Saint Nick departs Etihad Stadium as a hero for the final time

Retiring champion Nick Riewoldt departed Etihad Stadium – a ground where he has played more games (184) at and booted more goals (452) at than any other player – for the final time as a hero on Sunday night. The six-time Trevor Barker Award winner was carried off the ground by Josh Bruce and Sam Gilbert after acknowledging the crowd in every section of the ground in an emotional farewell that got the better of plenty of devout Riewoldt worshipers. On a special day for the football club, St Kilda paid homage to their favourite son, both on and off the field in Riewoldt’s final home appearance. The 335-game veteran booted two goals from eight marks to help keep the Saints’ remote finals chances alive. And now, there appears to be just one game left in the decorated career of Saint Nick.

Never a dull moment for Carlisle

Sunday was an eventful day for Jake Carlisle. The key defender was nearly forced out of the game moments before the opening bounce after his back seized up during the warm-up. Carlisle returned to the ground before the rest of his teammates ran through the banner, with the medical staff putting him through a last minute test, while rebounding defender Brandon White stood by. He passed the test and made an impact in the win, although his game was not without controversy. Carlisle was reported for striking twice in the space of a minute after the quarter-time siren. The 25-year-old made contact with the throat of North Melbourne defender Luke McDonald, sparking a melee that included another incident with Kangaroos midfielder Declan Mountford. All eyes will be on the Match Review Panel’s findings when they come out on Monday afternoon.

Dominant Steven wreaks havoc

Three-time best and fairest winner Jack Steven emerged from a quiet month in blistering form on Sunday. While Steven hasn’t quite reached the lofty heights of recent seasons in 2017, he has still been a critical cog in an improved engine room. Under the roof at Etihad Stadium, Steven torched the Roos. He collected 13 disposals and seven clearances in a dominant second quarter alone, before finishing with 40 touches – the equal third most of his career – 15 contested possessions, 11 clearances and 18 score involvements – the second most of any player in Round 22, behind only Luke Dunstan who had 21. After being clamped by North tagger Declan Mountford when the teams last met in Round 13, Steven wreaked havoc on Sunday in his strongest performance of 2017.

Midfield dominance makes up for wayward Saints

“The second quarter was as dominant as we've played in a while – 15 scoring shots to two, but we kicked 4.11, so weren't able to maximise that dominance,” Alan Richardson said in his post-mortem. Sound familiar? Inaccuracy has been the theme this season and it continued to poke its head out on Sunday. Although it was the dominance of St Kilda’s midfield that allowed the Saints to create so many scoring opportunities. Jack Steven, Seb Ross (36 disposals, seven clearances), Luke Dunstan (32 disposals, 21 score involvements), Blake Acres (30 disposals), Jack Newnes and Koby Stevens helped St Kilda win the midfield battle. The Saints amassed 19 more clearances, 17 more inside 50s and 56 more disposals on Sunday, helping pave the way to a 49-point win that keeps the door to September slightly ajar.