Ross Lyon during St Kilda’s game against Richmond in R22, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

ADEM Yze wasn’t interested in talk about an honourable loss for his young Richmond side on Saturday afternoon.

Instead, it was a missed opportunity.

After giving up the first three goals of the game, the Tigers came to life, only to fall to St Kilda by four points.

TIGERS v SAINTS Full match coverage and stats

“They were better than us in the first quarter, but the adjustments and the response for the final three quarters felt like we got the game on our terms,” Yze said.

“(I) feel like we could have won the game, probably should have won the game, and obviously that’s a bitter pill to swallow.”

Yze was determined that the Tigers were “the better team” after the first break, but couldn’t make it count on the scoreboard late in the game when a sixth win of the season was up for grabs.

The team’s inconsistency week to week is something Yze is still grappling with.

“We live week to week and right now, we feel like we left one out there. So, at the end of the season we’ll review the season based on how we felt we went each week,” he said.

“There’s been games where we haven’t been up to standard, there’s been quarters that haven’t been up to standard against really good teams, and then there’s been games like this, where we feel like we should have won the game, or could have won the game.

“And then the GWS game (in round 12) was exactly the same, so I don’t care how many games we win or lose, but we just want to play a certain way and today I felt like we played the right way. We just didn’t get the result.”

Yze confirmed that he opted not to utilise substitute Steely Green to keep the small forward fresh for a run in the VFL on Saturday night.

For St Kilda coach Ross Lyon, it was four premiership points, but a tough watch.
 
“It was a pretty ugly game, wasn’t it? Was pretty flat, (I) had to get myself up, really,” Lyon said.

The Saints took 48 uncontested marks in the first quarter as they worked to move the ball off the line and maintain possession in the back half, but lacked any real dare until the final quarter when the game was on the line.

“There was no chaos in the game, and our front half was very predictable and slow. So, (we) should have gotten onto it earlier, but it was like ‘let’s really get our run going from behind to work off those marks’,” Lyon said.

“I think if you go back and review it, that’s what you’d see. We got more run and flow, then you get a bit more chaos in your front half … it was ugly. Yeah, it was like horrible skills, both teams, decisions, I don’t know. It was a beautiful day, perfect day.”

With three close games in the last three weeks, St Kilda has been on the winning side of some nail-biters, but has been a little inconsistent with the way it’s played its footy.

“Our brand’s a little bit all over the shop at the minute. We’ve just got to get more consistent. Too big, wild swings, maybe that’s a young group,” Lyon said.

“Is it our coaching? Is it our training? We just have to keep diving in.”

Star Saint Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera played out the game despite suffering a corked left calf, while Lyon admitted youngster Matteas Phillipou likely would not have played if forward Mitch Owens was available.
 
In his return game from injury, Phillipou finished with just three disposals playing out of the goal square.