Sloppy ball use hurts Saints conversion 

After two weeks of quality inside 50 ball use, St Kilda’s efficiency in the front third of the ground was found wanting against Greater Western Sydney, prompting Saints coach Alan Richardson to say his side ‘butchered’ the ball and label the use as ‘sloppy’ in his press conference. St Kilda only managed to record six marks inside 50, down from 13 against the Hawks and 19 against Collingwood, to emphasise the Saints’ inability to find a target inside the arc. And with 53 inside 50s for the day, the Saints weren’t short of opportunities. Richardson’s disappointment post game was clear for all to see, and given his side only converted 32.1 per cent of their entries into scores (ranked 16th for Round 5), it was clearly justified. There is little doubt St Kilda must become more potent with their ball use if they are going to continue their improvement and win more games of football.

Cameron causes headaches upon return

The return of All Australian full forward Jeremy Cameron was always going to draw plenty of attention, especially given the fact he had missed the first month of 2016 due to suspension. The Giants spearhead ensured that was precisely the case, making the most of his opportunities to produce a strong return. The star forward kicked two goals in the opening quarter and two in the second to demonstrate his prowess early, before he quietened after the main break to finish with five majors from ten touches in an impressive first-up performance. Tom Lee and Sam Fisher spent brief moments on Cameron in the first half, with Sean Dempster spending the bulk of the afternoon on the Giants weapon. But as Richardson alluded to pre-game, Cameron was never going to be the only option inside 50. Toby Greene and Steve Johnson made sizeable contributions with four goals apiece, and Greene could have kicked more had he been more accurate in what was one of the best performances of his career.

Riewoldt hits the scoreboard

For the umpteenth time, St Kilda champion Nick Riewoldt demonstrated how damaging he can be close to goal. Despite playing on the wing for the majority of the game, Riewoldt pushed forward at times and booted four goals playing deep inside 50. With St Kilda coming at the Giants in the third quarter, Riewoldt was instrumental in the momentum shift, having a direct hand in two goals before missing the closing stages of the term with an ankle issue. By the time he returned to the ground early in the final stanza, Greater Western Sydney had regained the ascendancy, booting three goals early in the term to put the game beyond doubt. But with 25 possessions, 11 marks, 10 score involvements and four goals, the 33-year-old was clearly St Kilda’s best player on the ground.

Designated kicker Savage inflicting plenty of damage

Shane Savage: Get it in this man’s hands at every opportunity. That appears to be the direction this season, and with good reason given the rebounding defenders potent right foot. Once again on the weekend, it was the former Hawk who inflicted the most damage on transition for the Saints, with his innate ability to cut opposition sides apart. Savage collected 26 possessions, using the ball at a stunning 96 per cent, and accumulated 617 metres of gained territory – the 8th most for Round 5. Along with Leigh Montagna, Savage is a critical component of the Saints ball movement pattern, being utilised as a designated kicker to provide St Kilda with precision coming out of defence. Across five rounds, Savage is averaging 26 possessions and sits inside the AFL’s top-20 for metres gained with 463.7 metres per week.

Consistent Ross building by the week

When it comes to Jack Steven and David Armitage, we all know what we are going to get from them each week. After all, they are both bona fide midfield stars who have been producing a high level of performance for quite some time now. Emerging midfielder Seb Ross might not be in that bracket just yet, but what he is doing is producing consistent performances, to become an important cog in St Kilda’s evolving engine room. The 22-year-old endured a frustrating start to 2015, suffering a long-term hamstring injury that limited him to just ten games on the back nine of the season. Now, Ross is making up for last year’s hindrance. Across the opening five rounds, the inside midfielder has added some outside class to his game and is averaging career-high numbers, leaping from 18.2 possessions last year to 27.2 this season. His inside 50 count has also climbed from 2.6 to 4.0, as well as his tackling average of 5.2 per game, ranked third at Linen House Centre. On Sunday, Ross’ 29-possession, nine-tackle haul against the Giants was the level of performance we’re quickly becoming to expect from the North Ballarat product.