Underperfoming midfield is killing St Kilda, and it’s not the only issue writes Mark Robinson

IS ST Kilda tough or fake tough? An underperforming midfield is killing the Saints and this weekend it must stand up, writes MARK ROBINSON.

Jack Billings of the Saints. Picture: Mark Dadswell

IT’S judgment day for St Kilda.

They can’t leave Launceston without the four points. If they do our concerns, and probably theirs, will be real: They ain’t good enough yet.

They tease, the Saints, which is always the go with teams on the rise.

They play some great footy, but can’t ultimately deliver.

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They succumbed to Melbourne in Round 1 because the Demons played keepings off. They pushed West Coast on the road in Round 2 and yielded with 10 minutes to play. They matched the Cats for three quarters in Round 5 and were humiliated in the final 30 minutes.

It was thought 2017 could be the year — Richardson’s fourth season in charge — in which the Saints made a statement.

They haven’t. Yet.

A loss against the rejuvenated Hawks and the Saints will be 2-4 with the Giants, Carlton, Sydney and the Bulldogs to come in the next month — all at Etihad Stadium.

They could be 3-7 and hopes of playing finals will lie defeated and forlorn in the turf of their home ground.

That’s the future, but the issue is the now.

Expectation was high in the summer and the expectation has not been met.

For the first time this season, Richardson was desperately disappointed — his word — after the Geelong debacle last weekend, when the Saints were outscored 8.4 to 1.3 in the final term.

“Really disappointed with the last quarter,’’ Richardson said in the post-match.

“To get outworked, to be physically outplayed as significantly as we were through the midfield was disappointing.

“From a games played perspective we need to be getting to that stage where those guys in there stand up and have a bigger influence.

“One group of midfielders led by their great players put their hand up to be outstanding in terms of their want to get the ball forward and drive their team and we weren’t able to match it.’’

He added: “One team took hold from a midfield perspective and we didn’t go there. That was disappointing.’’

He said that publicly and calmly. Privately, you’d imagine it was said with more verve and urgency.

Jack Billings is yet to live up to his pre-draft hype.

There are positives in the middle, and time and experience will help, but the fact is his midfield is letting him and the team down.

David Armitage and Jack Steven have missed games, but the collective numbers are damning.

The Saints are said to be blue collar, hardworking, tough and resilient, but the numbers don’t show that.

They are fake tough.

Not one St Kilda midfielder is rated elite or above average for contested footy this season and only Jack Steele and Seb Ross are above average in pressure points. The Crows have four players.

Luke Dunstan paid the price this week, but what about Jack Newnes, Jack Billings and Sam Gilbert? All three fail badly in those two areas.

Clearly, the ruckmen don’t do enough. Tom Hickey averages 79 SuperCoach points per game which is below average and Billy Longer, in his first game last week, had 56.

They are better than that, we’ve seen it, but this season, those two have given nothing around the ground, nothing on the scoreboard and nothing in the ruck.

They are killing Richardson.

The whole midfield is killing Richardson.

The midfield group is either 16th, 17th or 18th in the league for disposals, kicking efficiency, uncontested ball and clearances.

Their supposed one wood, contested possessions, has them ranked 11th.

Against the Cats, they were exposed on many fronts when the game was up for grabs.

The midfield surrendered, Nick Riewoldt had a bung knee and ankle which meant there wasn’t a matchwinner forward, and the defence, which has been individually outstanding and only average collectively, was under siege.

Where were their stars like Selwood and Dangerfield?

Who are their stars? Riewoldt and Steven, but Jack’s underdone. Seb Ross is coming along nicely, but he ain’t a star yet.

Who else is there? Who will make a stand? Who changes games?

Two of the best players this year have been Riewoldt, who is 34, and Montagna, 33. Ross, Dylan Roberton and Steven are in that bunch.

The rest of them come and go such as Josh Bruce, Tim Membrey, Billings, Newnes, Maverick Weller and Gilbert.

So, who are the Saints?

They are a pressure team, but have they anything else?

Cats coach Chris Scott said this week on AFL360 the Saints have more depth as a team than just applying pressure.

They do move the ball exceptionally well from the back half to the front half and when they want to, or are allowed to, play the outside game, it can be done.

In Round 1 game against Melbourne, which they lost by five goals after leading by four goals at the first break, the Demons dismantled St Kilda’s game by reducing its ability to apply pressure.

Melbourne kept the ball. The Demons were +59 for uncontested marks and +107 for disposals.

In Round 4 against Collingwood, which St Kilda won by 14 points, the Saints did a Demons. They were +34 for uncontested possessions and +32 uncontested marks.

Tom Hickey and Billy Longer have both underperformed in the ruck this season.

They can play both styles.

One problem is they have only won the contested footy count once and that was against the Brisbane Lions.

The major positive — and why Saints fans must stick fat — is St Kilda is ranked No.2 for scores from inside-50s.

But its other major problem is it misses too many shots at goal — it is ranked 17th, above only Collingwood, for accuracy.

What a mixed bag the Saints are.

They get ball inside, their midfield is getting smashed, the back-half ball movement is outstanding, they need more stars and they stiffen up in front of the big sticks.

Their goalkicking, like their ruckmen, surely is frustrating the coach.

Richardson often talks about his “kickers and catchers’’, about where forwards run and where the ball is kicked to.

In the opening minute of the last quarter against the Cats, and with the Saints five points in front, they had a situation which ended terribly for them.

Montagna was streaming along the wing and kicked long and high to Bruce against Tom Lonergan. They were 35m directly in front of goal and it was an easy spoil for Lonergan to effect.

As it turned out, Bruce barely contested it and the ball was quickly spirited away by the Cats’ defence.

There was no lead from Bruce, no kick to his advantage from Montagna, and that one moment was an example of the need for improvement in their “kickers and catchers”.

A better kick, a mark and a goal and, who knows, momentum was full swing.

It’s little things like that which can help, while big things like a harder-working and functional midfield can definitely help.

Today’s the day when they have to stand up.