Media articles & stats: Saints snuff Tigers' finals hopes

[one-eyed]

Max's six-goal masterclass helps Saints snuff Tigers' finals hopes

By AAP with Alison O'Connor
afl.com.au
13 August 2023

ST KILDA        5.0    10.2   13.6   14.9 (93)
RICHMOND     2.1    5.3    6.5     8.9 (57)

GOALS
St Kilda: King 6, Gresham 3, Higgins, Marshall, Owens, Phillipou, Sharman
Richmond: Baker 2, Bauer 2, Broad, Bolton, Riewoldt, Taranto

BEST
St Kilda: Sinclair, Ross, King, Steele, Marshall, Gresham
Richmond: Taranto, Short, Nankervis, Martin, Broad

INJURIES
St Kilda: Nil
Richmond: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
St Kilda: Hunter Clark (replaced Cooper Sharman at three-quarter time)
Richmond: Rhyan Mansell (replaced Ivan Soldo in the third quarter)

Crowd: 31,119 at Marvel Stadium

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ST KILDA spearhead Max King has kicked an equal career-best six goals to help the Saints take another significant step towards claiming a finals berth with a 36-point win over Richmond.

King hit the scoreboard in each of the first three quarters at Marvel Stadium on Sunday as the Saints posted a comfortable 14.9 (93) to 8.9 (57) victory.

It put Ross Lyon's sixth-placed side a win and percentage clear of ninth with two rounds left in the race for top-eight spots.

The Tigers are all but out of finals contention, with the loss loss leaving them two games and significant percentage outside the eight.

Noah Balta had no way of stopping King, who fired in his second game back from a shoulder injury, while Jade Gresham (22 disposals, three goals) was also dangerous in attack.

Saints ball-winners Jack Sinclair (33 disposals), Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (27), Seb Ross (25) and ruckman Rowan Marshall (25) were all busy.

Jayden Short (26 touches), Dustin Martin (25) and Tim Taranto (24) were Richmond's chief possession winners, while Jacob Bauer and Liam Baker kicked two goals each.

King booted two of St Kilda's five goals in both the first and second quarters as Richmond's pressure game went missing.

The Tigers laid just 20 tackles to the Saints' 36 in the opening half.

There was a scare when Daniel Rioli was helped from the field during the second quarter after rolling his right ankle while attempting to change direction.

Rioli returned after the main break but did not have a huge impact.

He wasn't alone in a Tigers side that was comprehensively outplayed.

The Saints led 10.2 to 5.3 at halftime and while scoring slowed in the third quarter, the home side still managed to increase its advantage to 43 points by the final change.

Richmond won the final stanza - 2.4 to 1.3 - when the sting had gone out of the contest.

St Kilda forward Tim Membrey was goalless from 15 disposals on return from a knee injury but got through unscathed in his first game since round nine

Sharp-shooting Saints dominate early
St Kilda was deadly in front of the big sticks, kicking seven goals straight before eventually registering their first minor score of the game midway through the second term. It wasn't the only stat that the Saints dominated early - they smashed the Tigers in tackles (22-8) and marks (33-18) in a match-defining opening quarter which set up the important win.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/1007548/max-s-six-goal-masterclass-helps-saints-snuff-tigers-finals-hopes

[one-eyed]

King on target as Saints edge closer to finals, sink Tigers’ hopes

Marc McGowan
The Age
14 August 2023

Max King didn’t wait until the final term to terrorise Richmond this time. Six King goals spearheaded St Kilda’s dominant 36-point victory over the Tigers at Marvel Stadium on Sunday as Ross Lyon’s men edged closer to booking a finals berth.

But Richmond are out of the running, and have now not won any of their past eight matches at the AFL-owned venue, a streak that started after former coach Damien Hardwick told anyone listening: “I hate coming here.”

The Saints feared King would miss the rest of the season after he hurt his left shoulder for the second time this year in July, but he returned last week and could be the difference in whether they play in September or not.

They need to win one of their last two matches, against Geelong (Marvel Stadium) and Brisbane Lions (Gabba), to return to the finals for the first time since the COVID-19-ravaged 2020 season. Saturday night’s showdown with the Cats could decide both clubs’ fortunes.

The Tigers’ interim coach Andrew McQualter finally moved Noah Balta off King – giving Tylar Young the job – after he kicked his sixth goal midway through the third quarter, with St Kilda already 36 points clear.

Balta afforded King far too much room from the outset, but a sloppy free kick when he was out of position in a marking contest proved the final straw. It was a difficult day for Balta, who also clumsily collected Jack Higgins high in the first half, prompting Rowan Marshall and Jack Steele to remonstrate with him.

King went from zero to hero in the clubs’ round-three clash last year, booting all four of his goals in the last quarter to help the Saints erase a 25-point second-half deficit.

He was influential again, but there was never any real doubt about the result once St Kilda piled on five of the first six goals. They did so with the same combination of suffocating pressure and breakneck ball movement that has become their signature style in recent weeks.

Saints star Jack Sinclair amassed 12 of his game-high 33 disposals in that tone-setting opening quarter as he puts together another All-Australian-calibre campaign. Two of Jade Gresham’s three goals also came in that initial scoreboard assault.

There was a brief period either side of quarter-time when Richmond looked to be working their way into the contest – reducing the margin to 11 points – only for King to intervene.

An accurate Marshall set shot stopped the Tigers’ charge before King chimed in with the next two, then missed a gettable chance for three in a row, again after marking uncontested inside 50.

Marshall was outstanding, collecting 25 touches, nine marks and four clearances to take the ruck honours.

Richmond never threatened from there, with St Kilda rewarded for a typically strong defensive effort.

