Riewoldt dodges a bullet after hyperextending knee in dying minutes
When Nick Riewoldt crashed to the turf in the dying minutes of Saturday night, St Kilda supporter’s hearts palpitated in an instant. In a moment reminiscent of Western Bulldogs captain Bob Murphy 12 months earlier, the football world initially feared the worst, and so did Riewoldt who told Channel Seven on Sunday he contemplated waving goodbye to St Kilda supporters as he left the ground on a medicart. Fortunately for Riewoldt, for St Kilda and for the game, the six-time Trevor Barker Award winner hasn’t ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and could only miss a couple of weeks according to Jamie Cox. While not many fired for the Saints at Etihad Stadium, Riewoldt did what he has done best for 15 years. He took strong marks, kicked important goals – four in total – and ran himself ragged. St Kilda will need him back as soon as possible.
Melbourne haul in Saints' fast start and dominate middle two quarters
After an almighty build up, St Kilda burst out of the blocks fastest at Etihad Stadium, racing away to a four-goal lead at the first break to silence the Demons. The Saints capitalised on a wide inside 50 discrepancy (+9) and led the centre clearances (+5), as well as most of the key indicators. At this stage of proceedings, it was hard to fathom what happened in the next two quarters as the momentum swung dramatically in Melbourne’s favour. Simon Goodwin’s side wrestled control of the encounter, booting ten unanswered goals across the middle two terms to pave the way towards an impressive victory in the season opener. St Kilda may have won the final quarter 4.3 to 3.5 but by then the result was already determined, with Melbourne abolishing their 14-game losing streak against the Saints.
Engine room decimation
In his post-mortem, Alan Richardson said St Kilda was ‘smashed’ in the midfield and he wasn’t wrong. After a strong start, Melbourne gained the ascendancy around the ball, with Max Gawn dominating in the ruck to provide his midfield with the first opportunity all day. Clayton Oliver (36 disposals), Nathan Jones (35) and Jordan Lewis (32) all won a mountain of leather to lead the Demons to a sizeable midfield victory. In Goodwin’s first game in charge, Melbourne won every key indicator – disposals (+117), clearances (+13), inside 50s (+12), contested ball (+8) and tackles (+8). With a trip to face an imposing West Coast, who have been boosted by the arrival of Brownlow medallist Sam Mitchell, St Kilda’s engine room will need to quickly click into gear.
Man of Steele
New midfielder Jack Steele made an impressive start to his career in red, white and black, building on his form across the JLT Community Series to be one of St Kilda key contributors. The former Giant collected a career-best 23 disposals (13 contested), 47 pressure points and seven marks and three clearances, to be along with Jack Steven (27 disposals and four inside 50s) the Saints best midfielders. Jack Billings and Jade Gresham also made encouraging starts to their seasons. Billings got off to a flying start, drilling a goal from a beyond the arc and from a difficult angle, inside the first 60 seconds. He finished with 20 disposals, three inside 50s and 345 metres gained (3rd most of any Saint), while Gresham demonstrated his poise and goal nous, kicking three goals to remind the football world of his quality inside 50.
