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Round 16 Pre-Game Articles - Page 1

Round 16 Pre-Match Articles Page 1 - Page 2
Round 15 Results and Post-Match Articles Page 1

Richmond: 4.1, 4.3, 5.5 9.7 (61)
St Kilda: 5.3, 10.5, 15.8 16.9 (105)
Goals: Richmond: Richardson 6, Tuck, Ottens, Moore
St Kilda: Riewoldt 5, Guerra 4, Milne 4, Hamill 2, Hayes
Best: Richmond: Ottens, Bowden, Johnson, Krakouer, Richardson
St Kilda: Harvey, Jones, Riewoldt, Guerra, Dal Santo, Hayes, Ball, Voss, Baker, Peckett
Injuries: St Kilda: Gram (hamstring)
Changes: Richmond: Schulz replaced in selected side by Rodan
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Head, Goldspink, Chamberlain (Goldspink (nose) replaced by Morris in the third quarter)
Crowd: 34,631 at Telstra Dome
Dr Dans Match Review and Player Review - Saintsational Fan Forum

Saints find hard edge against Tigers
. . . (Aussie Jones), Robert Harvey, Luke Ball and Nick Dal Santo cut Richmond apart, while up forward Nick Riewoldt's five goals were complemented by four-goal returns from Brent Guerra and Stephen Milne. But the biggest positive, according to coach Grant Thomas, was St Kilda rediscovering the hardness and attack on the ball, which saw it win the opening 10 games of the home-and-away season."We built a bit of a reputation in the first half of the year as being pretty hard and tough at the opposition," he said. "I thought that was the most pleasing aspect today, and that was our focus. To that end, I thought the guys did a really good job. I also thought it was a pretty even team performance. We didn't have a lot of standout individuals, but we had a good spread of contributors."
The Article - Jon Ralph - HeraldSun - 18Jul04
Saints back on track against Tigers - Damian Souness - sportsaustralia.com - 17Jul04

Small step by Saints
Lenny Hayes summoned teammates into a tight circle around him as they waited for Austinn Jones to complete a short, post-match TV interview. The skipper's message was frank. That this was a small, but significant step for St Kilda before the real test. While the 44-point win against Richmond was convincing, Hayes and the boys know the true indicators of whether they have clambered out of the mid-season nosedive will be the next two weeks when they confront Essendon at Telstra Dome on Friday night and Geelong at Skilled Stadium the following round.
The Article - Bruce Matthews - HeraldSun - 19Jul04

Saints back to their best
St Kilda has bounced back to form in an emphatic manner, disposing of Richmond by 44 points at Telstra Dome on Saturday afternoon. After a tough last five matches which have yielded just the one win, the Saints relished their return to the Dome, keeping the Tigers goalless for more than a half, while rediscovering the killer instinct which was so evident early in the year. The 38-point half-time margin probably flattered them but the final score, 16.9 (105) to 9.7 (61), was a fair indication of their dominance of the game. The success was built on a sublime midfield performance that came in spite of Brad Ottens's domination in the ruck. Chief among the onballers was veteran Robert Harvey, who defied his 32-year-old legs and a succession of much younger opponents to rack up 25 touches. He had plenty of support from Luke Ball, Nick Dal Santo and Lenny Hayes, who all won plenty of the ball.
The Article - Bren O'Brien/Sportal - saints.com.au - 17Jul04
Match Stats - afl.com.au

Saints take the smarts to the max
. . . "Today was a big step forward in relation to an even contribution from everyone, and 100 per cent from 100 per cent of the team, 100 per cent of the time," coach Grant Thomas said of his side's win. Unlike Max's inspiration, this was not St Kilda simply seeing what it wanted to see. To begin with, the mess that was Richmond was a mess created by St Kilda's mostly unrelenting physicality. This had been a hallmark of the Saints' rise to the top of the ladder but had strangely deserted them at times in recent weeks. "I think we built a reputation in the first half of the year of being pretty hard and tough at the footy and the opposition. That's probably the most pleasing aspect today, and that was our focus," Thomas said.
The Article - Mark Fuller - TheAge - 18Jul04
Saints reclaim halo by subduing Tigers - Karen Lyon - TheAge - 18Jul04

