LET’S DO IT FOR ROO

Saints aim to send Riewoldt out on a finals high

SAINTS captain Jarryn Geary says the impending retirement of champion forward Nick Riewoldt will provide an added spur in the club’s quest for its first finals berth in six years.

Riewoldt (left) announced this week he would retire at the end of the season, bringing to an end one of the most decorated playing careers in the club’s history.

Geary said yesterday the six-time best-and-fairest would leave a huge legacy at the Saints, not only for his performances on-field, but also for the way he prepared off-field that would remain a benchmark for players in years to come.

While the Saints’ focus on booking a part in the September action for the first time since 2011 has not waned, Geary acknowledged the Riewoldt retirement gave the team something else to play for.

“I guess it’s a bit more motivation, but the finals is probably all the motivation that we need at the moment,’’ Geary said.

“We’ve lost the last three games. On the weekend it was pretty disappointing to finish the way that we did. We’ve got another team [this week] that’s around the same mark as us in terms of finals. They will be trying to win this week to get ahead of the ledger and we will be trying to do the same.

“The next four weeks for us and for a lot of teams is going to be pretty important.

“We’ve got enough to focus on there. But definitely the motivation of trying to get another final for Rooey is definitely there.’’

The Saints are 11th on the ladder, one game plus percentage outside the top eight and face eighth-placed West Coast at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

After three straight losses, Geary said the Saints were confident they could recapture their best form and secure a finals berth.

“Certainly when we play our best footy, we are capable of matching it with anyone, it’s just about being consistent,’’ Geary said.

“We went through a really good month, we won four and we’ve lost the last three so hopefully we can get back to playing some of the footy that we played a month ago.

“Having said that, the weekend was pretty positive aside from that last couple of minutes, so we feel like we’re getting back to that kind of form. If we bring the same intensity and pressure around the contest, we give ourselves every chance this week.’’

Geary admitted the review into last week’s last-minute loss to Port Adelaide had been brutal.

“It wasn’t nice to watch. It was pretty frustrating to go through that again,’’ he said.