St. Kilda V Sydney
Reflect back on the last two times these teams have played at Docklands.
Round Seven, 2007, and Round One, 2008. St.Kilda have taken the chocolates both times, but somewhat more importantly, they have been unattractive, messy games that frustrate the crowd. Both teams seem to cancel each other out and the game turns into a bruise free game of footy without any meaning. Games like these are the ones where the ball seems to be travelling at a slower speed, as the players are too.
St. Kilda V Sydney games are usually games people like to avoid, but it is hard when it is in the limelight on Saturday night in Round 1, the least you can find yourself doing is staring at the TV screen. This game didn’t prove to be thrilling at the start. It was a shocker for St. Kilda supporters; Sydney kicked the first four goals of the game with ease. Michael Gardiner wobbled through the Saints’ only goal for the quarter, and the Swans kept rolling and led by 27 points at quarter time. The game was ok so far but it still lacked intensity.
The second quarter saw the Saints slowly work their way back in the contest, despite low scoring, backwards kicking footy. Justin Koschitzke worked his way back in form, a shocking start to the game turned into a good one. He took a specky over Darren Jolly after he took one on him, and then followed up with another couple of good marks. Stephen Milne kicked a goal with 45 seconds left to assert the saints’ authority. Barry Hall hadn’t had an influence on the game, nor had he left a St.Kilda player bruised on the turf. Zac Dawson had given Barry himself a fair whack early on, showing St.Kilda supporters what he is worth.
The third quarter proved to be a shocker for the Swans.
To go through a whole quarter of footy and not scoring is just not acceptable, especially when you are giving away the game. St.Kilda added five goals to their total and a four goal lead was something to get excited about for the red, white and black. Milne kicked his third and the St.Kilda midfielders were having an influence on the game. Andrew McQualter kicked a ripper and the game was already torn apart.
In the last quarter there was some delight for the Swans, but it was midway through the quarter when the Saints were seven goals in front. Four late goals were the only ones scored for Sydney in three quarters, a couple of which were kicked by Heath Grundy. Farren Ray made an impressive debut for the Saints, with 22 possessions. The Saints ran away with a convincing victory, and all in all, this was one of the better St.Kilda V Sydney clashes.
St.Kilda 1.1 4.4 9.6 12.8 (80)
Sydney 5.4 5.6 5.6 9.11 (65)
Goals
St.Kilda: Milne 3, Gardiner 2, Koschitzke 2, Dal Santo 2, Goddard, McQualter, Gram.
Sydney: Grundy 2, Hall, O’Keefe, Goodes, Mattner, Bevan, Jack, Jolly.
Best
St.Kilda: Dal Santo, Goddard, Ray, Ball, Gilbert, Koschitzke, Milne.
Sydney: Kirk, Goodes, Bird, J.Bolton, C.Bolton, Bevan.
My Votes: Dal Santo (3), Goddard (2), Ray (1).
Umpires: Rosebury, Chamberlain, Hendrie. Betting: St.Kilda $1.33 Sydney $3.15
Crowd: 32,442 at Docklands.
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