Saints Make It Eight Straight

17 May 2009

ST KILDA’S undefeated start to the 2009 season has continued after it beat a determined Essendon by 19 points at Docklands on Sunday.

After a dominant first term, where it kicked six unanswered goals, the Saints were never able to break away from the Bombers, but did enough to run out 13.12 (90) to 10.11 (71) winners.

St Kilda held the lead for all but five minutes of the match, but it was the closest the side had come to a defeat this season.

Essendon got the first goal on the board through Jay Neagle, but St Kilda poured on the next six majors to set up the win. The Saints booted 6.5 in the first term – their highest first-quarter score for the season.

It looked set for a one-sided contest, but those six goals proved to be vital as Essendon hit back but just couldn’t ever get close enough to reclaim the lead.

Essendon outscored St Kilda in the second term and looked at its most dangerous in the third but for some poor kicking at goal. The Bombers controlled the footy well and used their blistering pace to its advantage – the most dangerous being Andrew Lovett and Alwyn Davey. Sam Gilbert played on the much shorter Davey and was the only Saints player with the pace to come close to matching the exciting Bomber.

Cale Hooker did a reasonable job on St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt for much of the game and kept with him at every contest, while Tayte Pears acquitted himself well early against Justin Koschitzke.

Koschitzke lifted in the third quarter, taking an important mark and kicking a goal after Essendon had reduced the margin to 18 points.

He took a couple more contested marks in the quarter and was an important player for the Saints as they held a resolute Essendon at arm’s length.

Sam Fisher was on Matthew Lloyd for much of the night but still earned plenty of his own footy, finishing with 19 possessions.

Lenny Hayes was once again sensational in the middle, attacking the ball consistently as well as showing poise with his disposal to amass 33 possessions.

St Kilda’s other midfield guns Nick Dal Santo (23 possessions), Leigh Montagna (28) and Brendon Goddard (27) did the job without starring.

Zac Dawson threw himself into every contest in the back half and gathered 18 touches to boot.

St Kilda’s renowned pressure was no less than it had been in previous weeks, but Essendon coped well with it. But while St Kilda has earned a reputation for its defensive pressure, it is just as intense in pursuit of the contested ball.

Essendon carried the momentum into the fourth quarter, but their shots at goal were falling just short as the St Kilda big men punched the ball over the line to save valuable goals.

The Saints eventually broke away at the 17-minute mark through Dal Santo, who put the ball onto Riewoldt’s chest. The resulting goal sealed the match and kept St Kilda’s perfect record intact.

St Kilda 6.5 8.8 11.11 13.12 (90)

Essendon 2.1 5.1 8.6 10.11 (71)

GOALS

St Kilda: Koschitzke 4, Riewoldt 3, Ball, Geary, Gram, Hayes, McQualter, Milne

Essendon: Lloyd 3, Neagle 3, Dempsey, Myers, H.Slattery, Winderlich

BEST

St Kilda: Hayes, Montagna, Riewoldt, Koschitzke, Goddard, Dal Santo, Dawson, S.Fisher

Essendon: Watson, Lovett, Lloyd, Neagle, Pears, Dempsey, Dyson, Hocking

Reports: Davey (Essendon) reported in second quarter for rough conduct on Dal Santo (St Kilda) by umpire McBurney

Umpires: McBurney, Chamberlain, Pannell

Official crowd: 45,594 at Docklands

Source: www.saints.com.au