Match Report: St. Kilda vs West Coast

On a blustery Saturday afternoon, close to 18,000 Saints fans gathered at Marvel Stadium for a rematch against the West Coast Eagles. It was also Brad Hill’s 250th, a milestone that’s likely to leave the average St Kilda supporter proud but also a little nervous. (The last few years it’s seemed milestones aren’t necessarily our thing.)

Although back on our home turf, I had a mild bit of trepidation going into this game. After the sacking of Adam Simpson, the Eagles weren’t necessarily phoning it in. The week prior they only lost to Brisbane by 13 points. And I think it’s fair to say that as a Saints supporter, as much as I thought we would pull off a win, you really never know what to expect. But what happened Saturday, I don’t think anyone expected.

1st Quarter

The game started fast with a clearance from Zak Jones and within the first 30 seconds, Rowan Marshall was kicking from the top of the goal square. He only kicked a behind, but it was nice to see the boys hit the scoreboard first. To my surprise, Rowan’s shot at goal was quickly followed by two more and Mitch Owens gave us a second behind. But the first goal of the game came from our forward Jack Higgins, who slotted one within the first three minutes of play. And just like that, the Saints were in the lead. With a pressure gauge of 205, there wasn’t much West Coast could do but watch St Kilda move the ball around the field and for the first time in what feels like ages, inside the forward 50. There was an effort from Luke Edwards to move the ball back into Eagle’s territory, but he soon found himself in a Wilson / Higgins sandwich. This resulted in him dropping the ball, Darcy Wilson getting a free kick and St Kilda putting another on the scoreboard. By this point the Eagles had surrendered seven front-half turnovers and the Saints were making them pay.

Later, a Higgins smother that echoed through the stadium eventually landed in the hands of Mitchito who marked the ball slightly outside the 50 and decided to take a shot at goal anyway, which was smart, because he landed it. The opposition did manage to get one successful scoring chain and gained their first goal from Ryan Maric. Three minutes later after some field shifts back and forth, West Coast’s Oscar Allan went ahead and kicked another just to keep things competitive. But the Saints were still firing on all cylinders. Tim Membrey and Rowan Marshall already had six possessions each and the team had already racked up 20 inside 50s. Where were the goals though? It didn’t matter. The first quarter ended 21-12 with the ball in the hands of Liam Stocker and a cuddly Ross chatting in the coach’s box.

Mitchito Owens goals against the Eagles

2nd Quarter

The 2nd quarter started with Marshall in the middle and a defensive act that resulted in Dougal Howard passing to Liam Henry, who kicked to Cooper Sharman, who punted the Sherrin between the sticks. The Saints tallied another goal in under a minute of play. But it wasn’t all peachy for St Kilda just yet. Moments later, Jack Steele kicked, what Nathan Buckley referred to as a “tear your hair out” turnover that resulted in another score from West Coast’s Oscar Allen. But the Saints were unphased with Mason Wood scoring a goal minutes later. Still, there was something weird about the 2nd quarter. The Saints were sloppy with their ball use and errors abounded. So much so that I even checked to make sure the roof was on at Marvel Stadium because it looked like some wet-weather football to me. Although Stocker was doing a great job stifling the West Coast Golden Child, by the middle of the second quarter it seemed like Harley’s Eagles had a bit of momentum. Baily Williams and Jack Hutchinson both kicked behinds and Liam Ryan had kicked two points thanks to our messy ball handling, with long bombs, fumbles, and missed marks everywhere. Somewhere in the midst of this mess, the umpires chimed in to adjudicate with a questionable holding call against Hunter Clark. This led to an inside 50 for the Eagles that Williams converted into a goal. Gotta love those guys in yellow.

But the Saints did not check out. With five minutes left until the half, we started to clean things up and Tim Membrey kicked his first goal of the game. This was followed up with a massive kick for goal from Hunter Clark that was touched for a behind. An umpire took this moment to lecture Harley Reid on football etiquette, but the words must have floated over his swollen head. Despite a bandaged finger, the kid was gunning for a comeback. This exchange was followed by a possession for Reid that had him running down the field at least 27 meters and kicking inside the Eagle’s 50. It would have been a great play if Harley had remembered to bounce the ball. But he didn’t.

