Round 3 – St Kilda v Brisbane: “Ahh Well.” …… till next time

 

 

Round 3

St Kilda v Brisbane Lions

12.35 pm, March 28, 2026

Marvel Stadium

 

Pre-Game thoughts

Two changes for the Saints with tall defender Dougal Howard and small forward Dan Butler coming in for Caminiti (hammy) and Boxshall (omitted).

Boxshall is a talented midfielder from Claremont who has just found the pace of the game a bit much this year but he is only 19 and has a bright future.

Unfortunately for the Saints, the Lions have brought back Logan Morris, Darcy Gardner and Zac Bailey, all premiership stars.

Great to see the Lions wearing the traditional Fitzroy jumper tomorrow and if the Saints fortunes couldn’t look any dodgier, the Lions are coming off two consecutive losses.

There’s been a bit of tete-a tete between the coaches recently but it has little to no bearing on the game. The only winners are Nas and TDK.

I see they are selling pies for $3 at Marvel tonight so hopefully that level of kindness from the AFL extends to tomorrow, because I’m tipping that may well be the happiest part of the day for me.

Yes, at first glance it may appear to be an insurmountable bridge to cross for the Saints, but ultimately one must be positive, if not a tad irrational. Saints by 21 points.

 

1^st Qtr 

I’ve gone the big upgrade this year with a reserved seat on level 2. Grabbed a hotdog, a pie and a 600ml Coke for $17. Bargain.

• Nas in everything early and team pressure good. – Four behinds to zero in the first 5 mins may prove costly. – BL communication behind the ball is evident from this vantage point. Its’ not just the physical pointing but you can hear their voices above what is a 30k strong crowd. Great teams work hard and organise when they haven’t got the ball. – Darcy Wilson’s speed live is breathtaking. Another speedster in Wilmot has now picked him up. – Will Ashcroft so damaging at stoppages. Saints too slow to man up. One of the great sprays comes from a bloke who if you are a fan of The Coodabeens, may well have been ‘Massive From Moorabbin’. He looked like a human hamburger covered in red, white and black and was sitting on his own. “Spray it you Mutt!” he yelled at Lohmann having a shot and missed. ‘Massive’ duly received applause from the appreciative fans. Finally Ryan kicks a goal and the Saints go into the break 8 pts up.

2^nd Qtr

• Morris gets the BL on the board.- Saints struggle to exit D50 and Allen goals. – Sharman ties himself in knots then goals. – BL slipping tackles and Saints panicking with indiscriminate handballs. – Allen kicks his second. – Sharman takes a good contested mark and goals. – Goal square fight with Owens and NAS ends up a BL free . Things heating up but Saints skills still poor. – Levi Ashcroft kicks a goal on pure instinct. – Good team goal from the Saints with Ryan slamming the ball into a unapologetic, rude and spoilt BL cheers squad.- Ryan explodes onto a loose ball, gets caught high and kicks his 3^rd. – Saints fwd pressure good but we lack a big, imposing forward like Treacy at Freo who can compete. We’d buy him but we’re out of money. Saints by 8 pts at halftime.

3^rd Qtr

• Cameron goals after some sloppy contested footy. – Wilson incredibly burns off Wilmot, passes to Higgins who goals. – BL dominating centre clearances despite TDK getting his hand to the ball first. – Another centre clearance and Raynor goals. – Uncontested mark and 50 to Berry who should go to NIDA. He goals and the Saints lose the lead. The Saints seem to be overcommitting at stoppages. BL are better at keeping shape. – Sinclair falls over at the psychological moment and is caught 5m out from the BL goal. Bailey goals. BL by 5 pts. – Huge pressure push from the Saints sees Higgins throwing the ball “Wayne Harms-style’ to Sharman who goals. – Morris goals from the softest free in the history of mankind. – Tauru takes a ‘Trevor Barker’ and subsequently crushes Answerth whose day is over. – Kick for goal gets reviewed and it’s a behind. – McCarthy receives a soft free kick from a legitimate Silvagni spoil and goals. – Tauru finally goals and the Saints won’t go away. BL +2 pts going into the break.

4^th Qtr

• Gardner cops a ripper hip and shoulder from Ryan that removes him from the game but the ball rebounds to Lohmann who goals. BL +8 pts. – NAS unloads a torp that clears everyone except Higgins who runs into an open goal. BL +2 pts. – Saints chant goes up a level. – Owens doesn’t think too hard and kicks a beauty from 50m. Saints +4 pts. – Set play at boundary throw in and Bailey kicks his 3^rd. BL+ 2pts. – A blistering run rom NAS for no outcome. Both sides exhausted and errors aplenty. – Coleman goals and the BL cheer squad go nuts. Good to see him back regardless of who you barrack for. – BL dominating in close. – Saints again lose shape and Fletcher capitalises. BL +14 pts. – Rare bad kick from Hall and another rebound. This time Raynor goals. BL +22pts. – Cameron nails another one and its looking all to familiar for Saints fans. A terrible 10 minutes and the pressure balloon has been pricked. BL +28 pts. – Opportune goal to Lohmann cheating out the back and it’s over. BL +34pts.

There’s some clear patterns emerging for the Saints already. STK had 20 more hit outs, but lost clearances by 14. As BL like to do, they had 50 more uncontested possessions. The Saints had more tackles but couldn’t hold on to a lot either, such is the power of the dual premiers.

The Lions lost two important players today, but they will be a force again. Up close you can see their physical presence and connectivity that reminds you of their fore-fathers from 2001-2003.

The Saints composure and skill level continues to hamper what is a pretty good effort. One thing that drove us mad today was BL players giving away free kicks then playing on like it was advantage to them.

It happened 3 x times today and the umpires gave them the benefit of the crowd noise and the inability to hear the whistle. So frustrating. That was 3 x 50m penalties that could have made a big difference.

We have a communal cry as Saints supporters when the game is over. It’s simply, “Ahh Well.” ……till next time. Go Saints

 

ST KILDA     1.7    5.9    9.12    11.14 (80)
BRISBANE   0.5    4.7    10.8    17.11 (113)

GOALS
St Kilda: Ryan 3, Sharman 3, Higgins 2, Owens 2, Tauru
Brisbane: Allen 2, Morris 2, Bailey 2, Lohmann 2, Cameron 2, Rayner 2, Berry, McCarthy, Coleman, Fletcher, L.Ashcroft

BEST
St Kilda: Wanganeen-Milera, Sharman, Sinclair, Ryan, Wilkie
Brisbane: W.Ashcroft, Berry, Dunkley, Coleman, Morris

INJURIES
St Kilda: Sharman (concussion)
Brisbane: Answerth (concussion), Gardiner (shoulder)

Crowd: 31,854 at Marvel Stadium