AFL 2022: Richmond v St Kilda match report and latest news

Damien Hardwick hits out at Richmond’s ‘lack of discipline’ and said his underachieving players ‘need to be accountable for their actions’ after their capitulation against St Kilda.

Jay Clark and Marc McGowan

7 min read

April 4, 2022 - 8:12AM

News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom

Max King celebrates one of his four final-quarter goals. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

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St Kilda coach Brett Ratten has lauded Max King as a “pretty special” player after the gun spearhead led a last-quarter demolition job on Richmond on Sunday.

For the second week in a row, the No.4 draft pick caught fire late, booting four last-term goals to roll Richmond by 33 points at Marvel Stadium.

King’s hauls have helped get the Saints’ season firmly back on track at 2-1 with Ratten adamant the come-from-behind victory on Sunday would fuel the team’s belief.

But there were concerns for livewire forward Jack Higgins, who suffered suspected concussion in a hard tackle, two years after he returned from dual brain surgeries.

Higgins feared his career was over after suffering terrible headaches from serious brain bleeds which required two surgeries and sidelined him for months.

On Sunday Higgins was dumped to the turf in a tackle near the goal-line and was substituted out of the match, but Ratten said the head knock had not re-ignited any past issues.

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Jack Higgins talks with former Richmond teammates Liam Baker and Jack Ross after the Saints rolled Richmond. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

King has nailed nine goals in the opening three rounds and on Sunday made the most of a defence which lost Dylan Grimes to a hamstring injury in the second half.

Ratten said the 21-year-old full forward stepped up when it mattered and had the height, mobility and brilliance to change games quickly.

“He is still growing, but he is pretty exciting when he launches at the ball,” Ratten said.

“The great thing was he kicked a few big goals to give us a little bit of breathing space and everybody expects Max to do everything every week.

“He is developing well, but some of his attributes (are super).

“To be 204cm and run around and launch at the footy and do what he does, he is pretty special, but he still has a lot of growth.”

The Saints made a big call when they nabbed King at pick No.4 ahead of Port Adelaide’s Connor Rozee and Western Bulldogs’ Bailey Smith, but the Saints’ investment in the matchwinning tall have paid dividends.

Ratten opted for a new three-pronged ruck combination but the senior coach stopped short of saying it was the way he would go for Sunday’s clash against Hawthorn at the MCG.

Max King caught fire in the final quarter. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

He said Higgins was recovering well post-match after suffering the concussion.

Asked whether there were any worries regarding his brain surgeries, Ratten said “No I don’t think so. I think everything was right.

“We have got terrific doctors at the football club and they have had a look at him, so I can see why you would be asking the question about a player that has gone through some hardship with a head knock and surgery and things like that,” Ratten said.

“It is a thing you’ve got to be mindful of. We will look after him and hopefully he is back pretty soon.”

Jack Billings will be unavailable for at least three more games after suffering a setback with his hamstring injury this week.

Jack Steele wins the hard ball ahead of Jake Aarts and Kamdyn McIntosh. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick lashed his players for their continued poor discipline in the aftermath of the Tigers’ latest fadeout defeat to St Kilda on Sunday.

Marlion Pickett’s off-the-ball shove on Dan Butler late in the third quarter, which resulted in Ben Long being brought from the 50m arc to the goalline, incensed Hardwick and only spurred the Saints on further.

That moment delivered St Kilda the third of its matchwinning 10-straight goals as Richmond coughed up a 25-point lead to lose by almost six goals.

“It’s disappointing, and the cheapness of some of the free kicks (was the worst part),” Hardwick said.

“Just discipline and too high and the stoppage free kicks hurt us once again. We’ve got to get better.

“We’ve spoken about that all year – about trying to eradicate that from our game – but it creeps in at critical stages and it’s really, really costly.

“You can’t defend from a free kick (and) you can’t put pressure on – they get a free disposal.”

Marlion Pickett gets involved in a wrestle with Saints Tim Membrey and Jack Hayes after giving away an off-the-ball free kick. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Hardwick said it was up to his players to “be accountable for their actions” rather than him constantly discussing it with them.

“There’s some that are 50-50s but there are others where it’s just poor technique, or we just give away a down-the-field free kick, or the ill-discipline one like the Marlion one, which is disappointing,” he said.

“The guy’s having a shot from 50 and all of a sudden he’s going from the goalsquare, so that hurts.”

