Method pleases Richardson, not conversion
It was far from pretty, but it was the win St Kilda needed to carry the momentum generated in Perth into premiership points. While he wasn’t thrilled with the scrappiness, Alan Richardson expressed his satisfaction with the Saints’ method in his post-match press conference on Sunday night. Just like at Domain Stadium last weekend, had St Kilda made the most of their chances earlier, the result would have been confirmed earlier. At Etihad Stadium, the Saints recorded 37 scoring shots to Brisbane’s 21, amassed 13 more inside 50s, 16 more marks inside the arc and had the ball in their forward half +15:10 more than the Lions – Ranked No. 1 in Round 3. The Saints were also ranked No. 1 for scores per inside 50 at 62.7 per cent. If the wheel can turn and the Saints can turn more scores into goals, look out.
Riewoldt returns the only way Riewoldt knows how to
Nick Riewoldt returned to the scene of the crime and did what Nick Riewoldt does best. Two weeks earlier, the champion forward exited Etihad Stadium for what some, including himself, thought could have been the last time. After a mountain of work behind the scenes, Riewoldt was back on the park on Sunday and didn’t miss a beat. He started on a wing, spent the bulk of the day there before pushing forward at times. He finished with 28 possessions, a game-high 12 marks (for a change), five inside 50s and kicked 3.2. In his post-match press conference, Richardson lauded Riewoldt’s ability to dot every i and cross every t with his rehab, setting the example for everyone else to follow.
Centre (square) of attention
While Nathan Brown’s match-up on Brisbane young gun Josh Schache attracted attention at one end of the ground, and Nick Riewoldt’s time forward on another Lions budding star Harris Andrews was also intriguing, the key match-up of the day was in the middle of the ground. St Kilda ruckman Tom Hickey had the big role of quelling the influence of in-form Lions ruckman Stefan Martin. While the Brisbane star still had an impact on the encounter, Hickey followed up his strong effort in Perth with another positive performance, finishing with 33 hitouts (12 to advantage), 15 disposals, seven tackles and five clearances. The Queenslander also finished with 40.6 pressure points – 27.4 more than Martin – ranked No. 5 for a ruckman in Round 3.
Untidy radar hurting Saints
For the second week in a row, St Kilda’s inaccuracy in front of goal has featured prominently in the post-game analysis. While it didn’t prevent the Saints from claiming premiership points on Sunday, it did keep the Lions in the game for much longer than they would have been. St Kilda finished with more scoring shots than any other team in Round 3 – 14.23 – but it wasn’t the sort of conversion that Alan Richardson was after. And while the MCG was exposed to torrential rain and wind on Sunday, the roof was firmly shut at Etihad Stadium. Usual sharp shooter, Tim Membrey, appeared to have misplaced his radar, finishing with 1.3, including two misses from within 25 metres which were his bread and butter in 2016. Josh Bruce (1.4), Mav Weller (2.3) and Jade Gresham (1.3) also didn’t make the most of their chances either. The Saints attacking arsenal will need to find their range fast.
What was Joey doing?
It might not have been the best look, but Leigh Montagna wasn’t trying to be disrespectful to the opposition when he waited for Brisbane midfielder Tom Rockliff to approach him in on the goal line late on Sunday. The moment has done the rounds on social media, both Montagna and Richardson addressed it post-game, and whilst it might have been perceived as showboating that wasn’t the case. As he told the Herald Sun: “I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful. I was giving everyone a breather and taking as much time off the clock as possible. It’s like taking your 30 seconds when you have a set shot, I didn’t mean to be disrespectful.” Richardson wasn’t thrilled with the look, but understood why the decorated Saint did it. Although he doesn’t want it to creep into his team's game in the future.
