Brett Ratten wins over AFL world with savage response to Nick Riewoldt

Ex-Saints coach Brett Ratten has fired a brutal shot at St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt, after the champion forward declared that 'standards' had dropped at the club over the past few years. Ratten, who was unceremoniously sacked by the Saints at the end of 2022, claimed Riewoldt was 'out of touch' with day-to-day life at the club, suggesting the only time he was there was to take advantage of free physiotherapy sessions offered to former players.

Ratten was replaced by Ross Lyon for the 2023 season, Lyon's second stint at the club after coaching them to grand final appearances in 2009 and 2010. Riewoldt had launched a staunch defence of his former coach amid a second late-season slide in as many years for the Saints, who are currently at risk of collapsing out of the finals race this season in similar fashion as they did under Ratten last year.

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After being sent packing by the Saints, Ratten landed as an assistant coach at North Melbourne, taking over as interim coach when Alastair Clarkson took indefinite leave from the club earlier in 2023. The Saints and Kangaroos are set to face off this weekend, with Clarkson returning to his position for the first time since round nine.

“I can promise you, the standards in that joint over the last however long have been subpar,” Riewoldt said. “(The Saints) have absolutely gone forward this year.”

However that felt like news to Ratten, given St Kilda are in the midst of a losing skid that has seen them lose five of their last six games, with only a win against the lowly West Coast Eagles to their name in that time. Ratten had been sacked mere months after being signed to a new contract extension mid-way through the 2022 season, which saw the Saints briefly flirt with a top four spot after an 8-3 start.

A late season collapse cost them a finals spot and ultimately Ratten's job, with their 2023 season bearing some unfortunate similarities at the time of writing. A fast start saw them hovering around the top four in the first half of the season, with their losing streak now seeing them drop to a 9-8 record ahead of this weekend's clash with the Kangaroos.

“Well, to be honest, Nick’s been to zero really at the footy club, the only time he came was for free physio,” Ratten said.“I don’t know where he saw those standards … what can happen at footy clubs, and in life, is second-hand information – whoever holds it – can be distributed in the way they want.

“That’s the interesting part of that, (but) that’s his opinion. I can’t change it.”

Many fans were somewhat taken aback by Riewoldt's comments. Ratten's fierce defence of his record with the Saints earned plenty of praise from fans on social media.

Standards feud comes amid woeful Saints losing streak

The feud between Ratten as Riewoldt comes amid reports of tension between Lyon and Saints CEO Simon Lethlean, with the latter has denied. They were first reported on Footy Classified by Caroline Wilson, who said Lethlean had told her there was nothing to see here.

“I asked him how his relationship was with Ross Lyon, because I’d heard it wasn’t great, and Simon said that was not correct,” Wilson said.“That speculation I was hearing pretty strongly — that the coach and the CEO maybe weren’t as coach as they should’ve been — which is of a great concern if it’s right. But Simon Lethlean has denied it, so I have to take him at his word.”

While Wilson's focus was on the reported off-field drama, former AFL player Kane Cornes was scathing of St Kilda's form on it. He said they risked having a 'wasted year' if they couldn't turn things around starting against North Melbourne this weekend.

Cornes said there was no doubt the Saints had expected to make some serious improvement under Lyon this season, and while there had been some promising signs earlier in the season, the regression of late was a major concern.

"It's been a wasted year in essence," Cornes told Footy Classified. "You could mount the case that they are worse this year on some metrics, their struggle to score has been well documented.

"I think they expected improvement. Ross Lyon is starting to release the situation he is in and how much is needed to fix it."

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