Many experts tipped St Kilda to win the wooden spoon at the beginning of the 2014 AFL season, but after their victory over Essendon that now appears highly unlikely.
It should be noted that the Bombers looked noticeably flat, and were sloppy with the ball for much of the game. No doubt last week’s match against the Dockers, played in the stifling Perth heat, contributed to that.
Still, credit must be given to St Kilda. Leading the way were the usual amigos in Nick Riewoldt, Lenny Hayes and Leigh Montagna along with Farran Ray, who was outstanding all night.
But it was the play of the ‘new’ amigos in Jack Billings, Tom Curran, Jimmy Webster and Luke Dunstan that was so pleasing. Billings was damaging with 19 disposals and two goals, while Curren completely shut down Dyson Heppell, who came into the match averaging 30 possessions but could only manage 17 on the night.
Riewoldt continued his great start to the season by kicking five goals while Lenny Hayes forgot he was 34 years of age and produced a vintage performance. St Kilda’s back six deserve a lot of credit as well, preventing Essendon from getting anything going up forward all night.
But it was the performances by the St Kilda kids that will give Saints supporters hope for the future. Young talent has been lacking for the Saints in recent years, but is now starting to come through.
The Saints drafted poorly during the Ross Lyon era, with hardly any of those picks still at the club. The Saints of 2014 finally have some youngsters they can build around, and in Alan Richardson they have the perfect coach.
The man who for years has been considered the best young player developer in the game has finally got a shot at developing his own side as the senior coach. He has St Kilda sitting eighth on the ladder with three wins and two losses, although two of those wins were against Melbourne and GWS.
They will, however, start favourites next week at home against the struggling Lions, and by the end of Round 6 they will very likely have won as many games as they did in the entire 2013 season.
The Saints probably won’t make the finals this season, but they’re heading in the right direction. They still have a long way to go but the future certainly looks a lot brighter now than it did last month.
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