Saints secure 36-point win to square season ledger and climb to ninth
St Kilda will set themselves up for a crucial three-game series against the teams above them after moving up to ninth with a 36-point win over injury-hit Richmond at Marvel Stadium.
The win squares their season book.
The Saints, who are fighting for a place in the top 10, will face Fremantle in Perth, Hawthorn at Marvel Stadium and Sydney in the port city in the next three rounds after five wins and five losses in their first 10 matches.
Although star midfielder Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera will not feature again next week, a win in any of these three matches will greatly increase their chances of finals. Richmond have bigger injury concerns as 18 players were already injured before defender Campbell Gray damaged his hamstring in the first half.
The Tigers may have to look to complete their list next week as they plan their approach against Essendon in Friday night’s Dreamtime game.
But on Sunday, chasing a four-quarter performance, the Saints came out of the blocks to open a four-goal lead before the match was stopped as Richmond made the most of limited opportunities to stay within five goals over the next two quarters.
The Saints broke the world record in 50 seconds and went on the rise, but could not reflect this lead on the scoreboard; Although the Saints led 36-14, the lead was only 26 points at halftime.
St Kilda’s Tom De Koning gave the ball players his silver serve several times in the second quarter with through ball shots that Max Hall and Hugo Garcia capitalized on. Saints burst from the center square on more than one occasion, but only one of those moments resulted in a goal when Mattaes Phillipou fired a long goal from a step over.
Garcia collected 15 disposals, eight contested possessions, four clearances, six point tackles and a goal in the first half. Hall, one of the Saints’ best this season, kept the pace with 14 disposals, six clearances, six clearances and a goal.
Despite this, Richmond had managed to score nine goals from 14 in the 50s on his AFL debut, with Noah Roberts-Thomson scoring twice in his first two kicks. It was an impressive start to the career of the cousin of Sydney first-year player Lewis Roberts-Thomson.
The Saints continued to push in the third quarter but still couldn’t make Richmond – either through mistakes or dropped points – actually make them pay.
The margin gradually increased, but the Saints were not comfortable enough to consider batting a non-bowler over, as cricketers sometimes do for a laugh when the result is known.
Charlie Banfield, the son of first baseman and West Coast first baseman Drew Banfield, caused a stir when he scored on his debut.
After arriving in Victoria, Banfield took up residence at the home of former AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan, appearing as comfortable living in the Marvel Stadium wing as he would in one of the wings of the McLachlan mansion.
In the end the Saints’ territorial dominance was enough for them to score 100 points for the fifth time this season; It’s a sign that their offensive game is improving, considering they’ve only scored that number seven times in the previous three seasons.
They were not crafty or intimidating at any stage, but they were better than the Tigers in winning by 36 points in a game that never reached great heights, with St Kilda scoring 50 points inside to win 63-37.
