Media articles & stats: Tiger Kings make statement in Saints shellacking

[one-eyed]

Tiger Kings: Premiers make statement in Saints shellacking

Richmond returns to form after thumping St Kilda at Marvel Stadium

By Riley Beveridge
afl.com.au
15 April 2021

ST KILDA         3.4     4.5      6.6          7.6     (48)
RICHMOND      3.3     8.6     15.12     20.14     (134)

GOALS
St Kilda: Higgins 2, Lonie 2, Hunter, King, Butler
Richmond: Riewoldt 5, Lynch 3, Graham 3, Castagna 2, Rioli 2, Pickett, Edwards, Martin, Bolton, Aarts

BEST
St Kilda: Clark, Steele, Coffield, Battle
Richmond: Edwards, Bolton, Riewoldt, Martin, Graham, Lynch, Cotchin

INJURIES
St Kilda: Jones (soreness) replaced in selected side by Dunstan, Marshall (foot) replaced in selected side by Hunter, Webster (groin)
Richmond: Nil

SUSBTITUTES
St Kilda: Long (replaced Webster)
Richmond: Ross (unused)

Crowd: 32,056 at Marvel Stadium

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IF RICHMOND'S stuttering season needed to "get moving", as its triple-premiership coach Damien Hardwick put it earlier this week, then this was the Tigers in a hurry.

An emphatic 86-point victory over St Kilda on Thursday night was the perfect the tonic for a Richmond team peeved, but not panicked, by back-to-back defeats in the early part of its campaign.

The Tigers withstood an early barrage from a Saints outfit up for the contest, answering every challenge on their way to a statement 20.14 (134) to 7.6 (48) victory at Marvel Stadium.

Dustin Martin (34 disposals, five clearances, one goal) was the bullying force in Richmond's midfield, while Shane Edwards (29 disposals, seven clearances, one goal) provided the class as both produced vintage displays out of the centre.

That, in turn, helped the Tiger forwards to fire. Jack Riewoldt continued to wind back the clock with five goals, Tom Lynch and Jack Graham finished with three majors each, while Jason Castagna and Daniel Rioli both hit the scoreboard multiple times.

St Kilda had an early spark, with Hunter Clark (33 disposals, three clearances) performing strongly and with Jack Steele (26 disposals, 10 tackles) competing as admirably as ever in the midfield.

But the reigning premiers, as they do so well and so often, gradually chipped away at the fight of their plucky opponents. The result was a 25-point buffer at the main break of a clash that had seemed relatively even just moment before.

St Kilda's growing worries on the scoreboard were compounded by a groin injury to Jimmy Webster, forcing him to be substituted of the match, which added to the late and untimely omissions of Rowan Marshall (foot) and Zak Jones (soreness) beforehand.

Moments of respite from the relentless Richmond pressure were fleeting thereafter, as the Tigers piled on five consecutive majors on either side of the three-quarter time interval to drive home their advantage.

An undermanned St Kilda, by that stage, had run its race. If victory over West Coast gave Brett Ratten's side renewed belief in its lofty ambitions for the season ahead, Thursday night surely would have flattened such faith.

Another four consecutive Richmond goals to end the match would then widen an already significant deficit on the night, and a growing gap between St Kilda and the genuine contenders on the ladder.

The perfect Richmond response
After two straight defeats – the first a shock loss to Sydney, the second a humbling at the hands of premiership rival Port Adelaide – this was the reaction Richmond was after. Led by a superstar midfield consisting of Dustin Martin, Shane Edwards, Trent Cotchin and Shai Bolton, the Tigers built the platform for their emphatic victory from the engine room. Richmond dominated St Kilda's onball group in every area, winning the disposal count (+37), the inside-50 battle (+31), the clearance count (+16) and the contested game (+19) on their way to a resounding win. This was all of the club's premiership quality and experience coming to the fore. And right on time.