It was the Tigers’ second final-quarter hiding in three rounds after they gave up a 15-point three-quarter time advantage in their season-opening loss to Carlton.

Hardwick saw similarities in the Blues game to what happened against the Saints, particularly in their contested-ball struggles and “fundamentals”, including a lack of pressure.

“There were stages where we actually had an out-number around the contest, but just couldn’t win it,” he said.

“They were cleaner, they were tougher and got the ball forward.”

Co-captain Dylan Grimes (hamstring) was an injury casualty, coinciding with St Kilda ripping the match from Richmond’s grasp.

He will be missing for Saturday’s clash with the Western Bulldogs at the MCG and beyond, but Richmond will regain Jack Riewoldt (thumb) after Hardwick made the call not to risk him against the Saints.

But the three-time premiership coach said he would spend the week weighing up whether to play all of Riewoldt, Noah Balta, Tom Lynch and ruck pair Toby Nankervis and Ivan Soldo.

Sydney Stack didn’t play in the earlier VFL match after being a close contact of a positive Covid-19 case.

How Saints steamrolled Tigers

– Marc McGowan

A Max King-inspired St Kilda has stormed over the top of Richmond to win back-to-back matches for the first time since July last year.

King had six disposals to three-quarter time but booted four of the Saints’ seven final-term goals as they chased down the Tigers for a memorable 33-point victory that propels them inside the top eight.

The match swung viciously midway through the third quarter, starting with a brilliant Brad Crouch finish that sparked a remarkable run of ten consecutive St Kilda goals either side of three-quarter time.

That streak erased Richmond’s match-high 25-point buffer at a time Damien Hardwick’s men looked in complete control.

Max King took seven marks and kicked four goals in a dominant final quarter. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

St Kilda’s purple patch coincided with Tigers co-captain Dylan Grimes – King’s direct opponent – exiting the contest with a right hamstring injury.

Former Kangaroo Robbie Tarrant switched onto King and was no match for the Saints’ giant forward.

But it was St Kilda’s midfield that deserves much of the credit for turning the game around, including a career-best Jade Gresham performance, along with Crouch, Seb Ross and Jack Steele.

Gresham (10 score involvements) and Steele both amassed 32 touches, while Crouch had 29 disposals and 11 clearances, and Ross compiled 28.

OPENING-QUARTER FIREWORKS

The free-flowing tone was set in only 13 seconds, when a brilliant Richmond chain out of the centre ended in Liam Baker snapping a lightning-quick goal.

Within 34 seconds, the Tigers had two, with Shai Bolton bombing a goal on the run from 65m.

Callum Wilkie opened the Saints’ account a few minutes after – with the first major of his 66-game career – and there were 12 goals between the clubs by the end of an almost-35-minute quarter.

Ex-Tiger Dan Butler kicked two of St Kilda’s six, while former Saint Matt Parker matched that effort and missed another.

St Kilda forward Jack Higgins, who played 43 matches for Richmond, also booted a goal but was subbed out before quarter-time with a concussion after a brutal tackle.

Marlion Pickett crashes over Tim Membrey. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Jack Hayes gives off a handball under pressure. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

MIXED RESULTS FOR SAINTS’ EXPERIMENT

St Kilda’s pre-season signing Jack Hayes was a revelation in the opening fortnight, convincing coach Brett Ratten to keep him in the side even with Paddy Ryder back.

Ryder and Rowan Marshall took care of the ruck duties, with Hayes instead planted in attack, alongside Max King, Tim Membrey and whichever of Ryder or Marshall wasn’t in the centre.

Ratten might have to rethink the approach after only Membrey had any impact among his tall forwards in the first three quarters – and his direct opponent Nathan Broad was an intercept machine.

King broke loose to boot four final-term goals after Dylan Grimes was subbed out to help the Saints across the line and snatched six marks inside 50.

But they also had only four tackles inside 50, after amassing 24 across their first two matches.

Damien Hardwick needs to find answers to Richmond’s horror collapse. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

NANK’S LEGEND GROWS

Toby Nankervis is a much-loved figure inside and out of Tigerland and he only enhanced his reputation in a third-quarter clash with Dougal Howard.

Richmond’s new co-captain charged down the Sherrin inside 50 and smashed into Howard from the opposite direction, with the Saint crashing to the surface.

The problem? Tom Lynch failed to kick what would have been a team-lifting goal.

Nankervis was rewarded soon after with a soccer goal after Jack Ross dispossessed Brad Hill in the goalsquare.