Match Report: St. Kilda vs Adelaide
1st Quarter
This past weekend the Saints made their way to Adelaide for a Saturday night matchup against a Rankinless Crows. The first quarter was looking dangerously promising for the Saints. This was a much-welcomed start considering the last time St Kilda played the Crows they lost by 52 points. For the first three minutes, Crom came out swinging with Dawson taking the first shot at goal. But it was Scholl who kicked the first goal of the game. For the rest of the quarter however, our back line was holding strong, and our forwards were looking feisty. So much so that I started to believe that luck was no longer a necessity for the Saints.
It didn’t matter that Rowan’s free-kick was a behind, it didn’t matter that Battle marked the ball and the umpire called play on, or that the umps thought Riley Bonner intentionally pushed the ball out of bounds. The Saints were marching in with a pressure gauge of 255.
Cooper Sharman was tackling, he was marking, and most importantly he was kicking goals, two for the first quarter. Phillipou was also starting to shine. He kicked an inside fifty that was marked by Mason Wood, who then added another goal to the scoreboard. The last half of the first quarter was played in the St Kilda fifty and all was looking well. That was until the last minute and a half when Lachlan Murphy scored a goal for the Crows. Regardless, Saint Kilda supporters were up and hopeful and everything was calm in the coach’s box with the quarter showing a 21 to 13 lead by the Saints.
2nd Quarter
Optimism abounded at the start of the 2 nd quarter, but less than one minute in, Adelaide’s Himmelberg scored again bringing the margin to 2 points. Other than that, the first half of the 2 nd quarter was looking like the kind of game some commentators might call, boring. But then Mason Wood kicked a goal to give the Saints a 10-point lead and the Saint’s rollercoaster kept rolling on. Sadly, the spread didn’t last long with Darcy Fogerty kicking a goal for the Crows just minutes later. It’s safe to say the Saints weren’t happy about this and neither was Ross who smashed the phone apart in the coach’s box and then feebly attempted to put it back together…. Foreshadow much?
A short while later, the ball came into the Saint’s fifty and hopes were high, there was Higgins, there was Henry, but unfortunately there was no goal. Then with five minutes left in the 2 nd quarter Mattaes Phillipou, who only had one touch in the quarter thus far marked the ball and took a gallant shot at goal. It was the kind of effort Saints supporters live for but, unfortunately, it hit the post. Regardless, the Saints were still ahead by three.
And then the rain came marching in, and luck blew past the Saints and onto the foot of Ben Keys who kicked a goal giving the Crows the lead with four minutes left in the quarter. The Saints however fought on and kept pushing to get the ball out of the Adelaide fifty. And while an umpire finally did blow the whistle for one of the many moments the Crows held the ball, it seemed the man in yellow hadn’t quite grasped the concept of advantage, which was called as a player was bearing down on Liam Henry while he scrambled to get the ball heading in the right direction. The confusion led to a mark by Zac Taylor which thankfully only resulted in a behind. Still, thanks to the efforts of Dougal Howard, Callum Wilkie, Jimmy Webster and Josh Battle, who were as tough and reliable as ever, the Saints seemed like they would survive.
Ross’s phone however which had been repaired with the help of gaff tape, would not.
Matheus Phillipou provided the highlight with a goal of the year contender
3rd Quarter
Ross stated at half-time that he wanted the boys to be clean with the ball, but I don’t think he meant they should treat it like a bar of soap, which they did. And so, a quarter of chaos ensued. But the defence held up. And Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera never did lose composure, despite the crappy weather. The rest of the team, however, were not as precise. The kicks should have been short and accurate. But the Saints love a good bomb down the boundary line and they played like it. These bombs were introduced to a game where there was a lot of smashing, slipping and sliding. Regardless, Webster had a highlight spoil that led to Jones kicking a mark to Higgins who had a shot at goal. Unfortunately, Higgins missed. But never fear, Phillipou was there. After a nasty hit from Nick Murry, our Number 25 out of nowhere kicked a goal from outside the 50 right along the boundary and slotted it right between the posts. Mattaes followed up with another long punt that was almost marked by Butler. Byrnes too kicked a nice entry near the goal that was also missed.
Only one point down at the end of the 3 rd , it seemed the Saints had this one. Luck no longer felt like a necessity with the likes of Phillipou hitting his form. But once again with three minutes left Scholl managed to pick up the slippery ball in the Adelaide goal square and kick a goal. The 3 rd quarter ended with the Crows 6.10 to Saints 5.8
4th Quarter
The 4 th quarter started decently with Paton in and Bonner out, and another insufficient attempt that left everyone flabbergasted. The Crows fought hard but our defence fought on. Jack Steele was in Superman mode and Jimmy Webster was a shining light, diving and spoiling any chance he got. Tex Walker (who was silenced for most of the game thanks to Cal Willkie) tried to kick a goal before the umpire’s whistle blew and threw a tantrum when the umpire called it back. (I suppose dissent is no longer an issue for the AFL) Again the quarter demanded a faultless defence as the game was played near the Adelaide goals. And Ross went in for a third smash to the receiver.
Jones had a possession that might have landed in a clearance, but it was off the mark and his handball was called a throw. Instead, Billy Dowling kicked a goal. Who is Billy Dowling? Everyone wants to know. But at this point, the score was 53 to 38 and the Saints were looking a little tired. Byrnes had a nice clearance but his shot at goal veered away from the goalposts entirely. We were cluttered around the ball but never seemed to get our hands on it. The Sherrin did however land in the hands of Adelaide’s substitute Riley Tilthorpe who scored another goal for the Crows. This was shortly followed up by a holding call where Dougal’s caress of Tilthorpe’s waist resulted in a free kick for holding Adelaide. It was the last thing the Saints needed, with 7 minutes left the game looked like it had gotten away. We moved Webster forward but it was too little too late. Byrnes was sprinting all over the field trying for inside fifty. Butler had a late short kick toward goal that was marked by Dawson.
Another entry into the fifty by Patton ended up out of bounds, and the Crows found the courage to play a bit more aggressively. Mitch Owens had a last goal attempt that missed with a minute thirty left on the clock. But Rachele responded with a long kick for goal that brought the score to 71. With thirty seconds left the Saints lost the game but held onto the ball with a 32-point deficit to Adelaide.
Were there any highlights for Saint’s supporters? Yes. There were. Hunter Clark posted game highs for contested possession and clearances, along with five tackles.
Cooper Sharman seems to be finding the ball. Dougal Howard and Rowan Marshall are both having a phenomenal season and Matteas looks like he is poised to have an exceptional career. And amongst all this, I’m not sure there’s anyone anywhere who doesn’t like to see Ari’s Shoe set the ball in motion downfield. It may have been a cloudy day over in South Australia but the future of Saint’s football is looking bright.
And although the phone in the coach’s box may not survive to see another St Kilda win, Saints supporters certainly will.
