Riewoldt back in seventh heaven as Saints thrash Kangaroos

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Riewoldt back in seventh heaven as Saints thrash Kangaroos

Syndicated on Sun, 15/08.2010

Nick Riewoldt returned to peak form as St Kilda confirmed a top-four finish with a grinding 52-point victory over North Melbourne at Docklands stadium on Sunday evening.

Riewoldt was pulled in the third quarter, sparking some concerns over his fitness, but re-appeared to complete an impressive seven-goal haul and all but end North Melbourne's final hopes.

The Kangaroos desperately needed four points to keep pressure on Hawthorn after the Hawks brushed off the Demons, but were simply outplayed by genuine contenders the Saints 17.13 (115) to 9.9 (63).

Riewoldt's absence was sorely felt during an extended lay-off as he rehabilitated a complicated hamstring tendon injury, but the St Kilda talisman and competition's most dynamic forward was back to his dominant best.

The Kangaroos gave themselves a slim hope of scraping into the top eight with the shock thrashing of Fremantle in round 19, but fall six points adrift of finals contention with this loss to St Kilda.

North's only hope of reaching September relies on a two-match slump from 2008 premier Hawthorn, while finishing off with defeats of West Coast and the Demons.