Cream rises to the top
Jack Billings has been doing it for most of 2017 and he did it again on Sunday night. With his deadly left foot, the 21-year-old tore the game apart in the forward half. In a game with few standouts, Billings stole the show, particularly in the opening half. He finished with a game-high 30 disposals – the third time he’s reached that mark in 2017 – 12 score involvements, eight marks, seven inside 50s, three goals and one goal of his own. Alan Richardson labelled it as a ‘complete game’ in the aftermath and it is a performance we are quickly becoming accustomed to by a player who has had to carry plenty of expectation given where he was taken in the draft. The Saints banked their prized No. 3 pick on the left footer four years ago and he is repaying the faith in spades.
Poor kicking tarnishes win, again
Conversion has been a concern for the Saints across the first half of this season and it reared its ugly head again on the weekend. A week after kicking 12.17 against North Melbourne, St Kilda finished with 14.19 against Gold Coast. Alan Richardson was quizzed about it in his post-game press conference and he conceded the players were as disappointed and as frustrated as the supporters but were doing the work on the track to rectify the problem: “As long as you keep doing the work it will turn, there is no other way.” Jack Steven was the main culprit 0.3 to his name, but he was far from alone. Josh Bruce and Mav Weller finished with 1.2 apiece and Jade Gresham kicked 0.2. While the conversion is difficult to watch, at least the Saints are getting plenty of opportunities to score. Hopefully the wheel turns soon.
Hard-nosed pair set the tone
You might have to go back over the tape to notice their total impact, but it was Koby Stevens and Luke Dunstan who set the tone on Sunday night. With Jack Steele applying pressure from below following a 36-disposal effort for Sandringham on Saturday, Stevens and Dunstan rose to the occasion against Gold Coast. Former Bulldog Stevens accrued the most pressure points (per 100 min) of Round 14 with 108.1 points, while Dunstan registered the 7th most with an elite 73.4. Stevens laid a whopping 15 tackles – the equal second most in the club's history – along with 21 disposals. Fellow midfield bull Dunstan gathered 20 touches, laid nine tackles as well as five clearances and five inside 50s. On an ugly day, Stevens and Dunstan helped the Saints win ugly.
Saints bounce back into eight, but it’s a tough run home
It’s tight in the middle, extremely tight. Sunday night’s 31-point win propelled St Kilda back over Sydney and the Western Bulldogs and into the eight. Now, only 0.9 percent separates the Saints and the Dogs, following the reigning premiers’ one-point win over North Melbourne on Saturday night. While the Saints are in a good position as the competition turns for home, Alan Richardson’s men have a tough run home. First up is Fremantle in Perth. Then Richmond and Essendon at Etihad Stadium, before back-to-back interstate trips. Sydney at the SCG. Then Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval. Finals places aren’t handed out, they are earned. And in St Kilda’s case, they will definitely have to be earned in 2017.
