Gutsy win on a day of tribute

On a day of celebration for St Kilda Football Club, the current-day Saints paid homage to the most celebrated team in the club’s 143-year history, the 1966 premiership team, producing a courageous performance carved from pure grit. On the same stage where half a century earlier Allan Jeans led the Saints to a famous victory, Alan Richardson’s men channelled a similar type of bravery, digging deep in the second half to put a shell shocked Collingwood side away. With Nick Riewoldt and Paddy McCartin forced to the bench after half-time due to concussion, the Saints ran themselves into the ground, breaking the game open in the third stanza to set up a brilliant win. In the aftermath of the Saints’ first win since July, Richardson described it as the best of his 47 games in charge, before labelling it his proudest on Sunday, due to the adverse circumstances his side faced.

Pairs availability set to come into focus

As this game does, the focus shifts ever so swiftly, with Hawthorn looming in Tasmania next Saturday. The availability of Riewoldt and McCartin is sure to generate widespread interest in the coming days, particularly given the pair’s form before they were forced out of the game. In only his eight appearance at the highest level, McCartin gave Saints fans the best look yet at his potential. He took marks, moved well, set up goals and was involved in scores, but it was the courageous effort that led to his concussion that drew the most praise. In a moment similar to many marks Riewoldt has taken in his time, the teenage spearhead ran back with the flight of the ball before leaping into a pack to take a breathtaking grab that had red, white and black supporters out of their seats. Unfortunately he collided with the elbow of Collingwood defender Ben Sinclair, prematurely bringing a close to an encouraging opening half that Richardson described as the best of his career to date.

VIDEO: See what Tony Lockett had to say to saints.com.au at the Saints Hall of Fame night.

Young guns stand up as a collective

As a collective, it may just have been a coming of age type of performance for a band of emerging Saints. Individually they’ve played games of that ilk before, but as a whole, this was something else. Whilst Jack Steven continued to do what he does best with another 30 possession haul, to go with three majors, he was well supported by a handful of third, fourth and fifth year onballers. Jack Newnes (34 disposals and eight inside 50s), Seb Ross (31 disposals and three rebound 50s) and Jack Billings (30 disposals and 526 metres gained) all collected career-high disposal counts to make a sizeable contribution against the Magpies, along with impressive, four-quarter efforts from Luke Dunstan around the ball, Jimmy Webster in defence and Maverick Weller in attack. Across the early months of 2016, Richardson has demanded a more even spread of contribution from his youngsters, and that’s precisely what he got on Saturday.

Six goal premiership quarter defines the performance

For as long as this game has been played, the third quarter has constantly been referred to as the ‘premiership quarter’. In front of the only group of men who have achieved that feat in red, white and black, the effort immediately after the main break could not have been more fitting for the occasion. And with Riewoldt and McCartin not re-emerging after half-time, the performance was even more impressive than it otherwise would have been. A six goal to one quarter turned a two-point lead into five goal buffer at the final break, on the back of five goal streak to start the quarter which jimmied the game open.

Leigh Montagna, take a bow

At this pace, how much longer can Leigh Montagna go on for? He is showing no signs of old age catching up with him. In fact, after collecting 40 possessions on back flank, the champion wingman is belying his 32 years of age. From the opening bounce, the dual All Australian was the Saints quarterback in defence, orchestrating attack from deep in the back half of the ground through his tidy ball use. Montagna accumulated an enormous 745 metres of territory – the second most of Round 3 behind Gold Coast’s Aaron Hall – to go with fourth highest disposal collection of his 252 game career. Despite spending the bulk of his afternoon down back, Montagna’s run and carry ability saw him pump the ball inside 50 on seven occasions, to go with his 14 scoring involvements – ranked equal third for Round 3. 

Limited Edition History Book: Celebrating 50 Years 1966-2016 The Archives Edition