RICHMOND has lost a thrilling encounter to St Kilda in the most dramatic of circumstances after a Jack Riewoldt kick after the siren was unable to score the goal that would have given the Tigers victory at Telstra Dome on Saturday night.
Instead, the Tigers 16.11 (107) went down to the Saints 17.8 (110).
Riewoldt took a mark at centre half-forward with roughly 10 seconds remaining, but his kick from outside 50 didn't register a score, giving St Kilda its 10th consecutive victory over Richmond, meaning the Tigers have not beaten the Saints since round four, 2003.
Just moments before Riewoldt's kick, another young Tiger, Kelvin Moore, had the opportunity to nail victory from inside 50, but his kick slammed into the woodwork, just as Nathan Brown's effort under pressure from the pocket had.
It capped off a remarkable match that saw repeated lead changes throughout the night.
For the victors, livewire Stephen Milne played a blinder, booting seven goals, and for the Tigers Matthew Richardson and Brown also played beauties.
Richardson continued his All-Australian form with another excellent performance up forward and along the wing. He finished the match with five goals, 22 disposals and 13 marks.
Brown played statistically – and arguably – his best match since he sustained a shocking broken leg against Melbourne in round 10, 2005. He disposed of the ball 29 times and booted two goals.
Ruckman Troy Simmonds and vice-captain Chris Newman were also excellent for the Tigers, while Robert Harvey and Nick Dal Santo shone for the Saints.
Despite the win for the Saints, St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt could be in doubt for next Saturday night's eagerly awaited Hall of Fame Tribute Match, after he injured his knee in the second half.
Riewoldt came from the field at the 11-minute mark of the third term and headed straight for the rooms. He took no further part in the match.
Tiger Brett Deledio got crunched front on by Saint Steven Baker late in the match and he left the field, with what appeared to be a corked thigh, but he came back to the field in the thrilling final minutes.
Another Dream Team squad member Justin Koschitzke had his number taken for striking Simmonds. Regardless of the outcome, Koschitzke will still be eligible to play in next week’s match.
Both teams made late changes. Tiger big man Graham Polak was replaced by midfielder Daniel Jackson and St Kilda brought in Raphael Clarke after it lost defender Max Hudghton with a hamstring injury.
The opening term was an evenly fought contest. Both teams scored four goals, but three more scoring shots from the Saints gave them a three-point advantage at the first break.
Troy Simmonds became the first multiple goal-scorer in the match when he put the Tigers in front with the first major of the second term. It was the start of a goal-for-goal run.
But when Matthew White took the game on and landed a beauty on the run and Brown somehow managed to weave through heavy traffic, the Tigers nailed consecutive goals deep in red-time for an 11-point point buffer.
Brown was Richmond's major ball-winner to the main break with 17 touches, with the Tigers dominating the hard ball gets 31 to 14.
The Saints started the second half in great style, slamming on five unanswered goals to jump out to an 18-point lead. It wasn't until Mitch Morton kicked truly at the 18-minute mark of the third term that Richmond registered its first for the second half.
Morton's second major kick-started a Tiger revival and by three-quarter time, Richmond was back in front by the narrowest of margins.
It set-up what proved to be a stunning arm-wrestle in the final term.
ST KILDA 4.4 7.5 13.7 17.8 (110)
RICHMOND 4.1 9.4 13.8 16.11 (107)
Goals: St Kilda: S Milne 7 C Gardiner 2 R Harvey 2 F Gehrig N Riewoldt A Schneider D Armitage S Birss N Dal Santo. Richmond: M Richardson 5 T Simmonds 2 N Brown 2 S Edwards 2 M Morton 2 M White 2 J Riewoldt
Best: St Kilda: S Milne R Harvey L Ball N Dal Santo A Schneider S Fisher. Richmond: T Simmonds N Brown M Richardson B Deledio L McGuane K Johnson
Umpires: H Kennedy, S Wenn, T Keating
Official crowd: 40,585 at Telstra Dome
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL
