St Kilda has snapped their six-game losing streak against Geelong off the back of a brilliant third term that inspired the Saints to a ten-point victory at Marvel Stadium.
There were plenty of moments to dissect in the final quarter as Geelong tried to eat into a 16-point deficit, but the Saints’ gritty football has catapulted them into the top four.
In what was billed as the match of the round, the contest started hot and stayed that way as the Cats snatched the early lead in a competitive match.
Youngsters Sam De Koning and Max King embodied the game early on, matching up on each other in a contest between two of the most talented young pillars in the league.
De Koning perhaps finished narrowly in front at half-time, as did the Cats with a 16-point lead at the main break.
However, the Saints put in a seven-goal third term to take back the lead before the final change. Having not quite clicked earlier in the game, suddenly everything was working for Brett Ratten’s men.
They charged through the middle and left the usually solid Cats defence completely at sea, Adam Cooney in commentary for AFL Nation admitting: “I haven’t seen the Cats look like this for a long time.”
The 2008 Brownlow Medallist added that usually reliable Cats in Tom Stewart and Mark Blicavs “looked at sea” in the premiership quarter, while also praising the Saints attacking play.
“It was the third quarter, the whole third term (that won the Saints the match),” Cooney said.
“It was the best footy we’ve seen from them for a while against a quality outfit in Geelong… they flexed their muscle in the third term and piled on seven goals, you couldn’t miss it.”
Geelong was always going to come, and they did early on in the final term when Tom Hawkins took full advantage of a Daniel McKenzie clanger to narrow the margin to single figures.
But just as the Cats seemed set to come storming over the top Paddy Ryder stepped up, kicking two consecutive goals of his own.
Multiple momentum swings followed, but Ryder’s performance when the game was on the line was ultimately the difference in a math that had fans of both sides on the edge of their seats.
King was St Kilda’s focal point up forward and collected four contested marks to kick two goals, while De Koning finished with a game-high 11 contested possessions.
Marcus Windhager was activated as medical substitute in place of Jack Higgins at half-time and the 18-year-old showcased the form that has had Saints fans salivating this season
However, the downside will revolve around Higgins missing the next 12 days under the AFL’s protocols.
Plenty of scrutiny will come onto Cats defender Jake Kolodjashnij’s flooring of Higgins, after he chose to bump and appeared to collect the Saint high.
Is Kolodjashnij in hot water for this incident with Jack Higgins? 🤔
— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) May 14, 2022
📺 Watch #AFLSaintsCats on ch. 504 or stream on Kayo: https://t.co/ieRTBIx1bP
✍️ BLOG https://t.co/L5Q0dwUGed
🔢 MATCH CENTRE https://t.co/lpFvQh9xGi pic.twitter.com/89bOjD8Sfg
Captain Jack Steele also spent plenty of the second quarter on the bench with a shoulder injury but played out the game.
While St Kilda could be knocked back out of the top four if Carlton wins tomorrow, Ratten will be buoyed by his side’s upcoming fixture, as they now play Adelaide and North Melbourne in their next fortnight.
FULL SCORE
St Kilda: 2.2, 4.4, 11.8, 13.12. (90)
Geelong: 4.3, 6.8, 8.10, 11.14. (80)
GOALS
St Kilda: Ryder 3, King 2, Membrey 2, Marshall, Jones, Wood, Sharman, Long
Geelong: Hawkins 4, Tuohy 2, Smith, Guthrie, Cameron, Stengle, Miers
BEST
St Kilda: Crouch, Gresham, Sinclair, Ryder, Billings
Geelong: Stewart, Hawkins, Tuohy, Selwood, Duncan
INJURIES
St Kilda: Higgins (Concussion), Steele (Shoulder)
Geelong: N/A