Saints marching in right direction
This time last year, St Kilda was 2-6 having just returned from a 100-point hiding in the west. Fast forward 12 months, Alan Richardson’s men sit outside the top four on percentage and a game off top spot. It’s extremely tight in the eight with only one game separating first and ninth, but it’s a position St Kilda has been desperate to return to for a long time. The Saints also find themselves in a healthy position in terms of depth, with a handful of players banging on the door for a chance at senior level. One of those players is Paddy McCartin who booted 4.5 against Coburg on Sunday and hauled in a handful of contested marks to press his claims for a recall. Daniel McKenzie and Shane Savage are both in strong form and both poised to replace Jimmy Webster after the Tasmanian broke his hand in the opening quarter on Saturday. As Richardson said post-game, “We’re only at Round 8”. Yes we are ‘Richo’, but things are looking good, aren’t they?
The Jack Billings show
It was Jack Billings’ day on Saturday. In his 50th appearance since being drafted with pick No. 3 in 2013, the highly rated midfielder-forward was the difference. He put his yips in front of goal behind him early, snapping his first goal inside five minutes and adding his second from outside 50 less than five minutes later. Playing as a permanent forward, the 21-year-old presented up across half-forward all day as a connector. By the final siren, the story was all about the arrival of Billings. He had career best numbers across the board – 30 possessions, 12 marks and five goals – and was also involved in 12 scores and accumulated 568 metres gained. While he has been under pressure to perform across the last 12 months, this performance has been coming. Across the last five weeks, Billings has averaged 24 touches and six inside 50s. Safe to say, he is building nicely.
Even spread of midfield contribution gets the job done again
Once again, Jack Steven and Seb Ross were pivotal in the win. But they weren’t alone. Once again, it was an even spread of contribution through the middle of the ground that led to the 19-point win. New midfielder Jack Steele (29 disposals, 17 contested) was important, as was Luke Dunstan (28 possessions) who came in and made an impact after spending the previous fortnight in the twos. Jack Newnes, Leigh Montagna, Blake Acres and Jack Sinclair all got involved to help generate 22 more inside 50s than Carlton, as well as winning 69 more disposals and 20 more contested possessions. While Billings was the clear standout, Ross’ star continues to rise on the back of another 30+ disposal game – his fifth in a row – and he should earn some votes. Star midfielder Jack Steven was massive, amassing nine clearances and seven inside 50s with his 32 disposals.
Carlisle gets his hands working over
Jake Carlisle had been building bit by bit in the lead up to Saturday’s game and quickly exploded at Etihad Stadium. Renowned for his intercept play at Essendon, the mobile key defender picked off Carlton’s ball movement with ease in the opening half. He pulled in four intercept marks in the first quarter alone, before finishing with 10 intercept possessions for the game. He also used the ball with poise on rebound, setting up two goals directly from his intercepts. Alan Richardson labelled Carlisle’s 18-touch, eight-mark effort as his best since crossing to Linen House Centre. But it wasn’t without incident, with an unfortunate knee in a marking contest from Blues full forward Levi Casboult whacking him in the groin region on the cusp of three-quarter time. Carlisle spent the break sitting on a toilet in the rooms unsure if his day was done or not. He returned to help the Saints to an important win.
