Saints back in town: Riewoldt.
"ST KILDA captain Nick Riewoldt says the Saints rediscovered their trademark high-pressure football against Port Adelaide on Sunday. The Saints leapt to an early lead and never took their foot from the Power's throat, powering to a 94-point victory that broke a run of three winless games.
“You could tell from the first five minutes that we’d got back to playing the way we’ve been recognised as playing over the past few years,” said Riewoldt, 27, after the game.
“That’s our real barometer - our team defence and our pressure, and I thought pretty early you could tell that was back today.”
Coach Ross Lyon described last week as a mini “pre-season” with the Saints going through the A to Z of their game plan that had deserted them over their past three games.
Riewoldt said the post-mortem of last Friday night’s loss to Essendon had been “pretty basic”.
“It was just us going back and reviewing exactly how we played,” he said.
“We know our game plan stands up and our trademarks stand up under pressure when we apply them for four quarters.
“Probably there had been a bit of a disconnect somewhere and we (had) just ... gone away from doing a few of the things structurally ... that makes us a good team.
“It was about pulling the way we’ve been playing apart and trying to realign it back to the way we want to play.”
Riewoldt has now played five games since his round 15 return from a badly torn hamstring tendon.
On Sunday, he had 19 touches and 14 marks - eight of which were on the lead. He kicked four goals and assisted in the same number.
It marked the skipper's biggest haul since round two this year, when he kicked seven goals against North Melbourne.
“I’ve got full confidence in [my body]. Mentally, the hamstring is not an issue,” he said.
“I think it’s just a matter of every week, I’ll get more in tune with playing and the touch will continue to improve.
“There are aspects of your game you can improve every week and I’m no different to any other player there.”
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