ST KILDA has produced a giant upset to leave Richmond’s defence of their AFL premiership in tatters, with the Saints humiliating the Tigers by 40 points at the MCG.
Enduring a difficult season at 5-8, the Saints were given little hope on Friday night with Richmond desperately clinging on to eighth spot as they search for a third-straight flag.
However, St Kilda dominated from the outset by kicking the first five goals and an expected Tigers resurgence never came as the Saints prevailed 9.8 (62) to 2.10 (22) in front of 14,787 fans.
Disinterested Richmond finished with their lowest score in any match since round 16, 1961, also coming against St Kilda when they finished with 0.8 (8).
If GWS defeat Hawthorn, as expected, on Sunday then the Tigers will be outside of the top-eight at the end of the round.
Adding to Richmond’s woes was what could be a serious knee injury to key defender Noah Balta, who got caught up in a tackle late in the third quarter.
Fellow defenders Nathan Broad and Nick Vlastuin finished the game but both appeared to be hobbling late in the game.
Making the result even more extraordinary was Richmond annihilated the Saints by 86 points when the teams met in round five.
But with Rowan Marshall back in the team to reunite with ruck partner Paddy Ryder, St Kilda again looked like the team that made last year’s semi-finals.
Their 36-point fade-out to Adelaide before the bye was a distant memory as Ryder and Marshall gave the Saints midfielders silver service, led by a superb performance from Luke Dunstan.
Even Saints forward duo Jack Higgins and Max King, who have been struggling with confidence in front of goal, were able to nail difficult shots in the first half in a massive boost for the pair and their team.
Saints forward Jack Billings was a late withdrawal after hurting his knee during the warm-up and was replaced by Nick Coffield, however, the 21-year-old was subbed off with a left hamstring injury in the third quarter for debutant Leo Connolly.
Richmond struggled for shining lights, with stars Dustin Martin and Shane Edwards kicking the Tigers’ only goals.
Richmond heads to the Gold Coast next weekend for a Round 16 clash with the Suns, while the Saints will be full of confidence against Collingwood at the MCG.
(C) AAP 2021
ST KILDA 3.2 5.3 8.7 9.8 (62)
RICHMOND 0.5 1.6 2.7 2.10 (22)
Goals: St Kilda: D McKenzie 2 M King 2 B Long J Higgins L Dunstan M Wood S Ross. Richmond: D Martin S Edwards.
Umpires: Matt Stevic, Craig Fleer, Curtis Deboy.
Official Crowd: 14,787 at MCG.
