NICK Riewoldt’s three-game absence due to a calf injury may have been a blessing in disguise, Alan Richardson said on Tuesday.

While St Kilda would have obviously preferred to have its iconic skipper out on the park for the past three weeks, it has forced a new-look forward line to gel without Riewoldt as the focal point.

Before this season, Tim Membrey and Jack Lonie had never played for the club, while Josh Bruce was considered a defender who could at best pinch-hit up forward.

Bundled together with help from Tom Hickey on the weekend and Jack Sinclair and Ahmed Saad at other times, the trio have formed a formidable goal-kicking nucleus.

Lonie has been a livewire and collected 20 disposals on the weekend, while Membrey’s goals tally does not reflect his physical presence in the forward 50.

It was almost inconceivable last year that St Kilda could create 25 scoring shots without Riewoldt, but on Sunday the Saints booted 11.14 – a return that almost yielded the club its second win of the season.

“To kick a reasonable score against a good footy club was pleasing.” Richardson said.

“Nick Riewoldt is a player we have become fairly reliant on. It’s a real positive going forward.”

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Josh Bruce booted five goals, while Jack Billings and Lonie kicked two apiece.

Bruce’s haul follows his bag of six against Gold Coast in round two. Regardless of his personal goal tally (He is second in the Coleman Medal), Richardson said he was most pleased with Bruce’s ‘selfless’ play.

“Brucey has had a pretty good year,” Richardson said on Tuesday morning.

“He plays a role in the forward line so it’s not always about him or any individual kicking goals - it’s the fact that we score and that he plays a role in that.

“He has had a terrific pre-season, he’s got himself in really good shape and he has been able to work really closely with our forwards coach Aaron Hamill  and get a greater understanding of the role he needs to play. He’s a very selfless player.”

Likewise, it is Membrey’s team-first mentality that drew praise from Richardson. 

“Tim has done a pretty good job. He certainly hasn’t smashed the scoreboard in terms of goals or even shots on goal for that matter,” he said.

“He’s been pretty impressive in terms of his work rate and his defence has been strong.

“Before he joined our footy club he had played one game of AFL footy. He’s a young man, he’s got a lot of scope and a lot of room to move.”

St Kilda has had consecutive eight day breaks but will enter this Saturday’s clash against the Western Bulldogs on the back of just six days rest.

The shorter layoff does not concern Richardson, with recovery this week’s focus rather than intense training.

“We’ve been in the bay and give ourselves every opportunity to train strongly,” he said.

“It’s pretty clear for us, that if we can nail our prep and train really well, then we give ourselves a great opportunity on game day. That will be our focus.”