St Kilda will set themselves for a crucial three-match run against teams above them on the ladder after moving to ninth spot with a 36-point win over an injury-hit Richmond at Marvel Stadium.
The win squares their season ledger.
Fighting to make the top 10, the Saints face Fremantle in Perth, Hawthorn at Marvel Stadium, and Sydney in the harbour city in the next three rounds after five wins and five losses in their first 10 matches.
A win in any of those three encounters will give their finals chances a massive boost although star midfielder Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera will be absent again next week. Richmond have bigger injury worries with 18 players already injured before defender Campbell Gray hurt his hamstring in the first half.
The Tigers may have to look at topping up their list next week as they plan their approach against Essendon in the Dreamtime match on Friday night.
But on Sunday, chasing a four-quarter performance, the Saints took off out of the blocks to open up a four-goal lead before the match stagnated as Richmond made the most of limited opportunities to hang within five goals for the next two quarters.
The Saints were racking up inside 50s at world record pace but could not convert that dominance on to the scoreboard, with the margin just 26 points at half-time despite the Saints leading the count 36-14.
St Kilda’s Tom De Koning gave his on-ballers silver service at centre ball-ups several times in the second quarter with Max Hall and Hugo Garcia the beneficiaries. On more than one occasion, the Saints burst from the centre square, but only one of those moments became goals when Mattaes Phillipou kicked a long goal off one step.
Garcia collected 15 disposals, eight contested possessions, four clearances, six score involvements and a goal in the first half. Hall, who has been one of the Saints’ best this season kept pace with 14 disposals, six clearances, six score involvements and a goal.
Despite that Richmond had hung in with nine scoring shots from their 14 inside 50s with Noah Roberts-Thomson kicking two goals with his first two kicks in his AFL debut. It was an impressive start to the career of a cousin of Sydney premiership player Lewis Roberts-Thomson.
The Saints kept pushing in the third quarter but again were unable – either through inaccuracy or dropped marks – to make Richmond really pay.
The margin gradually increased but never became comfortable enough for the Saints to consider bringing on a non-bowler for an over as cricketers sometimes do for a laugh when the result is known.
First gamer Charlie Banfield, the son of No.1 pick and West Coast premiership player Drew Banfield, generated some excitement when he kicked a goal in his first match.
Banfield took up residency at former AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan’s house after arriving in Victoria and looked as comfortable on the Marvel Stadium wing as he would living in one of the McLachlan mansion’s wings.
In the end the Saints’ territorial dominance was enough to see them score 100 points for the fifth time this season, a signal that their attacking game is building given they kicked that tally just seven times in the previous three seasons.
They weren’t slick or frightening at any stage, but they were better than the Tigers to run out 36 point winners in a match that never reached great heights with St Kilda winning the inside 50 count 63-37.
