Poor away form continues in the sunshine state

St Kilda’s travel bug has become an area of concern for the club, with Saturday’s loss to Gold Coast marking the Saints ninth consecutive interstate loss, including a full complement of away games for 2016. Not since Round 9 last year have St Kilda departed foreign soil with the security of four premiership points in the bank. And even then that was against Brisbane, who have won only 3 of 27 games since then. In the nine interstate games since, St Kilda has lost by an average of 55.2 points, with big blowout losses against Adelaide and West Coast, both on two occasions in each state, marring the Saints form on the road. With no more interstate trips scheduled this season, St Kilda may not have an opportunity to end the rot until 2017.

Another concussion for Paddy

By midway through the opening quarter, St Kilda’s day went from bad to worse when prized key forward Paddy McCartin crashed to the ground in a marking contest. As the play went on ahead of him, it quickly became evident that the 2014 No. 1 pick was feeling the effects of yet another head knock. After an assessment from the doctors, McCartin took no further part in the game, with concussion forcing him out for the third time this season following incidents in Round 3 against Collingwood and Round 11 against Adelaide, and for the fourth time in his career at St Kilda. McCartin is set to be assessed by specialists early in the week before a course of action is determined regarding his immediate future.

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Slick Suns torch Saints on the outside

Gold Coast snapped a ten-game losing streak at Metricon Stadium, on the back of superior ball use and calculated ball movement on an ideal day for football in south-east Queensland. Despite St Kilda registering more inside 50s (+1), clearances (+3) and contested possessions (+21), the Suns slayed the Saints on the outside, accumulating far more marks (+88), uncontested ball (+80) and effective kicks (+82) to dominate proceedings. Rodney Eade’s side was Hawthorn-like with their ability to hold on to the ball and patiently pierce the Saints press before finding options inside 50 – The Suns hauled in 21 marks inside the arc. In a scathing post-match assessment, Richardson said “their midfield blew our midfield apart” as the Suns took the Saints to task on the outside in a one-sided affair.

Sloppy conversion despite perfect conditions

Poor kicking is poor football and that age-old adage was precisely that as far as the Saints were concerned. Not that the Suns were exempt, given their inaccuracy in front of the sticks. But the Saints were extremely wasteful, booting 8.20 despite the conditions being absolutely pristine. Captain Nick Riewoldt didn’t have a day to remember in front of goal, with the six-time Trevor Barker Award winner kicking 0.5, including three behinds in seven minutes at the start of the second quarter. On a dirty day for goal kicking, Riewoldt was far from alone, with Gold Coast star Tom Lynch kicking 1.4 at the other end and Mav Weller also kicking 1.4.

Richardson praises Armitage's role on Ablett

A week after accumulating 15 clearances and 40 disposals against reigning premiers Hawthorn, dual Brownlow medallist Gary Ablett was restricted around the stoppages by Saints midfielder David Armitage. While the match-up wasn’t a hard tag, Armitage locked down on the Suns captain around the ball and ensured he didn’t dictate terms like he has for the best part of a decade. Like the rest of St Kilda’s midfield, Armitage didn’t acquire big numbers, but performed his role with aplomb, drawing praise from his coach in his post-match press conference.

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