For a second consecutive week, new St Kilda coach Alan Richardson has paid tribute to his veteran captain Nick Riewoldt, after the five-time best and fairest winner dragged his team over the line against Greater Western Sydney with an inspired performance.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Riewoldt, entering his 14th season of AFL football, was the difference between the sides not only on the scoreboard but around the ground. He booted five goals for the Saints, including three in succession as St Kilda, trailing the Giants by 20 points near time-on of the third quarter, booted six in a row late in the third term and early in the last, eventually hanging on to win by seven points. He finished the game with 24 disposals and 14 marks, a second superb display for his fifth senior coach.
''When we were struggling to get the ball out of defence he would go down and get off his man and give us something to kick to in front of the clearance,'' Richardson said after the game. ''He played a bit deeper and was able to get shots on goal and he's in really good form. He prepares like no one else so it doesn't surprise me that he plays and turns up and is as consistent as he is.''
St Kilda, a popular tip pre-season for the wooden spoon, has surprised many of the critics with two wins from two starts over Melbourne and now the Giants, but Richardson acknowledged the size of the task ahead to make that three in a row, the Saints to play an ominous-looking West Coast in Perth next Saturday.
''We spoke about it after the game, about how important it was for the guys to get themselves right,'' he said. ''We're going to be getting on a plane reasonably early in the week so we won't do a lot of training, our focus will be on rehab, but you can just see in the guys' eyes it's going to be another challenge.
''They're looking forward to it, we acknowledge that West Coast, albeit incredibly early in the season, look like they're up and about and playing some good footy. It's a great opportunity for our guys.''
Giants coach Leon Cameron bemoaned some missed opportunities by his side, which conceded seven of the final nine goals of the game but still finished with three more scoring shots than its opponent.
''They took their chances and we didn't,'' Cameron said. ''We talked after the game about just doing the fundamentals of the game really well, especially when you're fatigued and under pressure. Our basic fundamentals of hitting a target, first-give hands, kicking long when you have to or hitting up someone, that probably disappeared when we were fatigued.''
While star forward duo Jeremy Cameron and Jonathon Patton were well-held, kicking just one goal between them, resting ruckman Jonathan Giles stepped up with four goals, and the Giants had great contributions from ruckman Shane Mumford, skipper Callan Ward, and classy small forward Devon Smith, who finished with a career-best five goals.