Pre-game drama as Saints swing changes
There were concerns surrounding Rowan Marshall (foot) and Zak Jones (soreness) on Wednesday, when neither took part in the side's pre-match training session. Those worries over their fitness proved justified when St Kilda took the unusual step of making multiple late changes an hour before the bounce. Both came out of the side, with Luke Dunstan and Paul Hunter introduced. For Dunstan, it was his first AFL appearance since March last year. He returned from form and fitness issues with 16 disposals, while Hunter competed admirably in the ruck. But the early blows on the injury front were soon compounded, when Jimmy Webster was forced to be substituted out of the clash in the second term with a groin problem.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/593929/tiger-kings-premiers-make-statement-in-saints-shellacking

[one-eyed]

Riewoldt bags five as ruthless Tigers crush dismal Saints

Daniel Cherny
The Age
April 16, 2021

Damien Hardwick said during the week that premierships aren’t won in April and at least in the men’s domain, he was right. But statements can be made this time of year, and very loud ones at that. This was Richmond shouting from an industrial-sized megaphone: “We haven’t gone anywhere.”

Even through their dominant Olympiad, rarely have the Tigers been as ruthless as they were against St Kilda on Thursday night at Marvel Stadium. The Saints were competitive albeit sloppy early but from the middle of the second term they were utterly crushed.

From one point down at quarter-time the Tigers mowed their way to a 25-point half-time lead and things only got worse from there for the Saints. St Kilda had embarrassed themselves 12 days earlier against Essendon but this was almost as bad, with the Tigers routinely cruising out of the middle and scoring seemingly at will.

The Saints had opted against a hard tag for Dustin Martin, with Brad Crouch notionally the superstar’s direct opponent. Martin barely drifted forward early in the game and was relatively subdued in the first term but took off from there.

Yet this was far from a one-man show. Shane Edwards was a delight to watch while Jack Graham continued his ascension. It was a good night to be a Richmond forward given the abundant supply and Jack Riewoldt took advantage, presenting repeatedly to finish with five goals in the game dedicated to his late cousin Maddie.

St Kilda looked like they had turbocharged their season with 40 blistering minutes five days earlier against West Coast, but that miraculous run - as breathtaking as it was - is the aberration from what they’ve dished up in the early part of the campaign.

Brett Ratten was livid at three-quarter time, charging straight to his players before they headed to their line coaches. He shuffled the deck-chairs in the second half, even sending Jack Bytel to full-forward, but it was to little avail. Things are again looking grim at Moorabbin, and Port Adelaide in Adelaide is the Saints’ next assignment.

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Change agents
The murmurings had been around for days that Rowan Marshall wouldn’t get up for this game off a five-day break and that St Kilda were also contemplating resting Zak Jones given the midfielder’s injury history. Ratten said on game eve that both men were on track to play, but either he was being a bit cheeky or things changed at some stage between Wednesday morning and Thursday night. As it turned out, both men were replaced, and it was a clear downgrade with their respective understudies. Recycled ruckman Paul Hunter kicked the first goal of his AFL career early in the game but was largely ineffectual, even tapping the ball straight to Shane Edwards for a third term major Richmond’s way. Dunstan, once billed as a future captain of the Saints, was playing his first senior game since round one last year and seemed to struggle with the weight of knowing this could be his last chance for a while. A shank out on the full was an all-too-familiar sight for St Kilda supporters. Meanwhile Ben Long was the medical substitute for the third week running. In his 50th game, the hard-nosed defender got a run after Jimmy Webster went off with a groin injury.

Brad spill
Things have not gone to plan for Bradley Hill since the wingman joined the Saints, and Thursday night brought yet another moment to forget. With his side on top in general play early in the second term, Hill dropped a straightforward mark at half-back, allowing Richmond to pounce with Marlion Pickett capitalising. Not only did Hill drop the ball, his second effort also left something to be desired.

Pickett power
Dual premiership Tiger Pickett’s career has been about as unorthodox as they come, so it was on-brand that the 184-centimetre West Australian chipped in as Richmond’s relief ruckman during the third quarter on Thursday night while Toby Nankervis had a spell. Pickett had not previously recorded a hitout in his 24 AFL matches before this game but looked relatively competent when pinch-hitting. He’d occasionally been used in the role when playing for South Fremantle in the WAFL.

BEST:
Richmond: Graham, Edwards, Riewoldt, Nankervis, Martin, Bolton, Lambert, Castagna, Baker
St Kilda: Clark, Steele, Coffield, Battle

VOTES:
J. Graham (Rich) 8
S. Edwards (Rich) 8
J. Riewoldt (Rich) 8
T. Nankervis (Rich) 7
D. Martin (Rich) 7

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/jack-riewoldt-bags-five-as-richmond-crush-dismal-saints-20210415-p57jhg.html