‘Pathetic’ St Kilda slammed by Nick Riewoldt, Mark Robinson ahead of West Coast clash

The Eagles should prepare for a fired up Saints outfit on Saturday after the club received a blast from St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt.

Riewoldt, who played 336 games for the club and is a six-time Saints best and fairest, said all but two players were safe at the selection table this week – Jack Steele and Tim Membrey.

And his comments were echoed by footy expert Mark Robinson who described the playing style in the 75-point loss to Essendon as “selfish”.

“It was embarrassing, that’s the word Brett Ratten used, it was soft, they looked intimidated by a really young Essendon outfit,” Riewoldt said on Fox Footy.

“It was an immature performance and it just lacked effort.

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“St Kilda just weren’t prepared to pay the price defensively. It was that simple. They weren’t prepared to run, to cover.

“I haven’t lost all faith. I think it’s great now that they play West Coast, Richmond and Port Adelaide, because there’s nowhere to hide.

“You fix the effort up - this is a side that gave great effort last year. They’ve just either forgotten, or lost awareness of the price you need to pay defensively.”

Robinson said the club needed to fix their issues before they face a firing West Coast outfit at Marvel Stadium.

“When you have a performance like that, you walk in the rooms afterwards and not a word is said,” Robinson said.

“They’re playing football in such a selfish manner, they aren’t doing the little things like chase and tackle.

“(Coach) Brett Ratten’s got some major issues.

“This is two weeks in a row. 75 points to the Bombers? You’re kidding.

“Two of the three weeks has been pathetic.”

The Saints will welcome back ruckman Paddy Ryder to the club after he stepped away from the game for personal reasons.

But the star big man won’t be ready to face Eagles superstar Nic Naitanui, with the club expecting Ryder to spend at least a fortnight working on his match fitness.

The Eagles will head into the clash without skipper Luke Shuey, who was the only sour note to West Coast’s stunning victory over Port Adelaide.

Recruit Alex Witherden will be available for selection after he avoided a WAFL suspension today.