Slick Saints hand out lesson
25 April 2005
Herald Sun
Michael Horan
A DELUDED Richmond supporter uttered joyously the sleeping giant was awake, moments after his team had secured its third successive victory a little over a week ago.
But an alert and superior Saints made the Tigers look like sleepwalkers at Telstra Dome last night as they careered to a imposing 68-point win in front of a sellout crowd of 49,580 fans.
Perceptions vary dramatically in a tribal sport such as football.
The Richmond faithful started the night full of false hope that their Tigers had finally arrived as a serious top-eight contender.
They shuffled out of the Dome three hours later with a decidedly more realistic point of view.
St Kilda was slick, stunning in its execution, and looking very much like the side that went within a kick of reaching last year's Grand Final.
Then again, for fans, who over the past year have become accustomed to brilliant wins and finals action, it came with perhaps one slightly negative aspect: it was only Richmond.
The Saints clearly showed the gulf between serious finals aspirants and those that are still a long way off the pace.
St Kilda dominated the midfield and chopped up Richmond's defence.
The Saints blue-chip midfielders, dual Brownlow medallist Robert Harvey, Lenny Hayes and Nick Dal Santo, exploded into action from the first bounce to set up an eight-goal first term for St Kilda.
That set the tone for a clinic in which St Kilda won every quarter and all over the ground.
In the defensive half, Austinn Jones and Matt Maguire, who was carried from the ground mid-way through the final term after he and opposing No. 31 Chris Hyde collided and knocked each other out, controlled the clearances and set up the rich supply through the corridor via their classy onballers.
The result was a potent rate of conversion that boasted 13 Saints sharing a 22-goal booty.
Fraser Gehrig was held to just four by Darren Gaspar – a fair effort from the Tiger defender, considering the amount of supply coming into the Saints forward 50 – but right beside him Stephen Milne proved a serial pest with his swag of 5.2.
Conversely, Richmond's front half was, save for a four-goal return by ruckman Greg Stafford, barren.
Tiger hero and trump forward Matthew Richardson went into the clash as the AFL's leading goalkicker and also No. 1 in marks. He was kept to just three behinds by Max Hudghton, and as many grabs.
By game's end, Jones, Harvey, Dal Santo, Raphael Clarke, former Tiger Aaron Fiora and Brendon Goddard had enjoyed 20 or more possessions, and all of them proved sharper and more dangerous than Richmond's high possession getters.
A factor the stats often don't show is physical presence.
Former Saint skipper Aaron Hamill was listed for nine touches only, but his strength and constant presence at the contest was invaluable for a Saints side still without this year's captain Nick Riewoldt.
St Kilda had a 28-point buffer at the first change and it grew to 45 by halftime.
With the gap more than 50 by the final change, the Richmond dream was long gone. All that remained was a question of how harsh the football lesson would be.
In the aftermath is sober reflection – with eyes wide open.
In Round 1, the Tigers went up against Geelong, another 2004 preliminary finalist, and were smashed by 62 points.
Then they squeaked past Hawthorn and the Bulldogs – 15th and 14th last year – before last week thumping Fremantle at the MCG. But Freo is a side that suffers travel sickness if it ventures any further east than Burswood casino.
Now Round 5 is gone and St Kilda made sure the Tigers got their reality check by ensuring they were well and truly dusted.
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