Nick Riewoldt fires back after Luke Hodge’s suggestion Ross Lyon given soft media coverage

St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt has dismissed his Agenda Setters colleague Luke Hodge’s suggestion that comparing Ross Lyon’s current Saints side to that of Brett Ratten three years ago is fair.

On last Tuesday’s episode of The Agenda Setters, Hodge suggested that Riewoldt has been inconsistent in his criticism of the Saints in recent years because of who has been coaching them.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Nick Riewoldt fires back at Luke Hodge over ‘rubbish’ take.

Riewoldt, who played under Lyon during the club’s most successful recent period, has in the past been very critical the culture Ratten led during his time at Moorabbin before being sacked in 2022.

With the Saints struggling once again in 2025, the former skipper has not held the Lyon to the same level of scrutiny that he did with Ratten, despite similar results.

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Last week, Kane Cornes pressed Hodge on his view of Riewoldt.

“Do you think that because Ross has so many friends in the media that we go soft on him?” Cornes asked, referring also to other former St Kilda players like Leigh Montagna and Nick Dal Santo who too have commentary jobs in the media.

Hodge said: “I thought Nick would’ve went a lot harder at Ross (given) the fact that he was going at Brett Ratten when they were sitting 10th.”

Responding on Monday night after the Saints were again beaten on the weekend, Riewoldt explained why he doesn’t think it’s fair to compare the two.

“Hodgey and I are fine, we work together and we’re decent mates,” he started by clarifying.

“I mean, I understand where he was coming from; he worked with Brett Ratten in the past and he was trying to protect Ratts’ reputation in that conversation. I think we all have slightly vested interests.

“But with this one specifically, I think if you actually drill down into the facts, to suggest that Ross Lyon and Brett Ratten have the same lists essentially — which is what Hodgey did — is complete rubbish.

“Ross had the same list for one year and made finals, and then realised that that list could go no further, so what do you do in that situation? Do you stay stuck in quicksand, or do you cut, and cut really hard, and make 26 list changes over the last three years? Go from the fourth-oldest list profile to the fourth-youngest.

“And that’s the decision that they’ve made.

“So, anyone that doesn’t think St Kilda are in a rebuild just hasn’t done the work and doesn’t realise what they’ve actually done down there over the last few years.”

St Kilda have turned over 28 players from their list over the past three years, including 11 last year.

Riewoldt said they had to do that to avoid being stuck in the mediocrity of the AFL ladder’s yearly logjam-middle.

“I’m OK with the direction because they were going to middle in that sixth to 12th landscape if they didn’t cut and cut hard,” he said.

“And I think this all feeds into the (Nasiah) Wanganeen-Milera conversation; he would be aware of the young crew that’s coming through and the potential to be part of something for the long-term.

“And if it’s a two-year deal, the Saints have got two years to prove it to him.”

The St Kilda champion also scoffed at the suggestion that Lyon needed or even benefitted from some of his former pupils standing up for him in the media.

“Ross is a big boy, he doesn’t need me or Leigh Montagna sitting here defending him, he’s big enough,” he said.