Sharpshooter Saints slay hapless Roos

You have to feel sorry for North Melbourne fans after tonight’s game at Etihad Stadium. You have to feel sorry for Brent Harvey, who played the worst game of his long career and was reported for a tripping incident, which wasn’t caught on camera. As for me, I was just delighted to have observed another game of footy after the day’s happenings, (I’m a Melbourne supporter of course) and I was delighted to see a fit and fired St.Kilda side smash the hapless Roos in a blowout which featured the likes of B.Goddard, N.Riewoldt, L.Montagna and N.Dal Santo all at their fantastic best. The Saints scored an amazingly accurate 23.5 143, giving them an accuracy percentage of 82.14, or the ninth most accurate score of all time. Also, they have scored 38.11 after their first two matches of the season.

First quarter- The Roos were horrid, Stephen Milne drove the Saints camp wild with two classy goals to open the match. A barrage of big-stick-splitting followed, with the likes of Goddard (including a massive one on the run) and Peake getting a couple of goals each. Armitage intercepted and converted to put the Saints ahead 48-0, and a groan of disapproval waved through the crowd when Gram missed on the run for the Saints, breaking their accurate streak. But the thing that the Roos couldn’t break was the St.Kilda zone, or the row of doughnuts on the scoreboard. The Saints led 8.1 49 to nothing at the first break, and the bitterness still lingered for the Kangaroos- they were the last team to have a scoreless first quarter, in Round 12 last year against the Crows.

Second quarter- The mass onslaught continued, but this time Riewoldt was getting on the end of some passes, who kicked two goals to open the quarter. Turn the clock back to Round 19, 2008- Melbourne V Geelong. The Dees also had conceded 61 points without scoring, before a behind was fumbled through to give the Dees their first score. I was madly barracking for the Roos to continue their nought, but I knew a free kick to David Hale from 30 out definitely would break the streak- the ball hit the post. Adam Pattison got into the action in his first game for St.Kilda, but after a good mark inside 50 he almost missed everything from 25 out. Brett Peake kicked a long, third goal on the run for the Saints, after Corey Jones had drilled a goal from a tough angle for the Kangas. Amazing, the Roos got another goal, from deep in the other pocket, a brilliant drop punt from Daniel Wells. Dal Santo missed narrowly before the break for the Saints, and they still led handsomely at half time, 11.3 69 to 2.3 15, but full credit to the Roos for stemming the flow just a little.

Third quarter- The Roos were at least competitive in the opening stages of this quarter, matching goals by Montagna (a great snap) and Goddard with goals from Hale and Thomas, the latter a great hack out of mid-air, reducing the margin back to an even nine goals. Riewoldt stuffed up a hand pass in the forward 50 but went on to snap a great goal, and kicking another one to get the margin out to 73 points, and giving the Saint four straight. The slightest bit of remorse came for the Roos when David Hale put his second through the sticks. Brent Harvey continued his shocker night of being strangled by Clinton Jones by sending his only second-half possession five metres on the wrong side of the white line. Montagna, Dal Santo and Goddard were accumulating the ball for St.Kilda. It was 16.4 100 to 5.3 33 at the final break.

Fourth quarter- St.Kilda’s amazingly accurate game continued, with Riewoldt putting on a show- Three goals in the last quarter for the star. David Hale was the only scorer in the last for the Roos, his third goal. Goddard, Milne and Schneider all added to their goal tallies, and the Roos wished they were somewhere else, everything was going wrong. The margin reached 104 points, and it stayed that way. St.Kilda the victors- 23.5 143 to 6.3 39. It was a case of boys versus men, as the One HD commentary team highlighted.

All of the Roos didn’t contribute enough. Brady Rawlings got 34 possessions, but he still lacked finesse. Some of their defenders (Lachie Hansen, Scott Thompson and Nathan Grima) were ok possession-wise, but couldn’t deter the St.Kilda avalanche in their forward 50. The inclusion of Michael Gardiner in the St.Kilda team was a good one; he looks a much better option than Steven King. You can’t go past the games of Goddard, Riewoldt, Dal Santo and Montagna, but I really think that James Gwilt had his best game of his career, 28 possessions and 10 marks running off half back, who is doing wonders with the absence of Sam Fisher down there. The second most accurate game in history was certainly an entertaining one, and I reckon this year might be St.Kilda’s year.

St.Kilda 8.1 11.3 16.4 23.5 (143)

North Melbourne 0.0 2.3 5.3 6.3 (39)

Goals

St.Kilda: Riewoldt 7, Goddard 4, Milne 3, Peake 3, Schneider 2, Geary, Armitage, Dal Santo, Montagna.

North Melbourne: Hale 3, Thomas, Jones, Wells.

Best

St.Kilda: Goddard, Riewoldt, Dal Santo, Montagna, Gwilt, Gilbert, Gram, Milne, Armitage, Jones, Gardiner.

North Melbourne: Rawlings, Anthony, Grima.

My Votes: 3. Brendon Goddard (ST.K), 2. Nick Riewoldt (ST.K), 1. Nick Dal Santo (ST.K).

Umpires: Kennedy, M Nicholls, Keating.

Crowd: 32,006 at Etihad Stadium.