What a difference a week can make for St Kilda

Last week the AFL world was buzzing after St Kilda came from behind to upset premiership fancies the Geelong Cats by three points at Etihad Stadium.

It came on the back of consecutive goals from Rising Star nominee Jade Gresham and veteran Jack Steven, and was the perfect showcase of the best football that the Saints are capable of producing.

But after a week of euphoria, Alan Richardson’s men came crashing back down to earth when, despite being heavily favoured pre-match, they lost to the Gold Coast Suns by 40 points at Metricon Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

It appeared as though the Saints were on the Gold Coast for a holiday rather than a football match, and it was that approach by Carlton in 2012 which not only cost them the match but also then-coach Brett Ratten’s job.

Not helping the Saints’ cause was the third concussion suffered by Paddy McCartin this season, which could see him miss the remainder of the year as the Saints enter the final third of the minor rounds.

Captain Nick Riewoldt also had a day he would rather forget, with a botched kick in defence leading to the Suns’ first goal for the match, from which the Saints would never recover, and kicking five behinds from as many scoring shots.

Making the defeat all the more disappointing was that the Suns hadn’t won a match in nearly three months, but Rodney Eade’s men had been building for a breakthrough sooner rather than later, pushing Hawthorn for three quarters in Launceston the previous week before losing by 26 points.

The Saints’ 40-point loss marked their fifth defeat from as many road trips this season and is just another example of the club failing to back up a good performance against one of the AFL’s heavyweight clubs.

Back in Round 4, the Saints lost to triple-reigning premiers Hawthorn in Launceston by just three points after leading by 11 points early in the final quarter.

The Hawks hadn’t been defeated at their secondary home base since early 2012, and with Carlton to come in Round 19 they look very likely to complete a fourth consecutive year undefeated in Tasmania.

But the following week, the Saints submitted a disappointing performance in front of their home fans when they went down to the GWS Giants by 47 points at Etihad Stadium.

They probably would’ve wished that Jeremy Cameron was suspended for a week longer after he was wiped out for four matches for a crude bump on Brisbane Lion Rhys Mathieson in the final round of the NAB Challenge.

In his first match for the season, the Giants full-forward kicked five goals to make the Saints look second-rate, and afterwards the club were accused of having “too many passengers” by coach Alan Richardson.

More to the point, the following week the Giants would thrash the Hawks by 75 points, a result which probably explains where the Saints and Giants are at as far as their rapid development is concerned.

The Saints were quick to bounce back however, defeating Melbourne by 39 points before getting to within seven points of ending North Melbourne’s undefeated start to the season at six matches the following round.

But then it was a case of “here we go again” after the Saints were embarrassed by the West Coast Eagles in Perth, losing by 103 points and kicking the season’s lowest score to date, 3.11 (29).

It looks very likely that, for the second year in a row, it could be the case of the Eagles restricting the Saints to the season’s lowest score, like they did in Round 23 last year when Alan Richardson’s men could only kick 4.6 (30).

Again the Saints were quick to bounce back, defeating bottom sides Essendon and Fremantle as expected before again falling back to old habits by way of an 88-point loss to the Adelaide Crows at the Oval in Round 11.

They surprised many by defeating Carlton by 32 points in Round 12, in front of nearly 48,000 fans – 20,000 more than those who attended the Essendon versus Hawthorn “mockbuster” the previous Friday night.

For a clash between the two most recent wooden-spooners, the crowd figure was quite impressive as the Saints logged their fifth win for the season against a Carlton side that has also exceeded expectations this year.

The Saints were then given next to no chance of defeating the Geelong Cats at Etihad Stadium following their Round 13 bye, given the Cats have re-emerged as a premiership force after missing the finals for the first time since 2006 last season.

They also hadn’t beaten the Cats since the 2010 qualifying final, and hadn’t beaten them since Chris Scott took the reins at the Cattery prior to the start of the 2011 season.

But a barnstorming first half, during which the Saints established a 31-point lead, set up the victory but not before Jade Gresham and Jack Steven hauled them back from a nine-point deficit late in the game to a thrilling three-point victory.

It was their biggest scalp for the season and one that the club had been searching for since they thrashed finals-bound Fremantle by 58 points in Round 18, 2014.

Like they did after the Fremantle game two years ago, the Saints would suffer a meltdown on the Gold Coast in their next match, losing by 40 points to leave many of their fans questioning their consistency and their hunger for success.

It will get interesting when they face Essendon and Melbourne, each for the second time this season and both at Etihad Stadium, in the next fortnight.

The Saints will be heavily favoured to win both matches, which would give them a season record of 8-8 after Round 17 and keep alive their chances of reaching the finals for the first time since 2011.

But neither will come easy, even with the Bombers having won just one match for the year and the Demons having not beaten the Saints for nearly a decade.

After that, half of their remaining matches will be against sides bound for the finals – the Western Bulldogs in Round 18, North Melbourne in Round 19 and the Sydney Swans in Round 21.

Of the other three matches, two of them are against teams unlikely to make the finals in Carlton and Richmond, while their final game of the season is against the lowly Brisbane Lions at Etihad Stadium.

Perhaps the rest of the season will give us an indication of where the Saints are at as a club going forward.

As we have learnt this season, while they can pull off the occasional upset like they did against the Cats last week, they also have the tendency to lose matches in disappointing fashion like they did against the Gold Coast Suns.

That is something the club will hope to rectify by next season, when it should be in a position to contend for a finals berth, having strategically mapped out a plan for long-term success when Alan Richardson was appointed coach in 2013.

They’ll be boosted next year by the return of Jake Carlisle from his season-long WADA suspension, but it must be remembered that he also has a separate two-match sanction still hanging over his head for his role in the snorting video that went viral on the day he was traded to St Kilda from Essendon last year.

It would seem likely that this suspension would be served at the start of next season, ruling him ineligible for selection until at least Round 3.

The club has also been linked to Brisbane Lions captain Tom Rockliff; landing his services would also be a huge boost for the Saints as they look to continue climbing the ladder in the seasons to come.

And captain Nick Riewoldt looks set to go around for another season after again showing exceptional form this season, leading from the front in most, if not all, of their six victories this year.

Going forward, there will be no more excuses for St Kilda if they continue to underperform on and off the field. Fixing inconsistencies within the club, such as performing interstate and learning to back up from momentous victories, will help them to achieve their goals in the short-term.