Former St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt has attacked his old side's "passive" display in a disappointing AFL loss to the Western Bulldogs.
Former St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt has lashed his old AFL club's effort against the Western Bulldogs, accusing the Saints of again failing to stand up when it counted.
The Saints turned in a lamentable performance against the Bulldogs on Friday night, their 28-point defeat a flattering scoreline after a first half that included just 11 tackles.
It meant they missed an opportunity to jump inside the top eight, instead slipping to 10th as they look to play finals for only the second time in 11 years.
Riewoldt accused the Saints of failing to back up their words with action after suggesting tackling pressure would be a hallmark of their games this season.
"Eleven tackles in a half of footy ... they talk about pressure, they talk about the value they put on pressure and role-playing, particularly in that front half.
"But they don't value pressure like they have potentially in the past," he told Fox Sports.
"The Western Bulldogs walk away from the game having expected a fierce contest, and they were never challenged, so I can't explain it.
"I can't explain what's happened to a team that was 8-3 and has been able to reel off one win in the last six games."
Former Melbourne captain Garry Lyon labelled St Kilda "an all-talk footy club".
"We will talk, we will tell you this is what we are going to do and we don't have the ability to go and act on that," he told Fox Sports.
"That's a damning indictment of a footy club."
Riewoldt said a tactical ploy for the Saints to move the football slowly was "either a flawed strategy or non-adherence to whatever the strategy was", adding they again hadn't handled a big occasion.
The Friday night clash was an eight-point game, with the Bulldogs jumping the Saints into ninth position.
"It's almost like what we saw, remember round one, when St Kilda came out in the first half against Collingwood, massive build-up, massive stakes, prime time and it was a passive, passive effort," he said.
"Get the football, non-threatening, happy to just let the game flow out."
