St Kilda has put a horror week behind it to kick-start its 2019 campaign in impressive fashion, riding a strong display from key forwards Tim Membrey and Paddy McCartin to defeat North Melbourne by 25 points in the JLT Community Series at Avalon Airport Oval on Saturday.
The temperature hit 38 degrees during the clash as the Saints won 15.12 (102) to 11.11 (77).
As satisfied as Richardson would have been with his key forwards' performances, North counterpart Brad Scott would have equally concerned about his key defensive stocks ahead of the Roos' round one clash with Fremantle.
Ben McKay battled hard on McCartin, but North was seriously undermanned with Scott Thompson, Robbie Tarrant and Majak Daw all sidelined.
Only Tarrant (AC joint) is a chance to take on the Dockers in round one and with Fremantle likely to field talls Jesse Hogan, Rory Lobb and Matt Taberner in the season opener the Roos could be left seriously exposed.
North had a major scare after just 10 minutes of play when prized recruit Aaron Hall appeared to suffer a serious knee injury.
Hall was injured when St Kilda ruckman Lewis Pierce fell across his left knee after a centre bounce.
The former Gold Coast Sun was assisted from the ground by two trainers and struggled to put any weight on his left leg.
However, after having his knee strapped, Hall returned to the ground at the start of the second quarter and was straight back into the thick of the action at centre bounces.
Hall did not take the field after half-time after reporting soreness in his knee, but Scott said after the match this had been a purely precautionary measure.
St Kilda ruckman Lewis Pierce's day ended midway through the first quarter after a head knock that left him with concussion, but Bruce and rookie Callum Wilkie stood up to handle the Saints' duties for the rest of the game.
It was a sweltering day at Werribee and just as hot around the contest, with Roos Shaun Higgins, Kayne Turner and Tarryn Thomas all coming from the ground temporarily during the third quarter after head knocks.
The temperature took a toll on more than the players. For about 15 minutes during the second quarter, the electronic scoreboard remained frozen and the power went out on the interchanges benches, meaning there were no working fans for the players and the lines of communication with the coach's boxes shut down.
As impressive as their forwards were, St Kilda enjoyed some notable victories further up the ground.
Veteran defender Nathan Brown held star North forward Ben Brown to just one mark and one goal late in the game, while Jack Steele, Seb Ross and Jack Newnes all impressed in the midfield.
Defenders Jamie Macmillan (a game-high 40 possessions) and Marley Williams were the Roos' standout performers, while Scott would have been heartened by how seamlessly recycled recruits Jared Polec and Dom Tyson slotted into North's midfield.
Second-year midfielder Luke Davies-Uniacke also played his best game in the royal blue and white, while father-son recruit Bailey Scott put his name firmly in the round-one mix with an assured performance through the midfield.
NORTH MELBOURNE 4.1 6.1 9.7 11.11 (77)
ST KILDA 2.2 10.4 11.8 15.12 (102)
GOALS
North Melbourne: Atley 2, Ziebell, Turner, Larkey, Pittard, Larkey, Goldstein, Campbell, Murphy, Brown
St Kilda: Membrey 3, McCartin 2, Steele 2, Parker 2, Billings 2, Phillips, Kent, Battle, Gresham, Newnes
BEST
North Melbourne: Macmillan, Williams, Polec, Dumont, Davies-Uniacke, Tyson
St Kilda: Steele, Ross, Brown, Membrey, Billings, Roberton, Savage, Newnes
INJURIES
North Melbourne: Hall (knee)
St Kilda: Pierce (concussion)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Haussen, Howarth, Donlon
Official crowd: 1596 at Avalon Airport Oval
