Round 5 – Melbourne v St Kilda: All Round Team Performance sees Saints Demolish Demons
By Braham Dabscheck
4.35 PM Saturday 20 April
Melbourne Cricket Ground
Five rounds into the season. The signs for the Saints of 2019 are pointing in the right direction. This win against the Demons was a replica of that against the Hawks in Round 4, with the proviso of being more fluid going forward and not only being more accurate in front of goal but also scoring with a few bombs. This was all round team performance with every player making a contribution when it was needed. Dean Kent had his best game for the Saints since moving from the Demons. He kicked three goals and set up others for teammates. The big boys up forward had good games with Tim Membrey bagging four and Josh Bruce contributing with two. His first just after half time was top draw McGraw from wide on the boundary line after a fine passage of play from the backline.
The Demons dominated the first quarter and the first half of the second. In the first quarter they won the Inside 50s 15 to 6 and in the second had 10 Inside 50s in a row. But the Saints defence held firm. The Saints managed to kick four goals from their six Inside 50s in the first quarter and were 4 points in front at the first change. The Saints weathered the storm off the second quarter and kicked three goals; two gutsy crumbing efforts by Jack Lonie and Jack Billings and a mark by Tim Membrey, his third for the game.
The Saints dominated the third quarter with five unanswered goals. The highlight was a long bomb by Ben Long wide on the 50 meter line following a precise move from the back half. The last quarter was little more than the playing out of time with both teams kicking 3 goals each. The Saints kicked their last two in the final minutes with Tim Membrey out marking the Demons tall timber and Jack Billings from a mark after the siren.
It is early days yet and the wheels can quickly fall off a cart. The Saints have already won as many games as they did last year. The Saints’ brains trust need to be congratulated for turning the team around. The Saints have exorcised their demons of 2018. The Crows next week.
Go Saints!
Melbourne: 3.3 4.5 4.8 7.13 (55)
St. Kilda: 4.1 7.2 12.5 15.5 (95)
Goals
Melbourne: Preuss 2, Melksham 2, Petracca, Brayshaw, Harms.
St. Kilda: Membrey 4, Kent 3, Bruce 2, Billings 2, Acres, Lonie, Long, Parker.
Best
Melbourne: Viney, Oliver, Salem, Brayshaw, Harms.
St. Kilda: Kent, Billings, Membrey, Ross, Steele.
Umpires: Chamberlain, Harris, Whetton.
Crowd: 35,558.
Our Votes (Malarkey Medal), Kent 3 (St. Kilda), Billings 2 (St. Kilda), Membrey 1 (St. Kilda).
Great game for the faithful. Taking it all in with pleasure.