Round 15
St Kilda v Western Bulldogs
Sunday 21st June 2026, 3.15pm
Marvel Stadium
Pre-game thoughts
In for the Saints this week is Higgins while Tauru has been omitted.
For The Dogs, one of my impartial favourites, Libba is back and an extended bench of Davidson, McNeill and Vandermeer have been named. Out goes a sick Treloar and Weightman has been managed.
We haven’t beaten The Dogs on the past three occasions and Sunday will prove an even greater challenge given The Dogs got smacked last week by Adelaide.
The opposition ‘Coach’s Nightmare’, The Bont, is I’m sure always the first item on a match committee meeting agenda but both Garcia and Windhager have been excellent this year so I would expect them to lessen the influence of the great man and his mate Richards.
Libba has had a long layoff but is always a pest around the contest so maybe his old premiership team mate McCrae can deal with him or Libba may just have his hands too full with the revelatory Max Hall.
I saw something on line from Champion Data which isn’t normally my cup of tea but I found these stats interesting.
- The Saints have kicked over 100 points six times this year. They did that only once last year. Pretty good especially when we have had to travel every second week. We now have eight or nine games at Marvel to come. Hopefully good signs.
- Our clearance numbers are the best we’ve had in seventeen years.
- Our centre bounce clearance numbers are the fourth best on record of ANY team! Maybe I’ve been underestimating TDK and Ro’s work? Certainly Hall and Nas have been brilliant in there.
My biggest fear is that we always have the capacity to bring struggling teams back into form.
I’m sure the boys will be fired up for this crucial game against a wounded Dog’s team. Saints by 29 points.
1st Qtr
Even start but goal to Lewis from 30 out. Libba up and about early. Nice pass to Lewis for #2. Kennedy goals after a non-decision for holding the ball. STK brain dead at the moment. Nas running around like he’s in the U/12s. TDK kicks one from a front and centre. Sharman takes a good contested mark and goals. Good tackle and goal to Higgins and STK have woken up. STK hands aren’t clean but the 2nd efforts are excellent. STK by 2 points at the break.
STK on top for the bulk of the qtr after another slow start. Tackles are mostly sticking and overall pressure has been good. Sinclair has sadly gone off with possibly a season ending Achilles tear by the sounds. Skill errors from both teams are holding them back.
2nd Qtr
STK too late manning up at a D50 stoppage and Hynes goals. STK turnover and The Bont miraculously appears from nowhere. Handball to Richards then to Norton, goal. Clever play from Byrnes to Wilson, goal.Saints have a high possession rate and I50 entries for zero outcome. Bont pops up again, goal. STK turnover and the elusive Hynes goals. Dogs lifting. Dogs by 15 points at the break.
Skill errors aplenty from the Saints and The Dogs capitalised. Plenty of I50 entries but mostly rushed and lacking composure. I’m confounded that there is no hard tag on The Bont.
3rd Qtr
Bont wild and free like he’s on an African savannah and McNeil goals. TDK out for the game. Nas who has had 30 possessions already, gets a free and goals 30 out. An intercept mark and 1st AFL goal for Lake. STK dominating play but breaking down I50. Stalemate personified. Dogs by 14 points at the break.
A wasted qtr from The Saints. I hope They’ve got some petrol left. A week’s a long time in footy as Flyin’ Ryan found out today. He should never have gone on The Front Bar no matter how much we love him.
4th Qtr
Some bewildering umpire decisions and Jones goals. Silvagni pushed fwd in desperation. Lobb takes a strong contested mark and goals. We need a miracle and Nas can’t do anymore. Calamity in the STK fwd line. Lobb kicks his second. Nice chain through the middle from STK and Garcia marks and goals. Centre clearance immediately from The Dogs and Norton goals. Byrnes finally kicks one in time on and it’s all over. Dogs by 22 points.
It’s a pretty simple equation. Inside 50’s to The Saints 61 to 45. Utter inefficiency entering 50 has killed us all year. All the effort-based stats leaned towards The Saints. What was clear is that both sides rely so much on Nas and The Bont respectively. No one went 100% with The Bont and it was bizarre to see the best player in the comp on his own at stoppages. I reckon there is still a place for a certified tagger in today’s game but coaches and list managers refuse to employ them. Well done to The Dogs and another missed opportunity for The Saints.
Malarkey Votes
3 – Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera
2 – Marcus Bontempelli
1 – Jack Silvagni
ST KILDA 3.4 4.7 6.8 8.13 (61)
WESTERN BULLDOGS 3.2 7.5 8.10 12.11 (83)
GOALS
St Kilda: De Koning, Sharman, Higgins, Wilson, Wanganeen-Milera, Lake, Garcia, Byrnes
Western Bulldogs: Lewis 2, Lobb 2, Naughton 2, L.Kennedy, Hynes, Bontempelli, M.Kennedy, McNeil, Jones
BEST
St Kilda: Wanganeen-Milera, Silvagni, Windhager, Garcia, Wilkie, Hill
Western Bulldogs: Bontempelli, O’Donnell, Dale, Richards, Liberatore , Khamis
INJURIES
St Kilda: Sinclair (right calf), De Koning (ribs), Marshall (left shoulder)
Western Bulldogs: Nil
Crowd: 30,194
Read other round 15 match reports HERE
Read more from Ian Wilson HERE
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Former army aircraft mechanic, sales manager, VFA footballer and coach. Now mental health worker and blogger. Lifelong St Kilda FC tragic and father to 2 x girls.
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