'Spent' Saints show signs of life
St Kilda coach Grant Thomas was not overly concerned that his team failed to run out four quarters yesterday against Richmond in a game they dominated, saying the Saints were "spent" due to having only two players left on the interchange bench by the end of the game. St Kilda led by 10 goals at three-quarter-time at Telstra Dome, but the margin was reduced to 44 points at the final siren. Stephen Powell and Jason Gram were both early casualties with ankle and back-related hamstring injuries respectively, so Thomas believed the fade-out was not too unexpected. "I think (not running the game out) is a bit of a reflection of probably being a bit spent," he said. "We worked really hard for the first three quarters, we have had a lot of games where we have had big, big wins and it's not necessarily the best thing."
The Article - Lyall Johnson - TheAge - 18Jul04

Saints back to their heavenly form
. . . Richmond took the game up to St Kilda in the first term as the lead changed five times. But two goals to Brent Guerra late in the quarter, after he had badly sprayed three long kicks, meant the Saints went into the first break with an eight-point lead. St Kilda then blew the game apart in the second term as Richmond fell down horribly whenever it tried to go into attack. The Tigers lacked confidence and system ahead of centre and their frequent turnovers meant St Kilda's injury-depleted defence was never put under serious pressure. Robert Harvey, Lenny Hayes, Luke Ball and Nick Dal Santo dominated across centre to set the game up for Riewoldt and the other Saints forwards.
The Article - AAP - HeraldSun - 17Jul04

Jury's out on Saints
. . . St Kilda played with and then demolished Richmond by 44 points at Telstra Dome yesterday, but the Tigers fell away to such an extent that the jury is still out on the Saints' premiership hopes. From the first bounce, St Kilda was all Grant Thomas could ask of his squad - disciplined, well-drilled and prepared to do the little things that had eluded it in losing four of their past five games. Consequently, it took less than a quarter to break Richmond's initial resistance, but the four points were relevant only for keeping St Kilda on top of the premiership ladder. Rather it was the resurgent form of Brett Voss, Nick Dal Santo, Brent Guerra and Aussie Jones, and the consistent four-quarter performance that at least temporarily righted a ship that had been dangerously all at sea for more than a month.
The Article - Jon Ralph - TheAustralian - 18Jul04

Saints tame Tigers
The Saints blew the Tigers away with a 10-goal streak through the second and third quarters before running out 16.9 (105) to 9.7 (61) winners. Aussie Jones impressed for the Saints with 28 touches and six marks and was rewarded for his efforts with the inaugural Ian Stewart Medal, presented to the best and most courageous player on ground. Jones said the win was the result of a strong team effort. "We wanted to get that winning feeling back and show opposition sides we are the real deal," he said. Nick Riewoldt starred up front for the Saints with five goals, while Brent Guerra and Stephen Milne kicked four each.
The Article - Katie Franklin - ABC Sport - 17Jul04

Saints savage Tigers
St Kilda coach Grant Thomas must wait for the next fortnight to know for sure whether his team is over its mid-season AFL slump. But he saw plenty of good signs in the Saints 44-point win over Richmond . . . The Saints had lost four of their previous five games after opening the season with a 10-game winning streak. They were always going to beat the second-bottom Tigers at Telstra Dome, where the Saints have not played since their slump started. But the manner in which St Kilda worried its opposition into mistakes and maintained a strong workrate showed Thomas the signs are good for the upcoming big matches against Essendon and Geelong. "We built a bit of a reputation in the first half for being pretty hard and tough at the footy and the opposition," Thomas said. "That was probably the most pleasing aspect today ... our focus."
The Article - AAP - 7Sports - 17Jul04

Jones honoured to win first Ian Stewart Medal
St Kilda veteran Austinn Jones was delighted to have won the inaugural Ian Stewart Medal for the best on ground in Saturday's win over Richmond, but said afterwards that the business of helping the Saints to a successful finals campaign was more important to him. Jones received the nod of the triple Brownlow Medal winning great as the best player afield and few in the crowd of 34,631 would disagree after Jones grabbed 21 kicks and seven handpasses in a typically effective effort across half back and on the wing. It was somewhat fitting considering Jones wears the same St Kilda jersey number which Stewart wore in his Brownlow-winning years of 1965 and 1966. "Ian Stewart wore number five, and I go to training every day and see his name on my locker. It's a real honour to receive the first Ian Stewart Medal," he said after the match. Jones said the thought of winning the medal had never crossed his mind in the lead up to the match.
The Article - Bren O'Brien/Sportal - saints.com.au - 17Jul04

Ian Stewart Medal - Second edition
St Kilda veteran Austinn Jones was delighted to have won the inaugural Ian Stewart Medal for the best on ground in Saturday's win over Richmond, but said afterwards that the business of helping the Saints to a successful finals campaign was more important to him.
Jones honoured to win first Ian Stewart MedalThe Article - Bren O'Brien/Sportal - saints.com.au - 17Jul04