St Kilda spearhead Max King has kicked an equal career-best six goals to help the Saints take another significant step towards claiming a finals berth with a 36-point win over Richmond.
King hit the scoreboard in each of the first three quarters at Marvel Stadium on Sunday as the Saints posted a comfortable 14.9 (93) to 8.9 (57) victory.
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It put Ross Lyon's sixth-placed side a win and percentage clear of ninth with two rounds left in the race for top-eight spots.
The Tigers are all but out of finals contention, with the loss loss leaving them two games and significant percentage outside the eight.
Noah Balta had no way of stopping King, who fired in his second game back from a shoulder injury, while Jade Gresham (22 disposals, three goals) was also dangerous in attack.
Saints ball-winners Jack Sinclair (33 disposals), Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (27), Seb Ross (25) and ruckman Rowan Marshall (25) were all busy.
Saints ruck brigade 😇 pic.twitter.com/LqAQEurYwP
— St Kilda FC (@stkildafc) August 13, 2023
Jayden Short (26 touches), Dustin Martin (25) and Tim Taranto (24) were Richmond's chief possession winners, while Jacob Bauer and Liam Baker kicked two goals each.
King booted two of St Kilda's five goals in both the first and second quarters as Richmond's pressure game went missing.
The Tigers laid just 20 tackles to the Saints' 36 in the opening half.
There was a scare when Daniel Rioli was helped from the field during the second quarter after rolling his right ankle while attempting to change direction.
Rioli returned after the main break but did not have a huge impact.
He wasn't alone in a Tigers side that was comprehensively outplayed.
The Saints led 10.2 to 5.3 at halftime and while scoring slowed in the third quarter, the home side still managed to increase its advantage to 43 points by the final change.
Richmond won the final stanza - 2.4 to 1.3 - when the sting had gone out of the contest.
St Kilda forward Tim Membrey was goalless from 15 disposals on return from a knee injury but got through unscathed in his first game since Round 9.
Sharp-shooting Saints dominate early
St Kilda was deadly in front of the big sticks, kicking seven goals straight before eventually registering their first minor score of the game midway through the second term. It wasn't the only stat that the Saints dominated early - they smashed the Tigers in tackles (22-8) and marks (33-18) in a match-defining opening quarter which set up the important win.
Tigers' Marvel misery continues
Marvel Stadium hasn't been a happy hunting ground for Richmond in recent times. Former coach Damien Hardwick infamously declared "I hate coming here" in 2021, and since then, the Tigers have failed to record a win in their eight matches at the Docklands venue, losing seven and drawing one.
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04:28
RD23 | Lyon post-game press conference
Ross Lyon fronts the media after the Saints' 33-point win over the Cats.
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00:46
RD23 | Crouch trickery ends in cracking Cooper clunk
Brad Crouch feeds Jack Steele with a dazzling handball before the skipper finds Cooper Sharman for a high-flying mark.
AFL
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01:00
RD23 | Phillipou pulls off a spin before kicking a silky goal
Mattaes Phillipou kicks a classy goal as the Saints lead the Cats
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01:27
RD23 | Higgins presented guernsey before milestone game
Development coach Damien Carroll presents Jack Higgins with his 100th-game guernsey.
AFL
Video
ST KILDA 5.0 10.2 13.6 14.9 (93)
RICHMOND 2.1 5.3 6.5 8.9 (57)
GOALS
St Kilda: King 6, Gresham 3, Higgins, Marshall, Owens, Phillipou, Sharman
Richmond: Baker 2, Bauer 2, Broad, Bolton, Riewoldt, Taranto
BEST
St Kilda: Sinclair, Ross, King, Steele, Marshall, Gresham
Richmond: Taranto, Short, Nankervis, Martin, Broad
INJURIES
St Kilda: Nil
Richmond: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
St Kilda: Hunter Clark (replaced Cooper Sharman at three-quarter time)
Richmond: Rhyan Mansell (replaced Ivan Soldo in the third quarter)
Crowd: 31,119 at Marvel Stadium
