St Kilda spoils Richmond’s Dusty and Shai show in victory as Norwood Oval shines

Ross Lyon’s men held their nerve against a Shai Bolton and Dustin Martin masterclass, but the real winners were the punters with front-row seats to the action at Norwood Oval.

Scott Gullan

@gullanHeraldSun

3 min read

April 7, 2024 - 6:23PM

News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA – APRIL 07: Riley Bonner celebrates a goal with Mitch Owens at Norwood Oval. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

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It was like having Taylor Swift performing at the Richmond Town Hall.

Seeing greatness up so close is rare these days which is why the 9425 fans who crammed into Norwood Oval were privileged to witness a masterclass from two of the most skilled players in the game, Dustin Martin and Shai Bolton.

The local footy feel and tight confines of the suburban ground certainly was to the liking of the Tigers pair … for the first half at least.

Problems struck this pleasant Sunday afternoon viewing in the third quarter when St Kilda finally woke up from their slumber and slammed on six goals to somehow be in front at the final break.

Jack Higgins feeling the love of the crowd against his old side at Norwood Oval. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images.

It was almost too good to be true for Richmond fans’ early doors.

With the Norwood Food and Wine Festival going on in the street next to the ground, it had the feel of a special occasion and that’s when Dusty and his partner in crime Shai do their best work.

Martin had 11 touches in the first quarter and led all-comers still at halftime with 20. Every time he went near the ball something happened, it was Dusty of five years ago.

Near the end of the second quarter when the Saints finally started to show signs of life, the Brownlow Medallist took over the role as conductor. He put himself across half-back and slowed the game down, gesturing with his hands to his teammates to calm the farm.

Then when St Kilda kicked the opening three goals of the third quarter, Martin sensed the moment. After marking on the wing he ignored a couple of easy play-on options and instead went long to Bolton at half-forward.

His understudy was being marked by All-Australian defender Callum Wilkie but that wasn’t an issue. Bolton eased his opponent under the ball, gathered the spill and took one step to kicking a jaw-dropping dribble goal.

Toby Nankervis and Rowan Marshall grapple in the ruck on Sunday. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images.

That was his third for the afternoon and 10 minutes later he nailed a wonderful 50m set shot to keep the Tigers in the game.

Sadly for Richmond they are well down on soldiers so even when their two best players are creating highlight reels all over the place, there are too many leaks on the ship to hold out a finals contending team like St Kilda.

The Saints got themselves sorted in the midfield and in the end it was a weight of possession which opened the game up and found the Tigers wanting.

At the 16-minute mark Martin came to the bench just after St Kilda defender Riley Bonner had bombed a goal from 50m to make the margin 14 points.

His thoughts about the situation were obvious for all to see – again courtesy of being so close to the action – and there were a couple of expletives in frustration.

He desperately wanted another win and for a lot of the day thought it would happen. At least for Tigers fans who made the trek into the Adelaide suburbs, they got to see the master at work one last time.

On the flip side the St Kilda faithful got to see their captain Jack Steele produce a game right out of the leadership manual.

He picked his team up and carried them over the line, collecting a game-high 33 disposals – 18 contested possessions – 10 tackles and seven clearances. Not bad for a player who his coach Ross Lyon wasn’t so sure about when he arrived last year.

There are no doubts now about Steele now nor should there be any doubt about Gather Round and taking footy to the suburbs.