a succession of much younger opponents to rack up 25 touches. He had plenty of support from Luke Ball, Nick Dal Santo and Lenny Hayes, who all won plenty of the ball.
Aussie Jones was excellent, winning the Ian Stewart Medal for best on ground, while the likes of Brett Voss and Steven Baker were more than capable of mopping up on the odd occasions the Tigers won the ball out of the middle.
But perhaps the most pleasing aspect for coach Grant Thomas would have been the way his forward line functioned. While much of the focus was on Nick Riewoldt after his nine-goal haul last week, it was the smaller forwards like Stephen Milne and Brent Guerra, who stepped up with four goals apiece. Riewoldt was hardly a wallflower, kicking five and taking 11 marks.
Both full forwards stamped their influence on the game early with the Saints sending everything forward to Riewoldt and the Tigers relying on Matthew Richardson to put the score on the board for them. The latter won the first-quarter battle with three majors to two. But it was one of the few contests to go the Tigers’ way for the day and the Saints held sway by eight points at the first change thanks to two late goals from Guerra.
Guerra also kicked the first of the second term, part of a 12-goal unanswered run from the Saints which extended from time on in the first term until well into the third quarter. The Tigers’ inability to kick a goal for the second term saw them slip 38 points adrift, despite being more than competitive around the ground with only four fewer uses of the ball in the first half.
The match degenerated into a one-way street in the third quarter with the Tigers occasional popping their heads up only to turnover the ball once more and look on helplessly as another goal was scored. That happened five times, all from individual goalkickers, in the third term before Ottens stopped the run with a goal in time on.
But facing a 63-point margin coming into the final term, there was little for Richmond to play for. Unlike last week, they at least stood up to prevent a total shellacking. Richardson kicked three take his haul to six while Kelvin Moore added another, helping the Tigers win the quarter 4.2 to 1.4.
Nevetheless, it was scant consolation on day where they were beaten in most parts of the ground. Richardson was strong, Ottens did what he needed to in the ruck while Joel Bowden was busy all afternoon. Andrew Krakouer and Kane Johnson battled hard, but they are simply not in the Saints’ class.
St Kilda Grant Thomas saw plenty of positive signs in the win, especially in the way that his players approached their task.
“There were some real positives. I thought we built a bit of a reputation in the first half of the year of being pretty hard and tough at the footy and the opposition. That was the most pleasing aspect today, our focus.”
Thomas said the fact the Saints didn’t really finish off the contest was a reflection of the efforts they had put in during the first three quarters.
“I think the guys in their defence were pretty well spent in the final quarter. We only really had two on the interchange bench for the last two quarters, so there wasn’t an opportunity for rotation.”
Despite the loss, Richmond coach Danny Frawley found several positives, which included the performances of Joel Bowden down back, Matthew Richardson up forward and first-gamer Daniel Jackson.
But he highlighted several areas of the game that, in the finish, proved costly in the result.
"I thought our start was really good and our last quarter," Frawley said in his post-match media conference.
"We seemed to cough up a lot of possessions, when we had first hands on it.
"When the game was there to be won, we just let the ball slip and their pressure was good, of course."
Richmond: 4.1, 4.3, 5.5 9.7 (61)
St Kilda: 5.3, 10.5, 15.8 16.9 (105)
Goals: Richmond: Richardson 6, Tuck, Ottens, Moore
St Kilda: Riewoldt 5, Guerra 4, Milne 4, Hamill 2, Hayes
Best: Richmond: Ottens, Bowden, Johnson, Krakouer, Richardson
St Kilda: Harvey, Jones, Riewoldt, Guerra, Dal Santo, Hayes, Ball, Voss, Baker, Peckett
Injuries: St Kilda: Gram (hamstring), Powell (ankle)
Richmond: Pettifer (ankle)
Changes: Richmond: Schulz replaced in selected side by Rodan
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Head, Goldspink, Chamberlain (Goldspink (nose) replaced by Morris in the third quarter)
Crowd: 34,631 at Telstra Dome.