While the Saints finally started to clean things up, the Eagles were sloppy defensively and gave away a free to Butler which he nailed effortlessly against the backdrop of five boos from the Eagles cheer squad. For those of you wondering what Riley Bonner was up to by then, he had already accumulated 11 disposals at 91% efficiency. The Saints ended the quarter with 35 inside 50s with a score of 7.5 to the Eagle’s 4.4.

3rd Quarter

The start of the 3rd had the witches’ hats on the attack with Liam Ryan hitting the post for yet another behind. By some mystery, four minutes in, the Eagles were leading the inside 50 count, but then the Saints swung the momentum. After a behind from Mason Wood, our Captain Jack Steele kicked his seventh goal of the season. A squabble inside the 50 allowed Membrey to gain possession and kick a beauty over his head and through the posts and everyone remembered how much we love our Skunk. Jack Williams responded by kicking a goal for the Eagles and a frustrated Harley Reid tackled Liam Henry moments after he had already disposed of the ball.

Did the Saints get a free kick? No. But Liam did get an extra set of hands to help him hobble off the field with another knee injury. Still, the unlucky Saints played on with Mason Wood who marked the ball slightly outside the fifty and decided he’d had enough of hitting the posts. His punt sailed between the goals and snagged another six points bringing the Saints tally to 68. Mason and Membrey weren’t the only stars of the third. By this point, Jack Sinclair accumulated 27 touches and hit a season-high 15 contested possessions. Not too bad for our All-Australian half-back, who has been thrust in the middle to keep us more competitive this season. With five minutes left in the quarter, Henry was out Hugo Garcia was in. The Saints were commanding the field with clearances, handballs, and kicks down the middle that kept them well off the boundary line, making the Eagles look like ducklings that would have to waddle all the way home. The siren ended the 3rd with the Saints 10.9 to West Coast 5.5. There was a calm that fell over the St Kilda supporters. Some even feeling safe with the spread and the smooth moves of the men on the field. 

Liam Henry hobbles off, his season over

4th Quarter

The last quarter began with the horrific sight of Liam Henry on crutches. But the scene was overshadowed in the first 30 seconds when Dan Butler kicked a goal. And the Saints were not done yet. Less than a minute later there was a mark taken inside 50 by Tim Membrey, who kicked his third goal of the day. Two minutes later, Sharman followed up, teeing for a goal at the top of the 50 but it leaned right for a behind. A minute later Josh Battle received a free kick for a penalty and followed up with a goal of his own. Only minutes into the 4th quarter the flogging had begun, and the Saints were fighting on. A poor attempt at entry from West Coast left Darcy darting and dashing with the ball for a clean pass to Naz who kicked it inside our 50 and into the hands of Tim Membrey who kicked back to back-to-back goals in less than 50 seconds. The stellar Saints of old came marching in and for the first time in a long time, it looked like the boys in Red, White and Black were actually having fun. With a ten-goal lead. Why wouldn’t they?  

Jones looked shiny and polished for most of the game and executed a clean pass to Hunter who kicked to Higgins who was smacked in the face by a defender. There wasn’t a free kick, but it didn’t matter. The umpires weren’t calling the shots in this game. We were. Mason Wood grabbed the Sherrin and scored another six. With around ten minutes left until the siren, Jack Steele sent the ball to Brad Hill at the top of the 50 allowing him to kick a goal for his 250th. But Hill unselfishly kicked a teammate. It was an opportunity missed. But then Sharman got his hands on it and kicked a clean one to bring the St Kilda score to a whopping 113. With three minutes left, the Saints supporters were singing songs of victory, with 66 inside 50s for St Kilda. The Eagles tried to rally, I think. Zac Williams did manage to kick another goal with two minutes left but it was late and the crickets had already settled in the West Coast cheer squad. After another putrid centre bounce, Rowan kicked the ball back into the Saints 50 where the Eagles had managed to accumulate a big fat 0 in tackle count. It landed in the hands of Alex Witherden but only briefly because then he was tackled by Membrey who was awarded another free kick 48 meters out. He missed, but it didn’t matter. The siren blew and the St Kilda Saints had won. 

Membrey winds back the clock against the Eagles

Last month when we played West Coast, Windy took Harley Reid to school. But this time, the Saints gave the Eagles a full education. And with five goals, five inside 50s and seven tackles, Tim Membrey had the highest-rated game of his career. I think I speak for all of us when I say, “Welcome back, Skunk.”