ST KILDA
 4.4     7.10    9.16     14.23   (107)
BRISBANE LIONS
 1.2    5.4     9.8     11.10    (76)
GOALS - St Kilda: N Riewoldt 3, M Weller 2, B Acres, J Bruce, J Geary, JGresham, J Steele, L Dunstan, LMontagna, S Savage, TMembrey. Brisbane Lions: J Schache 2, MRobinson 2, D Beams, D Rich, DZorko, J Berry, L Taylor, RBewick, T Bell.
BEST -  St Kilda: N Riewoldt, S Ross, LMontagna, J Geary, D Roberton, JGresham. Brisbane Lions: S Martin, DBeams, D Rich, T Rockliff.
UMPIRES: Donlon, Harris, O'Gorman.
CROWD: 23,097 at Etihad Stadium.
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Leigh Montagna's time wasting
St Kilda's Leigh Montagna did what very few do in AFL by taking his time to kick a goal.
St Kilda fans should remain forever thankful for ability of their champion Nick Riewoldt to continually recover from wear, tear and injury through his 321-game career.
Two weeks ago they feared they might have seen the last of their former skipper when he hyper-extended his right knee late in the loss to Melbourne.
And yet here he was, 15 days later, back at the same ground, booting three goals and proving the difference between the two teams to help the Saints survive a scare in a scrappy Round 3 encounter.Â
In a match where the key forwards from both teams struggled, Riewoldt was the standout. Coach Alan Richardson started him on a wing, but the Saints forward streamed up and down the length of the ground making key contributions.
"The unfortunate part about it is that Richo needs two of him," former St Kilda captain Danny Frawley said during the call on SEN radio.
In the face of constant Lions counter-pressure, the Saints coach would have indeed have appreciated the availability of another player of Riewoldt's ability as either outlet and link man for defenders, or to present as a target in the forward 50.
Instead Riewoldt at times performed both functions. Late in the match, with the result on the line, he twice produced crucial plays that helped ensure victory.
When Jade Gresham floated a speculative pass to the forward flank, the veteran forward ran back with the flight of the ball to take a courageous mark. He then hit a pin-point pass to Tim Membrey, who converted to put the Sainst 16 points up.
Ten minutes later Riewoldt struck again to frustrate the Brisbane fightback. Another punt into the hotspot in front of goal helped set up what appeared to be the game-breaker, as Leigh Montagna strolled into goal from a handball feed.
With Membrey and Josh Bruce both relatively quiet and wasteful when they did get their chances in front of goal, Riewoldt's poise and workrate proved to be decisive.
So too was the contribution from his old partner in crime Montagna, who used his nouse to get into good positions and his driving kicking to create scoring chances for the Saints.
When the match was in the balance at three-quarter time, Richardson threw Montagna into the centre square at the start of the final term and he chipped in with several telling disposals.
The Saints needed to find some spark from somewhere in the centre, after their new-look midfield battled hard but struggled to dominate a more seasoned Lions line-up that included Dayne Beams, Tom Rockliff and Dayne Zorko.
The St Kilda midfield had a distinctly fresh look in the absence of its mainstays of recent years, Jack Steven and David Armitage. Through the centre square went a troop of players aged under 24: Luke Dunstan, Seb Ross, Jack Steele, Blake Acres and teenager Gresham.
Ross took responsibility for nullifying Beams, while Saints skipper Jarryn Geary blanketed influential Lions on-baller Zorko in general play. Gresham did not have a lot of the footy, but his work was classy and his possessions were damaging, and helped break lines in the absence of Steven.
While the Lions midfielders picked up their fair share of possession, they didn't do enough to create scoring chances and were not prepared to do as much defensive work as the young Saints when the opposition had the ball.
Across the ground too many Lions were only prepared to work and run one way, whereas St Kilda benefited from having numerous players prepared to tackle, smother and apply pressure on the ball carrier.
Ruckman Stefan Martin was influential with both his tap work and in general play, although Tom Hickey lifted late in the game and gave the Saints some drive when they need after the Lions snatched the lead midway through the third quarter.
Coming into this match these were the bottom two teams for kicking efficiency and it showed.
St Kilda had the chance to establish a match-winning break in the second quarter, but Dunstan and Membrey both missed set shots from 35 metres directly in front.
Those misses allowed Brisbane to kick two goals in as many minutes just before half time to stay right in the contest.
Equally, the Saints coughed up the ball when running off half back, often under little pressure, with Sam Gilbert and Blake Acres noticeable culprits.
Brisbane was even more  wasteful, kicking the ball out of bounds on the full a remarkable seven times in the first half.
The penetrating and polished kicking of Montagna, Shane Savage and Jimmy Webster were important, but St Kilda will need to improve its ball use over the next season-defining month against more ruthless outfits in Collingwood, Geelong, Hawthorn and the Giants.
While the Saints need to address their kicking for goal, their defensive set-up was vastly improved from the round one loss to Melbourne. Their team defence was solid, their structure behind the ball organised, and Jake Carlisle and Nathan Brown continue to improve in the key defensive posts, and were too experienced on big-bodied for the Lions' young forwards. Â Â
VOTES
N. Riewoldt (St Kilda) 8
S. Ross (St Kilda) 8
L. Montagna (St Kilda) 8
J. Geary (St Kilda) 7
S. Martin (Brisbane Lions) 7