St Kilda coach Alan Richardson has lauded veteran Nick Riewoldt's starring role in a hard-fought AFL win over Brisbane.
The Saints notched their first victory of the season on Sunday, surviving a late fightback to down the Lions by 31 points at Etihad Stadium.
After trailing by six goals midway through the second quarter, Brisbane took control of the game and looked poised to snatch a massive upset.
But the experience of Riewoldt and Leigh Montagna came to the fore in the final term and the veteran duo guided the Saints to a 14.23 (107) to 11.10 (76) victory.
Riewoldt booted three goals and had 28 touches in an excellent return from injury for the champion forward.
There were fears the 34-year-old had suffered a career-ending knee injury when he went down in the Saints' first-round loss to Melbourne but he avoided serious damage and looks to have lost none of his touch.
"What 'Rooey' did in terms of being able to get himself right ... he is amazing in that space," Richardson said.
"We all have admired for a long time what a strong performer he is but it is incredible the work he does and such a great example to a lot of young players.
"It was a reasonable injury, and for him to get up after one week was just incredibly impressive."
Fellow veteran Montagna was also damaging for the Saints, finishing with 30 disposals and seven inside-50s.
The win comes as a massive relief for the Saints after giving up handy leads in losses to Melbourne and West Coast.
But there will still be question marks about their finals credentials after another hot and cold performance.
Inaccuracy in front of goal again proved to be an issue for St Kilda, who wasted chances to put the game beyond reach.
Midfield leaders Dayne Beams, Daniel Rich and Tom Rockliff were immense for the Lions, while Stefan Martin took control of the ruck battle.
But coach Chris Fagan said it was clear too much had been left to their senior midfielders.
"We want to develop other players that can go in there and do the same thing (so) we aren't reliant on those guys to be the ones that get the job done every week," he said.
"As we build our density of talent in our footy team, particularly in our midfield, we hope that's what becomes the case but it'll take a bit of time."
Rich rotated heavily through the backline and was particularly impressive, with Fagan describing it as his best game in recent memory.
Brisbane weren't helped by a heavily corked quad to Darcy Gardiner during the second quarter which ended the young key defender's game.
But there was plenty to like for the Lions, with No.3 draft pick Hugh McCluggage and Jarrod Berry both showing poise on debut.
Share
