St Kilda can take a deep breath after denying a late Hawthorn charge to triumph by 12-points at Marvel Stadium.
Following a fortnight of accusations they don’t have the leadership to succeed in the big moments, St Kilda failed to prove the doubters wrong by coming oh so close to blowing a 44-point lead.
They led by more than seven goals midway through the third term, but some contested footy dominance in the final term had Hawthorn right in the game at the death.
But they couldn’t take their chances and some desperate defensive efforts from St Kilda saw them hang on 75-63.
Nevertheless, both clubs appeared as teams who simply don’t know how to win.
Rowan Marshall and Brad Crouch put on a clinic on the ball for St Kilda and were comfortably the best players on the ground.
Marshall, who had to cope with the late out of fellow ruck Tom Campbell, had an enormous game of 30 disposals and 35 hitouts.
"He's gone!!"
— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) July 30, 2022
Sicily gets done, Brad Crouch slots the goal and things heat up at Marvel Stadium 🔥
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Meanwhile, Crouch spent most of the day at his feet and finished with a game-high nine clearances among his 30 possessions, despite having to cope with a tag from Finn Maginness for most of the second half.
Despite their recent woes of losing five of their last seven, St Kilda could remarkably find themselves in the top eight come the end of the weekend.
The win moved them immediately into the top eight and awaiting the results of the Western Bulldogs and Richmond on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon respectively.
Plenty of sides have lost in 2022 because of missed opportunities, with goal kicking often in the headlines. However, Sam Mitchell had none of those excuses for his troops, with the Hawks never looking likely until late in the final quarter.
While they’ve been one of the best attacking sides in the bottom eight, the Hawks could inexplicably only manage one goal for two and a half quarter of the clash.
Their efficiency inside 50 was a dismal 25 per cent halfway through the third term, one of the worst figures seen this season.
That was despite a kicking efficiency of over 70 per cent for much of the clash.
“The issue is they just haven’t looked like it,” Bombers champion Scott Lucas said in commentary for AFL Nation at half-time.
“They haven’t been unfortunate or missed a lot of opportunities, they just haven’t had the ball down there or looked dangerous on any of their entries.”
But despite their game style woes, a mini-comeback of three goals late in the third term somehow had the Hawks still a chance at the final break.
That continued throughout the final quarter. The Hawks missed gettable chances to move closer, but they kept coming and had the momentum for the entirety of the quarter before ultimately falling short.
Whaaaaat is happening here?
— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) July 30, 2022
Hawks turning it ON!
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More impressively, they did it without their leading goalkicker Mitch Lewis, who was hampered by a knee injury before being taken out of the game in the third term.
Saturday evening’s match marked Dan Hannebery’s first appearance at AFL level since Round 23 last year, and just his third since Round 18, 2020.
"It's probably as nervous as I've ever been"
— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) July 30, 2022
Dan Hannebery on the emotions felt ahead of his long-awaited return 😍
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There were concerns the 31-year-old had been rushed back early for the game with St Kilda’s finals hopes hanging by a thread, but he wasn’t far from his sides best in his return game.
The former Swan finished with 27 disposals (10 contested) and a goal, despite spending just 63 per cent of the game on the field.
The Saints have three testing games to finish the home and away season, starting with ladder-leading Geelong next week.
FULL SCORE
St Kilda: 2.2, 5.7, 9.10, 10.15. (75)
Hawthorn: 1.2, 1.5, 4.6, 9.9. (63)
GOALS
St Kilda: King 2, Crouch, Hannebery, Ross, Membrey, Wood, Higgins, Owens, Butler
Hawthorn: Newcombe 2, Scrimshaw 2, Guntson, McEvoy, Butler, Breust, Moore
BEST
St Kilda: Marshall, Crouch, Ross, Steele, Hannebery
Hawthorn: McEvoy, Morrison, Newcombe, Mitchell, Ward
INJURIES
St Kilda: N/A
Hawthorn: Lewis (Knee), Morris (Shoulder)