The Saints 16.18 (114) defeated the Tigers 10.9 (69) and have not lost a game since 30 August last year, when St Kilda went down to Geelong in the final round of the 2003 home and away season.
Led by its usual suspects, St Kilda had winners all over the ground, with Fraser Gehrig (five goals) and Nick Riewoldt (four goals) booting more than half of the team’s goals.
Midfielders Robert Harvey, Lenny Hayes, Stephen Powell and Luke Ball collected almost 100 touches between them, while youngster Matt Maguire was impressive down back.
For the Tigers, boom recruit Nathan Brown battled hard and finished with two goals, while Joel Bowden and Andrew Krakouer were among their side’s best.
St Kilda started the match in fine style to lead by 16 points at the 17-minute mark of the opening term.
Although the Saints lost makeshift ruckman Jason Blake early on, after he copped a knee in the back from Richmond’s Greg Stafford, the signs were ominous for the Tigers as superstar forward Matthew Richardson was out of the game by quarter-time.
Richardson left the ground on his own accord, with less than 10 minutes into the game, after injuring his right hamstring.
Despite Richardson’s absence, the Tigers hit back with four goals in the latter part of the term to grab the lead by three points at quarter-time, after Aaron Fiora put his side in front.
But he wasn’t the only Aaron in the thick of the action during the quarter, as St Kilda’s version – Hamill – was reported for an incident involving Richmond’s Ty Zantuck.
With tensions starting to mount, a scuffle broke out just as the siren sounded, with Richmond hard-nut Tim Fleming right in the heat of play.
Krakouer was an influential figure for the Tigers in the first term, booting two goals, which included a torpedo from outside 50 metres and a checkside gem on the run.
Although the Tigers held sway, the Saints quickly rectified the situation when the second term began, posting six goals to one to lead by 28 points just before the main change.
The Saints’ midfield brigade was on song, while up forward Gehrig was proving to be a fly in the Tigers’ ointment, when he booted two goals, to have four at half-time.
Boom Richmond recruit Brown managed to break the shackles and wobble one through just before half-time to reduce the deficit back to 22 points, after teammates Fleming and Kane Johnson hit the post with consecutive shots at goal.
Both sides were unable to capitalise on the scoreboard early on after the main break and it wasn’t until Riewoldt booted his second that the first goal was registered in the second half.
The niggling again came to the fore, when Richmond’s Kane Johnson and St Kilda’s Steven Baker clashed mid-way through the term, which resulted in the Saints’ run-with player being reported for striking the Tigers’ midfielder.
Both players then left the ground – Baker for disciplinary reasons and Johnson with a nasty gash to the head.
In what proved to be a low-scoring term, Gehrig bagged his fifth – and St Kilda’s only other major for the quarter – at the 22-minute mark to give the Saints a 35-point lead.
Ray Hall was Richmond’s only goalkicker in the third term, when he converted at the 25-minute mark, as the Saints took a 30 point lead into the final change.
With the Saints in full control heading into the last hurrah, the Tigers offered no genuine signs of a comeback in the final term and when the home side outscored the visitors with four goals to two, the result was never in doubt.
Saints coach Grant Thomas said he was always confident that his side would prevail. "It wasn’t what you called an energetic, inspiring performance, but nevertheless, it’s good to win by 40-odd points under those circumstances.”
“We felt that we were always going to win and I could feel at the breaks that they were always going to win.”
ST KILDA 4.3 10.6 12.12 16.18 (114)
RICHMOND 5.0 7.2 8.6 10.9 (69)
GOALS: St Kilda: Gehrig 5, Riewoldt 4, Powell 2, Ball, Black, Hamill, Harvey, Thompson
Richmond: Bowden 2, Brown 2, Krakouer 2, Fiora, Hall, Morrison, Rodan
BEST: St Kilda: Gehrig, Riewoldt, Harvey, Powell, Ball, Hayes, Maguire, Jones
Richmond: Brown, Bowden, Johnson, Krakouer
INJURIES: St Kilda: Blake (back) Richmond: Richardson (hamstring), Hyde (hip)
CHANGES: St Kilda X.Clarke replaced in selected side by Schwarze.
Richmond: Nil
REPORTS: St Kilda: Hamill (for allegedly tripping Ty Zantuck), Baker (for allegedly striking Kane Johnson)
Richmond:
UMPIRES: Allen, Ryan, McInerney
CROWD: 43,468 at Telstra Dome