Lyon would also be pleased with how many contributors he had, with the classy Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (27 disposals) barely wasting a possession, Seb Ross (25) returning strongly from a hamstring setback, and captain Steele (23, five clearances) also a good performer.

Off-season recruit Zaine Cordy also had a day out down back, repeatedly repelling the Tigers’ forward forays.

There was not the same spread for the Tigers, but Dustin Martin (25) and Jayden Short (26) battled hard in a losing cause. Daniel Rioli returned in the second half after suffering what looked a nasty ankle injury.

ST KILDA    5.0  10.2 13.6 14.9 (93)
RICHMOND 2.1   5.3   6.5   8.9 (57)

GOALS
St Kilda: King 6, Gresham 3, Owens, Sharman, Marshall, Phillipou, Higgins.
Richmond: Bauer 2, Baker 2, Riewoldt, Taranto, Bolton, Broad.

BEST
St Kilda: King, Sinclair, Marshall, Wanganeen-Milera, Gresham, Cordy, Ross.
Richmond: Martin, Short, Vlastuin, Taranto, Dow.

INJURIES
Richmond: Rioli (ankle).

UMPIRES Howorth, Whetton, Gianfagna, O’Gorman.

CROWD 31,119 at Marvel Stadium.

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sport/afl/king-on-target-as-saints-edge-closer-to-finals-sink-tigers-hopes-20230813-p5dw5q.html

[one-eyed]

ALL HAIL: KING CARNAGE ENDS TIGERS’ FINALS HOPES

Ronny Lerner
HeraldSun
14 August 2023

An equal career-high six-goal bag from Max King has all but extinguished Richmond’s finals dream as the star forward propelled the Saints to a convincing 36-point win at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.

The 14.9 (93) to 8.9 (57) result means the Tigers won’t be able to reach the 12-win barrier, which will make it almost impossible for them to finish in the top eight.

Meanwhile, the Saints have taken another big step towards the finals, and they will finish the round in sixth position. But they will still probably have to win one of their last two games against Geelong and the Lions in Brisbane to qualify.

Richmond’s horrible record at Marvel Stadium has continued and they are now winless in their last eight matches at the venue.

After St Kilda gave up a 22-point lead against Carlton last week, there would be no repeat second-half fade out this time for Ross Lyon’s men as they kicked four of the first five goals after half-time to lead by 50 points early in the final quarter.

King destroyed Richmond premiership defender Noah Balta, who was caught ball watching and guarding space far too often. After King kicked his sixth goal, youngster Tylar Young was moved onto him, but the damage was done by then.

St Kilda’s ferocious pressure set the tone off the bat. Early in the second quarter they had jumped out to a whopping 30-10 lead in tackles, and ultimately won the count 67-51 despite also finishing with more disposals (394-353) and marks (128-92), once again highlighting Richmond’s alarming lack of effort.

Last week the Bulldogs also belted the Tigers in tackles (76-56) while also comfortably winning the disposals (409-301).

But St Kilda were also well-organised defensively, and prevented Richmond from moving the ball quickly or fluently.

Even though the Tigers were playing to keep their faint finals hopes alive, they looked like a side that had already checked out for season 2023.

Jade Gresham also played a big part in setting up the win in the first half. He produced his best game of the season and finished with 22 disposals and three goals.

Jack Sinclair was allowed to run loose for much of the game, and helped himself to 33 touches, 10 marks and 11 rebound 50s, while Rowan Marshall convincingly won his ruck battle with Toby Nankervis. The big Saint ended up with 25 possessions, nine marks, 20 hit-outs and a goal.

SAINTS AMBUSH TIGERS

St Kilda started with a bang, kicking five of the first six goals, including pairs to Gresham and King, as they burst out to a 24-point lead after 19 minutes.

St Kilda looked far more dangerous when they entered their forward 50 as Richmond offered up too many holes in their backline.

The Saints remained in control of the contest in the second quarter, and after kicking another four consecutive majors, featuring two more from King, their buffer increased to 36 points in time on.

The Saints’ slick and quick ball movement proved too much for Richmond to handle and what little resistance the Tigers had been putting up evaporated in the second half.

BROAD GOES BANG

There wasn’t much to cheer about for Richmond, but defender Nathan Broad provided a rare highlight when he gathered the loose ball in the final quarter, broke the Dan Butler tackle and squeezed it home from 40m out on the boundary for just the third goal of his 124-game career.

AIR BOLTON

Star Tiger Shai Bolton also wowed fans early in the second quarter when he took a mark-of-the-week contender as he climbed on Mason Wood’s back and reined in a beautiful aerial mark on the wing.


SAINTS 5.0, 10.2, 13.6, 14.9 (93)

TIGERS 2.1, 5.3, 6.5, 8.9 (57)

LERNER’S BEST
Saints: King, Gresham, Marshall, Sinclair, Wanganeen-Milera, Ross, Wilkie.
Tigers: Taranto, Martin, Short, Young, Broad, Dow, Vlastuin.

GOALS
Saints: King 6, Gresham 3, Phillipou, Marshall, Sharman, Owens, Higgins.
Tigers: Baker 2, Bauer 2, Riewoldt, Bolton, Taranto, Broad.

UMPIRES: Howorth, Whetton, Gianfagna, O’Gorman

VENUE: Marvel Stadium

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

LERNER’S VOTES

3 Max King (StK)

2 Jade Gresham (StK)

1 Rowan Marshall (StK)

https://www.codesports.com.au/afl/afl-round-22-all-the-news-fallout-and-analysis-from-st-kilda-vs-richmond/news-story/e0b17c00a010e6adc30f53727097dfaf