ST KILDA 5.3 14.8 19.8 21.12 (138)
RICHMOND 1.3 1.4 4.9 10.11 (71)
Goals: St Kilda: T Membrey 5 N Riewoldt 3 J Bruce 2 J Gresham 2 K Stevens 2 L Montagna 2 B Longer D McKenzie J Billings J Steven S Ross. Richmond: J Castagna 2 B Ellis D Butler D Martin J Caddy J Riewoldt S Grigg S Lloyd T Cotchin
Best: St Kilda: Ross, Steven, Membrey, Stevens, Riewoldt, Geary, Montagna, Longer. Richmond: Lambert, Grigg
Umpires: Justin Schmitt, Ben Ryan, Jacob Mollison.
Official Crowd: 47,514 at Etihad Stadium.
All eyes were on the Riewoldts on this remarkable night. Almost 50,000 piled into Etihad Stadium for the purple-themed Maddie's (Riewoldt) Match, and fittingly the Lockett and Coventry ends were renamed the Maddie and Riewoldt goals.
And by five minutes into the second quarter, the respective fortunes of the two Riewoldts on the field told the tale of this match.
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Saints embarrass tame Tigers
St Kilda have burst into top-four contention with a thumping 67-point win over Richmond at Etihad Stadium.
It was the moment St Kilda's Nick Riewoldt ran back with the flight of the ball and flew for a chest mark against his direct opponent, Alex Rance, and Tigers ruckman Toby Nankervis. That grab made it 2907 career marks for the Saints great, surpassing the AFL record held by Dogs/Roos ruckman Gary Dempsey. The ensuing kick was a goal to the "Maddie End", giving St Kilda a 36-point lead and effectively signposting a Saints victory. His was one of nine unanswered St Kilda goals during a second-quarter blitz in which the Saints could do no wrong, setting up an 82-point lead at half-time.
At the other end, Tigers spearhead Jack Riewoldt went into the break with just two possessions. His first disposal came midway through the second quarter courtesy of a free kick for an arm chop. He pushed his kick wide for a behind.
If Nick embodied St Kilda – intense, precise and damaging – then Jack's night reflected that of the Tigers – frustrated, inaccurate and struggling to touch the footy.
St Kilda blitzed in the opening term, with fluid ball movement and an open and organised forward line.
Both Richmond and St Kilda came into this match ranked in the AFL's top four for pressure and tackles in the forward 50, but only one team played with urgency and intent in the first hour.
St Kilda dominated in the midfield, with Seb Ross and Jack Steven particularly damaging, and almost all of the play in the first quarter was in St Kilda's attacking half.
When the Tigers did manage to get possession they invariably panic-kicked under pressure, leading to intercept marks by the likes of Jarryn Geary and Jake Carlisle, who was a commanding presence in his 100th AFL match.
Up forward, the trio of St Kilda talls – Riewoldt (as the deepest forward and opposed to Rance), Tim Membrey and Josh Bruce, combined intelligently and effectively.
At ground level, the likes of Jade Gresham and three Jacks – Lonie, Sinclair and Billings – not only created goals, but also applied tremendous pressure when the ball was in Tiger hands. In contrast, Richmond's much-vaunted mosquito fleet barely influenced the play. The first goal from any of them came midway through the final term when an untended Dan Butler was on the end of a centred pass from Josh Caddy.
Richmond's key players were well beaten. Skipper Trent Cotchin struggled to get involved and was frustrated by it. Eight minutes into the match he stabbed a dribble kick from traffic and was penalised for deliberate out of bounds. Exasperated, he threw a short jab into the midriff of Lonie and was reported.
He also conceded a 50-metre penalty which gifted Ross a goal.
If anything, Dustin Martin's game was worse. Koby Stevens not only shut him down in the midfield but was also a damaging player.
Numerous times he attempted to break tackles and was caught. One moment that summed up his night came just after half-time, when his handpass was intercepted on a wing by Lonie, who flicked it to Riewoldt for a long kick to an unmarked Membrey for a simple goal.
On the other hand St Kilda produced a complete team performance, and in doing so gained a vital boost in percentage and won four in a row for first time since 2011.
The only negative was that Membrey may face match review scrutiny after he clumsily clattered into Dylan Grimes in a marking contest.
VOTES
- Ross (StK) 9
- Steven (StK) 9
- Membrey (StK) 8
- Stevens (StK) 8
- Riewoldt (StK) 8