St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt says a more natural goal-kicking routine seems to be yielding results, after he led the Saints to their opening win of the AFL season.
The skipper booted 4.2 as the Saints belted Gold Coast 21.13 (139) to 7.5 (47) at Etihad Stadium on Sunday, dominating from the outset with a five goals to none first term.
While the result was predictable, there were good signs for the Saints.
First-year coach Scott Watters was most pleased that his side comfortably won the contested possessions, an area he has emphasised but which they lost to Port Adelaide in the opening round.
“We felt that contested ball is an area – we want to become a club that competes in really strongly week in, week out,” Watters said.
“That’s the only way you move forward.
“It was documented that we were shaded in that area last week and I thought we went up another level.”
Watters also highlighted the leadership shown by stars Brendon Goddard, Lenny Hayes, Nick Dal Santo and Riewoldt, all among the Saints’ best.
Perhaps even more heartening for St Kilda fans were strong showings from hard-working, but less experienced pair Jack Steven (22 disposals, six tackles, one goal) and David Armitage (22 disposals, 10 tackles, two goals).
First-year player Terry Milera (two goals) also had some nice moments, as did towering forward Rhys Stanley, who took seven marks and kicked two goals.
Riewoldt took 11 marks and kicked four majors.
Notably, he looked at ease when preparing for set shots, with a shorter, more fluent approach.
While it is early days, he has kicked 6.3 this season, a considerably better conversion rate than last year’s tally of 36.31.
“I’ve tinkered with it a little bit, I suppose just tried to make it more replicate my field kicking,” Riewoldt said.
“My field kicking’s always been pretty strong.
“Obviously I’ve had problems from time to time with my set shots.
“It just feels a bit more natural, it’s just something I’ve been working on and it felt pretty good.”
Suns skipper Gary Ablett was a clear standout for the losers, excelling with 40 touches and two goals despite the close attention of Clint Jones.
But coach Guy McKenna said apart from Ablett and David Swallow, few Suns won enough of the contested ball as they were blown away by the Saints.
“(They looked) startled, shocked, I would say we certainly looked bewildered out there,” McKenna said.
“They just obviously got their hands on the ball first.
“If you don’t win the contested footy, you don’t get to control the game for long and we certainly didn’t.”
