Back six get the job done against potent North setup

Opposed to one of the best attacking ensembles in the game, St Kilda’s back six restricted North Melbourne to their second lowest score of the season, 11.16 (82), despite a decent inside 50 discrepancy (-10). Sean Dempster had the big job on one of the most in-form key forwards in the game in Jarrad Waite, who had booted 22.6 across six rounds, and completely nullified his influence, holding him to four marks and 1.2. Sam Fisher spent the afternoon on Drew Petrie in the Kangaroos stalwarts’ 300th game and subdued the veteran, holding him to four marks and two goals. Whilst versatile defender Sam Gilbert worked off Ben Brown, providing plenty of drive on transition. Jarryn Geary produced another reliable performance on Brent Harvey, and as the outlets, Shane Savage and Leigh Montagna were the architects out of the back half, chalking up plenty of territory and using their penetrating right feet with precision.

All round Gilbert produces best performance in a long time

In definitely his best game of the season, and maybe even for a few years since his injury interrupted 2013-15, Sam Gilbert played a major role in St Kilda’s dogged performance on Sunday. In an intriguing match-up, Gilbert restricted Ben Brown’s influence before acquiring plenty of his own ball. He finished with 24 possessions, 626 metres of gained territory, seven inside 50s and six rebound 50s to emphasise how prominent he was on transition. Alan Richardson lauded Gilbert’s performance in his post-match press conference, describing the effort as ‘outstanding’. The decision to play an athletic utility in Gilbert on the 199cm dreadlocked giant was inspired after some media critics pondered pre-game how St Kilda was going to stifle the influence of the three North Melbourne tall forwards.

How well has Nick started 2016?

If Nick Riewoldt can maintain his outstanding start to 2016, does a sixth All Australian guernsey beckon? Surely. His start to the season has been so strong and so influential on games, he still lays claim to being the Saints most important player. Splitting his time between a wing and inside 50, Riewoldt’s form across the first seven rounds has him fighting for a spot on a wing in the team of the year. Andrew Gaff, Lachie Hunter and Tom Scully have all excelled on a wing early this year, but none of them have pushed forward and impacted the scoreboard like he has thus far. Already, he has kicked 18.5. At 33, he is averaging 20 possessions and 11.3 marks (most in the AFL) per game – the highest figures in his glittering career. Once again on Sunday, the Saints skipper produced another dominant display, kicking 3.0 from 24 possessions and 16 marks (that is not a misprint). 

Kangaroos even engine room trump Saints mids

North Melbourne’s midfield don’t kill you by individual numbers, they beat you by a balanced level of contribution. That was the case again on Sunday, with Jack Ziebell, Ben Cunnington and Todd Goldstein willing the Kangaroos to victory on the scoreboard, and in a handful of key indicators. North Melbourne won contested ball (+9), clearances (+10), inside 50s (+10) and hitouts (+11), with reigning All Australian ruckman Goldstein taking the chocolates in the ruck duel against Tom Hickey. The Saints engine room was subdued by the Kangaroos, with two-time Trevor Barker Award winner Jack Steven clamped by tagger Ben Jacobs. David Armitage played only two-thirds of the game after copping a knock. Although Jack Newnes stood up on a wing, collecting 27 possessions, eight rebound 50s and four inside 50s. His disposal let him down at times, but he continued his strong start to the year.

Saints left to rue wasted dominance

Despite dominating large patches of the middle part of the game, St Kilda was left to rue wasted opportunities in the aftermath of Sunday’s seven-point loss. Alan Richardson’s side had the upper hand in the second quarter, generating a mountain of inside 50 entries but could only convert those chances into one goal, whilst North Melbourne kept the Saints at arms distance. In the final term, St Kilda made the most of their momentum when they booted four unanswered goals in the closing half of the quarter to turn a 26-point deficit into scores being level with a minute to play. From there, Todd Goldstein kicked an important behind from a contentious free kick and then Mason Wood kicked a goal after the siren after allowing the clock to run down whilst he waited to take his kick. In his post-mortem, a disappointed Richardson was pleased with how his side fought back from the brink in the last quarter to fight until the final siren. But he attributed a poor start to the final result. 

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