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No Excuses for Poor Saints: Lyon

26 Jul 2008

ST KILDA coach Ross Lyon is offering no excuses for his team’s “bitterly disappointing” 17-point loss to the West Coast Eagles at Subiaco Oval.

St Kilda squandered numerous early scoring opportunities leaving the door open for the West Coast to work their way back into the game.

Skipper Nick Riewoldt was the main culprit kicking three consecutive points and an out on the full from relatively straightforward chances before finishing the game with five goals.

Lyon said the Saints paid a high price for not making the most of their opportunities in front of goal.

“In hindsight, yes, I thought it would have been nice to kick a little bit straighter but that’s happened before and it happens to other teams,” he said.

“(The game) goes for four quarters and you need to deliver for four quarters. So we got a start, which you want in this state (to) silence the crowd a little bit.

“But they gradually ran their way in and the crowd come back in and they really lifted in the last quarter.”

Lyon said the early loss of key defender Max Hudghton with a calf injury had unsettled the Saints but was no excuse for the loss.

“Look I’m loathe to offer excuses because I thought they were, in the end, the better team on the day,” he said.

“We lost Hudghton in the first five minutes which structurally put us under some pressure on what is a big ground.

“It really put us under pressure (with) the ability to manipulate the midfield, but again I’m loathe to make excuses because at the end of the day I thought we had opportunities.

“I thought we slaughtered the footy (with) a lot of clanger kicks. We won the contested ball, we tackled pretty well, as did they.

“I thought some of their good players we controlled in (Matt) Priddis and (Andrew) Embley, and even (Dean) Cox wasn’t enormous.

“But they had a couple who got under the guard and they got momentum and we couldn’t quite wrestle it back.”

The loss is a major blow to St Kilda’s top four ambitions but Lyon said the club would simply remain focussed on securing a finals berth.

“We haven’t spoken about the four,” he said.

“I think today highlights how difficult this competition is. You need to be on your game otherwise you’re not going to get the result you desire.

“It’s always hard to come over here and win but in reality it’s a bitterly disappointing loss.

“We’ve got five really big games (so) the season’s still well and truly alive.”

Lyon said the Saints would have to assess Hudghton’s injury during the week to determine whether he’ll line up against Port Adelaide at the Telstra Dome next Sunday.

Despite contributions from Stephen Milne and Nick Riewoldt, the Saints were disappointing in front of goal

More Information

Official AFL Website of the
St Kilda Football Club