Nick Riewoldt suffers whiplash but expected to play next week

NICK Riewoldt was sent to hospital after suffering whiplash in a brutal hit but St Kilda is confident he will play against Gold Coast next Saturday.

Round 1 St Kilda v GWS

ST KILDA believes Nick Riewoldt will play against Gold Coast next Saturday, confident he can overcome a case of whiplash that saw him sent to hospital for precautionary scans.

The inspirational skipper had already kicked one goal and was at the centre of a St Kilda comeback in the last term when he was taken out from behind.

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Serial pest Tom Bugg crashed into the unsuspecting Riewoldt, with St Kilda coach Alan Richardson labelling the act “poor” if Bugg made a beeline for the Saints skipper.

St Kilda kept coming and lost by just nine points, with Richardson lauding Riewoldt’s bravery in playing five weeks after the death of sister Maddie.

But while Riewoldt was attended by St Kilda’s doctors and looked dazed and confused, Richardson expects him to front up against the Suns at Metricon Stadium.

“The doctors are pretty positive. We have a six-day break, so we will just have to wait and see,’’ he said.

“We are at this stage really confident. As confident as you can be before they go to hospital that he will be ready to go next week.

“I had a bit of a look (at the incident), and it will be the player who will know what his intention was.

“If he intended running into the back of someone not bracing for collision it was poor. If he just stumbled into him, that’s OK. He will know.”

Nick Riewoldt lies on the turf after being flattened by Tom Bugg. Picture: George Salpigtidis

GWS coach Leon Cameron refused to condemn Bugg, who was a target for St Kilda players including Josh Bruce after his last-term hit.

“Until I have seen the footage it’s hard for me to comment. What I will comment on is Bugg’s last quarter. In his 50th game I thought he was fantastic,” Cameron said.

Some critics had wondered if St Kilda would win a game this year but they showed plenty of heart in coming back at the more accomplished GWS.

“It was a game where we certainly could have won. We dominated the last quarter, we kicked 4.7, the entries our way were 17-5, and I was just pleased we played really aggressive play-to-win footy,’’ Richardson said.

“When Rooey went off the ground the boys went to another level in terms of wanting to do the right thing by their mate.

“We can be proud of that but we need to be good at the start, that’s when games of footy are won.”

Riewoldt struggles to his feet. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

Jack Billings, the No. 3 selection from 2013’s draft, should return next week after making a successful return from a hamstring strain in the VFL.

But with Tim Membrey and Josh Bruce giving a target to the Saints midfielders, last year’s No. 1 pick Patrick McCartin will have to wait.

“Patty is still learning the craft, he is still learning what the next level is about. He is going to be a fantastic player but we will play him when he’s ready,’’ Richardson said.

He paid tribute to Leigh Montagna, who battled through the pain of a meniscus injury to win 24 touches and affect nine tackles.

High-profile GWS recruit Ryan Griffen was stifled by tagger Mav Weller, restricting him to just five kicks and 10 handballs.

“I thought Mav played like a leader. He is a 22-year-old 50-gamer who we put in our leadership group so he needs to play that role with real spirit,’’ Richardson said.