ST KILDA veteran Paddy Ryder is set to face scrutiny from the Match Review Officer following a front-on bump that left Hawthorn young gun Will Day with a concussion on Sunday.
On a day where the Saints produced a near flawless performance, recording their highest score – 22.10 (142) – since round 23, 2016 and their largest winning margin – 69 points – since they defeated Carlton by 71 points in round 20, 2016, Ryder was the one point of concern.
Ryder made contact with Day's head with his right shoulder in the second quarter, before the Hawk was substituted out of the game at half-time, entering concussion protocols that will rule him out of the traditional Easter Monday blockbuster against Geelong.
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The 34-year-old apologised immediately but it didn’t prevent Hawthorn players from remonstrating with the All-Australian ruckman and Hawks supporters from booing Ryder every time he went near the ball.
Ryder only just returned against Richmond last weekend after overcoming the Achilles issues that hampered his pre-season and limited him to 12 games in 2021.
"I saw the incident on replay and I'll let the tribunal or anybody look at it and make an assessment," St Kilda coach Brett Ratten said in his post-match press conference on Sunday night.
"It did look like he did hit him pretty much up the front. It's going to hurt somebody; he was quite open there.
"It looked pretty fair to me, but we'll let others make those calls. That’s why they're in the game to make these calls."
While Jade Gresham, Tim Membrey and Max King all kicked four goals, it was the four-goal performance of Bradley Hill that leaps of the page, with the three-time premiership wingman-turned-half-back starring as a half-forward in a shrewd tactical move.
"He's played it before – it's not like it's new to him – we just probably thought the way Hawks structure up and just using Brad in a different role and challenging the opposition," Ratten said.
"He'll go and play half-back again. It's horses for courses. That’s been the mindset of our players and the flexibility. It's adding a bit more to us as a group, not being predictable all the time."
After starting the season with a disappointing loss to Collingwood in round one, St Kilda has won three consecutive games – including their first win at Optus Stadium – to leap into the top-four at 3-1.
"A season is about building momentum and belief and I think that was a step forward for us," he said.
"Hawthorn has played some really good football in the first three rounds and hurt opposition teams on counterattack and been very potent.
"I thought we built our game, across the board we stuck to what we were trying to do and it worked really well."
St Kilda will now turn its attention to Gold Coast at Marvel Stadium next Saturday afternoon before travelling to Canberra to face Greater Western Sydney in round six.
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell said Day, who had only just returned to the senior team last week after his 2021 campaign was ruined by two ankle injuries, was left feeling the effects of the bump after the game.
"He (Day) is a bit battered; he's a bit sore and sorry for himself. I think something similar happened this time last year, so it’s not ideal," Mitchell said.
"He entered the concussion protocols, so we'll wait and leave that with the medical team and assess him through the week and look after him."
After starting a new era under Mitchell with two wins over North Melbourne and Port Adelaide and then a gutsy one-point loss to Carlton last weekend, Hawthorn was dealt a reality check by St Kilda.
"I've been really strong with our players and in here, it's never as bad or as good as it seems," Mitchell said.
"Two weeks ago, I think we were on top of the ladder and we were pretty strong on 'it's round two, it's not as good as it seems'. Last week we played three pretty good quarters and one poor one.
"We had a disappointing performance today. We have 24 hours to lick our wounds, feel sorry for ourselves, but by the time Tuesday comes around we'll be getting ready for the Cats on Easter Monday."
