St Kilda has fallen agonisingly short of producing one of the upsets of the season, falling seven-points short of ending North Melbourne’s unbeaten start to 2016 at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Alan Richardson’s side dominated proceedings for large portions of the encounter, but were left to rue missed opportunities in the middle part of the game, which could have altered the result.
The Saints finished the stronger of the two sides, silencing the ladder leaders in the final term, kicking the four unanswered goals late in the piece before North Melbourne forward Mason Wood kicked a goal after the siren to extend the final margin to beyond a kick – 11.16 (82) to 11.9 (75).
Nick Riewoldt continued to wind back the clock with another vintage performance. Splitting his time between the wing and inside 50, the six-time Trevor Barker Award winner kept St Kilda in the game throughout the second-half, before finishing with a whopping 16 marks (four contested, four marks inside 50), 24 possessions and three goals.
Leigh Montagna, another star in his 30s who is showing no signs of decline, also had a large influence on the result. As he has done across the first quarter of 2016, the dual All Australian patrolled half-back, acquiring plenty of leather and used the ball with poise and class. Montagna finished with a game-high 34 possessions and used it at 88.2 per cent, to be one of the most influential players on the ground.
North Melbourne’s midfield department, led by hard-nosed pair Jack Ziebell and Ben Cunnington, provided Brad Scott’s side with a comprehensive clearances victory (+12), with Todd Goldstein following up his work in the ruck with five clearances of his own.
With North Melbourne possessing a trio of key talls in attack – Drew Petrie, Jarrad Waite and Ben Brown – much of the pre-game focus was on how Alan Richardson’s men was going to limit the damage of the competition’s second highest scoring side.
Stalwart defenders Sean Dempster, Sam Gilbert and Sam Fisher all performed key roles on the trio, restricting the Kangaroos to their second lowest score of the season, behind last weekend’s low scoring affair against Western Bulldogs, and confining them to under triple figures for only the second time this season.
In his strongest performance of the year to date, Gilbert shut down Ben Brown, whilst also providing damaging rebound and utilising his penetrating left foot to turn defence into attack. He finished with 24 possessions, seven inside 50s and six rebound 50s to emphasise how damaging he was in transition.
After booting 22 goals in the first six weeks and emerging as one of the premier spearheads in the game, Waite (four marks, 1.2) was completely nullified by Dempster and the Saints back six who supported each other at every opportunity.
Whilst plenty of attention focused on Waite and Petrie – in the Kangaroos forwards 300th – the most important duel of the afternoon was in the ruck, between Todd Goldstein and Tom Hickey.
Opposed to the reigning All Australian ruckman, Hickey backed up his fine performance against Max Gawn last week, limiting Goldstein’s influence in the air and around the ground. Although conceding a contentious free kick late in the dying seconds took the gloss of another encouraging performance by Hickey.
Aside from Riewoldt, who commanded the ball whenever he went inside the arc, mobile key forward Tim Membrey followed up his classy performance last week by kicking three important goals. Despite being double teamed throughout the game, Josh Bruce made the most of limited opportunities to hit the scoreboard. Last year’s leading goal kicker finished with 2.1 from eight marks – four contested marks. They were the only multiple goal scorers, with the Saints lacking a contribution from their fleet of small forwards.
For the second time in a month, St Kilda walked off the ground having stared a major upset in the face before being overcome by a much more experienced opponent. The signs are bright for the Saints; the execution must improve though if they are going to turn opportunities into four premiership points.
ST KILDA 2.3 3.7 7.7 11.9 (75)
NORTH MELBOURNE 4.5 6.8 9.12 11.16 (82)
GOALS
St Kilda: Riewoldt 3, Membrey 3, Bruce 2, Savage, Weller, Billings
North Melbourne: Brown 2, Petrie 2, Higgins 2, Wood 2, Cunnington, Harvey, Waite
BEST
St Kilda: Riewoldt, Gilbert, Montagna, Dempster, Newnes, Savage, Membrey.
Official crowd: 27,254 at Etihad Stadium
