St Kilda faces mounting injury toll, Alan Richardson questions players’ belief

ST KILDA’S pain runs deeper than the loss of defender Hugh Goddard for the season with a snapped Achilles tendon.

Hugh Goddard is taken off the field.

ST KILDA’S pain runs deeper than the loss of novice defender Hugh Goddard for the season with a snapped Achilles tendon — it includes the pained question of why the Saints are mentally brittle on the road.

St Kilda coach Alan Richardson was not sparing anyone — not even himself — from a searching review after the near-record 88-point loss to Adelaide at Adelaide Oval. He questioned if any of his players, except defender Jarryn Geary, believed they could win in yesterday’s twilight game.

The Saints lost Goddard late in the second term when he simply turned to stop seven-goal Crows forward Josh Jenkins getting behind him. Earlier, in the opening minutes of the game, captain Nick Riewoldt jarred a knee and continued to play under duress. And young forward Paddy McCartin was in an Adelaide hospital on Sunday night after being sandwiched — and concussed — between teammate Jack Newnes and Crows defender Luke Brown.

Goddard was playing his first AFL match of the season and will be out of the game for 12 months. McCartin needs to pass a concussion test and be cleared of scans on his neck.

And Richardson is keeping the book open for Riewoldt to play a resurgent Carlton at Etihad Stadium on Sunday. The veteran forward will need scans to check the state of the long-battered knee.

“I’ve learned to not ever rule Nick out,” Richardson said. “He could have his leg coming off and he would find a way to come back.”

Young defender Hugh Goddard gets taken from the ground on a stretcher. Picture: Tom Huntley

Paddy McCartin is stretchered off the field after a sickening head clash.

Richardson regarded the four-quarter smashing from the Crows as worse than his team’s 103-point thrashing from West Coast at Subiaco Oval in Perth on May 15.

“Now it depends on how we respond,” Richardson said. “Tonight was a very poor performance. We played against a very, very good footy team, so our two worst performances — two in a month now — have been against really strong footy teams when we have had to travel.

“We’re looking at ourselves from a coaching perspective. I am looking at myself in terms of getting a group in a frame of mind where they believe they can be in the contest.

“We were not able to get hold of the footy at all. We got beaten really badly inside — and just demolished on the outside.”

Richardson praised Geary for a “fantastic job” on Crows matchwinning forward Eddie Betts, who was held to one goal. “He never stopped fighting; he was never beaten,” Richardson said. “Everyone could take a leaf from his book.”

The final numbers were damning. The Saints conceded 69 inside-50s to Adelaide while allowing the Crows to dominate possession with a 475-298 disposal count. And Richardson took the 21-9 free kick count that favoured Adelaide as a reflection of his players being second to the ball.

“Now we have to earn our money as coaches to find out why,” Richardson said. “Today we did not believe. We were on the back foot. We played really reactionary. The numbers will be horrific … they are the outcome of something. Our guys did not believe they could win that game, certainly after the way the Crows started the game (with six goals). They (the Crows) were outstanding. That is the best that we’ve seen.”

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Originally published as St Kilda faces mounting injury toll, Alan Richardson questions players’ belief