Round 16 – West Coast v St. Kilda: Saints go west and strike gold; sort of!

 

 

West Coast v St. Kilda

2.20 PM Sunday 2 July

Optus Stadium

 

The Saints started the season well with four wins on the trot. They performed well in a couple of close losses to the Pies and Port, respectively. Since then they have fallen into a bit of a hole; maybe a bit more than a bit. In recent weeks they lost to both the Tigers and Lions. They are competitive but have lost the edge that they had at the beginning of the season. The Eagles are having a horror year, coming off two massive thumpings. Taking on the Eagles in Perth was a danger game for the Saints. It is the sort of game that in the past they would have lost to ruin what had the potential of being a good season.

 

The game starts and Mitch Owens has kicked a goal within the first 19 seconds of the game. What was all this rubbish of this being a danger game for the Saints. But nineteen seconds is not a long time in a game of footy. The ball heads back to the center and the Eagles take over. They are out running and out tackling the Saints. They get a couple of goals from a mark and then a free. Then the Eagles’ Noah Long, who looks like an escapee from a child minding center, kicks this miracle goal. He receives a handball deep in the forward pocket, then seemed to throw the ball away from himself and kicked it with the outside of his boot for it to sail through the big sticks (he also set up a neat goal in the second quarter). Oh no, its happening again; things are looking bleak for the Saints. The Saints rallied and got two back in a hurry – Owens on the end of coast to coast play and Max King who snapped one from a throw in. From the following center bounce the Eagles got a late goal and went into the quarter time break 7 points to the good.

 

If the first quarter was bad for the Saints the second was worse, much worse! The Eagles were allowed to play kick to kick across their back half. They gradually moved the ball forward and found holes in the Saints defence to set up easy goals. They had 43 marks for the quarter, virtually all of them uncontested. Matters were made worse with Josh Battle being concussed in a marking contest early in the quarter. The Eagles kicked four goals in this period when they controlled the game. Anthony Caminiti got one back with four minutes to go following interference in a marking contest. The Eagles quickly replied with another one. Then Caminiti marked on the goal line to reduce the half time margin to four goals. The Eagles were up and running; the Saints struggling to stay in the game.

 

The Saints were a different team in the second half. They worked out how to stop the Eagles kick to kick keepings off style of play of the second quarter by manning up and applying pressure. They dominated possessions and territory. They kicked three goals in the first eight minutes of the quarter to get to within a few points of the Eagles. The Eagles then rallied and kicked three in a hurry. Oh no, the Saints were back to square one. The Saints then put their foot down on the accelerator and kicked three late goals to be only down by a point at the last change.

 

The last quarter was a grinding affair. There was only one goal for the quarter; almost in the first minute. The ball was cleared out of the back line and forced down the wing and kicked forward to Max King. He spilt the mark but grabbed the ball on the 50 meter arc on the boundary line and kicked it forward to Mitch Owens who marked it 6.7 centremeters from the goal line, played on and kicked truly. It was his fourth for the game. The Saints had other chances to ice the game, kicking six points on the trot. They were able to repel forward sorties by the Eagles with the backs and big boys taking a series of marks. In the end the Saints ran out winners by eight points, which is a hell of a lot better than a loss.

 

This was Callum Wilkie’s 100th game; all of them played in sequence since his first game at the start of the 2019 season. He seems to get better with every passing year; out pointing leading forwards from opposing clubs. This was a game of two halves. The Eagles dominant in the first; the Saints the second. In recent weeks the Saints seem to be stuck on kicking twelve goals a game. If only they could get their act together for four quarters and return to the way they played at the start of the season. Maybe they will exorcise their demons against the Demons next Saturday night at Marvel Stadium. Hope, like bad puns, springs eternal.

 

Go Saints!!

 

West Coast   4.1   9.2   11.2   11.5 (77)

St. Kilda        3.0   5.2   11.7   12.11 (85)

 

Goals

West Coast: Allen 2, Hewett 2, Maric 2, Cripps, Darling, Long, Petruccelle, B. Williams, J. Williams.

St. Kilda: Owens 4, Caminiti 2, Butler 2, King, Higgins, Gresham Wood.

 

Best

West Coast: Shuey, Barrass, Hurn, B. Williams, Duggan.

St. Kilda: Crouch, Marshall, Sinclair, Owens, Wood.

Crowd: 35,579.

Malarkey Medal: Shuey 1 (WC), Marshall 2, (StK), Crouch 3 (StK).

 

 

To return to the www.footyalmanac.com.au  home page click HERE

 

Our writers are independent contributors. The opinions expressed in their articles are their own. They are not the views, nor do they reflect the views, of Malarkey Publications.

 

Do you enjoy the Almanac concept?
And want to ensure it continues in its current form, and better? To help keep things ticking over please consider making your own contribution.

 

Become an Almanac (annual) member – CLICK HERE