Round 5 – St. Kilda v Gold Coast: Sun shines on Saints as they block out the Suns under the roof
St. Kilda v Gold Coast
1:45PM, Saturday April 16
Marvel Stadium
The Saints prevailed over the Suns by 26 points. There is no such thing as a bad win, but this was one hell of a struggle. The Saints weren’t as sharp as they were last week against the Hawks. Despite winning clearances (42 to 25) and contested ball (138 to 120) there were many periods where the Suns controlled the game. It was only in the last quarter that the Saints found their mojo and dominated the Suns. The difference between the two teams was that the Saints had two, maybe three key forwards; something which the Suns lacked – they need their King back.
Jack Higgins, returning from a two match lay off following concussion, put on a master class as one would expect from the Professor, with a five goal haul in a player of the match performance. It was the first time he has kicked five in a game. He possesses an innate ability to read the play and move to where the ball is heading. His fourth in the third quarter, possibly the goal of the match, signaled the turning of the tide in the Saints favour. The Saints were slightly ahead on the scoreboard but had been under sustained pressure by the Suns; aided and abetted by Saints fumbling and turnovers which thankfully were not punished on the scoreboard by the Suns. The ball was kicked forward out of the Saints’ back 50 and was heading toward a Sun, all on his lonesome. The ball then bounced in that unpredictable way that it did in the 1966 and 2010 Grand Finals, with the ball pivoting on its point high in the air, our lonesome Sun falling over in trying to adjust his position and Brad Hill running on to the ball, breaking a tackle and with a quick handball over the top to Tim Membrey who kicked it high into the forward line with the Professor haring down the ground from the other wing to pounce on the ball, run toward goal with a bounce and kick it gleefully through the big sticks in the goal square with a high five to a supporter on the way through.
Max King was the Saints’ other key forward. He kicked three, two from marks and the third a soccer volley with his right foot in the goal square from a Mason Wood handpass. And then there was Jade Gresham. He kicked a nice right foot snap deep in the forward pocket late in the first quarter when it was needed. And late in the game he kicked a neat right foot banana again wide out in the forward pocket when it wasn’t. It was a form of insurance to ensure the Saints would win.
When the going was tough the Saints backline did enough to ensure that the Suns did not score. As in previous weeks the Saints conceded the first two goals of the game. Though on this occasion it took 7.5 minutes of play, rather than 34 and 80 seconds, respectively as had occurred in the two earlier games. The Saints held the Suns to three goals in the second half, which is a major achievement for any team. However, the backs were not as fluent in pushing the ball forward as they had been in recent games. Dan McKenzie had a superb first quarter and held things together during a period in which the Saints struggled to find their feet.
In many ways games that are won when the team plays ugly are more valuable than runaways like that against the Hawks last week. This win is akin to that against the Dockers in Round 2. Though the Saints weren’t at their best they found a way to win; kicking nine of the last twelve goals of the match. Four wins on the trot. Not a bad result at this stage of the season.
Off to Canberra next Friday night against the Giants. Hopefully the Saints’ Jacks can slay the giant.
Go Saints!
ST. KILDA 3.3 6.7 9.8 13.9 (87)
GOLD COAST 3.1 6.1 7.4 9.7 (61)
GOALS
St. Kilda: Higgins 5, King 3, Gresham 2, Hayes, Membrey, Ross.
Gold Coast: Ainsworth, Corbett 2, Rankine, Casboult, Ellis, Holman, Chol.
BEST
St. Kilda: Higgins, Steele, Crouch, Gresham, Sinclair.
Gold Coast: Miller, Anderson, Weller, Ellis, Collins.
Crowd: 18,724
Malarkey Votes: Crouch 1 (StK), Steele 2 (StK), Higgins 3 (StK)
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