Riewoldt Right for Pies

31 August 2009

ST KILDA captain Nick Riewoldt says his much-discussed knee will be “100 per cent” for Sunday’s qualifying final against Collingwood.

The fitness of the Saints skipper was under constant scrutiny in the lead-up to round 22, but Riewoldt proved it was much ado about nothing with a best-afield display against Melbourne.

He finished with nine marks and six goals to lead St Kilda to a 47-point win against Melbourne at the MCG.

Riewoldt said he spent some time off the field in the last quarter as a precautionary measure.

“The knee’s alright – I played the game out and just rested it late in preparation for next week,” he said.

He acknowledged his training would need to be carefully managed during the week but the Saints captain said his knee would be fine.

“We’ve managed it really well all year and this week it will be no different,” he said.

“I’ll be 100 per cent right for next week.”

Riewoldt was delighted that the minor premiers returned to the winners’ list in round 22 after two consecutive losses had threatened to derail their momentum heading into September.

After struggling early, the Saints were able to overpower the Demons with a seven-goal final quarter.

Riewoldt’s brilliant display included a match-turning burst of three goals in the second quarter to spark his side.

He said the Saints had addressed some areas that needed improving during the week and was buoyed by the performance of his side heading into the finals.

“We had a few areas we needed to fix up and I thought the contested ball – which we spoke about – was probably the cornerstone of the win today,” he said.

Despite playing last-placed Melbourne – with only four wins for the season – Riewoldt said his side would take plenty of positives from the win into Sunday afternoon’s qualifying final against Collingwood.

“It was good for the team to grind out a really solid win. I think we kept them to just 39 inside 50s,” he said

“Defensively, it was a really good performance and we were able to put some real heat on the scoreboard late in the game as well.”

Source: www.saints.com.au

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Riewoldt Right for Pies

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