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“Menacing” Stringer returns to form for Dons as Saints suffer “costly” 35-point loss

2022-06-17T20:38+10:00

Essendon has secured just its third win over the season with a dominant 35-point upset over St Kilda at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night.

With the clash celebrating the life and legacy of St Kilda legend Danny Frawley, the two sides came together before the bounce as Nathan Burke and Tim Watson addressed the crowd to start conversations on breaking the stigma surrounding mental health.

Brilliant individual performances have been few and far between for Essendon in 2022, however there were several for Bombers fans to cheer for in Round 14.

Peter Wright kicked four goals in his 100th game, while Jake Stringer returned to form with 15 disposals and two majors in a game-turning performance.

Mason Redman also finished with 32 disposals and 11 grabs off half-back in one of his best games of the season, and Dylan Shiel backed up last week’s performance with 25 touches.

On the other hand, it was a “costly, costly loss” for the Saints according to Gerard Whateley, with the club slipping to eighth on the AFL ladder.

Before the game, there was a level of optimism not normally seen for a club that had lost four games on the trot. Perhaps it was mid-season draftee Massimo D’Ambrosio making his debut just weeks after joining the club as he, like his side, lived up to the hype with a stunning first half.

Entering the contest with the fourth-worst defence in the competition, the Bombers managed to keep the side sixth on the ladder to just 21 points through the opening two quarters.

They did it through intensity and desperation in all facets of the game. AFL Nation analyst Gerard Healy noted Ben Rutten’s troops were better set up “than (he's) seen in a long time”.

Gone were the scenes of Essendon players scratching their heads as to how spare players got out the back; on Friday night they made the Saints work for every score.

It led Healy to declare: “this is the best defensive effort from Essendon for probably two years.”

Inside 50s read 29-26 at half-time in favour of Essendon, showcasing an improved effort from one of the most under-pressure back six units in the competition as well as impressive efficiency from the Bombers forwards.

But the Saints did themselves no favours without the footy coming off a six-day break. When Matt Guelfi kicked home the Bombers' fifth it was despite several errors. However, the usually stingy Saints defence wasn’t able to take advantage and let Guelfi extend the lead.

It was a memorable moment of the first half, however the difference couldn’t have been starker when the ball was bounced following the main break.

St Kilda got the first major through Rowan Marshall, and intentions were set early when every Saint on the ground got over to the 26-year-old in celebration.

They’d follow that with another four majors in a row to square the ledger before the halfway point of the third term, despite facing a 28-point deficit just minutes before.

Rutten needed a leader to steady the ship for his side, and it was the man he said was “poor” last week in Jake Stringer.

The former Bulldog had seven disposals in the first half and needed to fire after a rough return last week in his first game back form injury, and he kicked truly from outside 50 to get the lead back for the Bombers.

Stringer had two goals, nine disposals and 152 metres gained in his best quarter of the season to date in a performance former Demon Nathan Jones described as “menacing”. He was pivotal in one of the strangest score worms for the season. After conceding the first five goals of the term, Rutten’s men hit back hard with the next six and strolled into three-quarter time full of confidence.

It was justified in the end, the Bombers doing enough to take the sting out of the game when needed to secure the win in a comfortable fashion.

Earlier this week St Kilda was described as the “vulnerable” team in the top eight by Port Adelaide Hall of Famer Kane Cornes, and they remain one of five teams on 32 points from fifth to ninth on the AFL ladder.

They’ll play Sydney twice, as well as Carlton, Fremantle, Geelong, Brisbane and the Western Bulldogs in what is a tough run home on paper, and could find themselves out of the top eight next week if they lose again as the race for September heats up.

The win doesn’t do much for the materialistic side of the Bombers’ season, but there’s certainly now more hope around The Hangar than there has been for much of the season.

FULL SCORE

St Kilda: 2.1, 3.3, 8.4, 11.6. (72)

Essendon: 4.5, 7.7, 13.11, 15.17. (107)

GOALS

St Kilda: Gresham 3, Billings 2, Higgins 2, Ryder, Marshall, King, Long

Essendon: Wright 4, Stringer 2, Guelfi 2, Jones 2, Draper 2, Martin, Durham, Perkins

BEST

St Kilda: Billings, Hill, Ross, Gresham, Crouch

Essendon: Redman, Stringer, Shiel, Perkins, Hind

INJURIES

St Kilda: N/A

Essendon: N/A

Sports-News Essendon St Kilda

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