St Kilda coach Ross Lyon wants the AFL's oldest man, Robert Harvey, to play for another season after the Saints farewelled Fraser Gehrig and Andrew Thompson with a 14.18 (102) to 13.14 (92) AFL win over Richmond at the MCG.

Gehrig, who told his teammates before the match he was retiring, signed off with a match-winning five-goal haul.

Ruckman Matthew Clarke, 33, who was not in Saturday's side, has also decided to retire after one season with the Saints following longer stints with Brisbane and Adelaide.

The Tigers twice fought back from four-goal deficits during the match, kicking the last four goals of the first half to trail by a point at halftime, then kicking the final four goals of the third quarter and the first of the last term to take a nine-point lead.

But the Saints, who had their finals hopes dashed when Adelaide downed Collingwood on Friday night to sew up the last berth in the eight, kicked the final three goals of the match.

Gehrig set up Nick Riewoldt for the first, then kicked the last two himself to give him 59 goals for the season, making him the club's leading goal-kicker for a fifth straight year.

The 31-year-old, who said he had first toyed with the idea of retirement four years ago, was happy to be going out on his own terms.

"It's always been a little bit of a battle, even though I love the game and it's been such a big part of my life," Gehrig said.

"There was nothing really that tipped me over the edge other than the fact I think (it was) the right timing, I can feel that in myself.

"I didn't want to go for a holiday already having committed to the club and not have the desire to come back and do the hard yards in pre-season and stuff like that.

"When you're pretty much a one-position player, as I've become, the game's evolved so much in the last even 12 months, two years, it's made it harder for people like me to survive."

Harvey, 36, whose 359 matches is the club record, said he was also considering retirement.

"It's a huge (decision) and I just want to make sure I do the right thing, so we'll wait and see," Harvey told the Ten Network.

Lyon said Harvey, Gehrig and Thompson had been great leaders at the club.

"What they've impressed upon our young group, (Nick) Dal Santo and (Leigh) Montagna and those types, Riewoldt, we're in really good shape going forward, they've left a legacy in a sense and it's our responsibility to carry it on and not go backwards," Lyon said.

But he was hopeful Harvey would remain.

"His performances are demanding automatic selection, we'll give Robert every opportunity (to continue)," Lyon said.

"Losing so much experience there's a real opportunity to be part of that transition for the group.

"We've got a lot of young talented players through again and he's got a massive influence around the place.

"To lose all your leaders at once, all your experience, is difficult, so we're hopeful of retaining Robert."

Thompson was a late addition to the team, replacing Luke Ball in the 22, and said he was thankful for getting a farewell match.

"It was nice to get a send-off game and for the boys to win, it's great to share it with Fraser, he's been an amazing person," Thompson said.

"To play your last game on the MCG, I think I'm very lucky that I got to know it was my last game, a lot of players don't ever realise that it's going to be their last game, so it was a good day."

© 2009 AAP
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