Saints fade to NAB Cup defeat

ST KILDA faded in the final quarter as the Western Bulldogs took out Saturday's NAB Cup grand final by 40 points.

The Dogs led at every change but had to withstand a St Kilda surge in the third quarter - the Saints closing to within two points before the Bulldogs piled on three goals in three minutes.

Six of the last seven goals of the game gave the Dogs a flattering victory margin - 2.13.8 (104) to 9.10 (64) in front of 42,381 fans.

As he has throughout the pre-season campaign, Barry Hall gave the Bulldogs a menacing presence in attack. His physical play set the tone early and he kicked seven goals - including five in the last quarter - earning him the Michael Tuck Medal for best afield.

There were plenty of willing hands in a Dogs' engine room that largely bested St Kilda's talented band of runners, thanks mainly to the work of Adam Cooney, Matthew Boyd and Ryan Griffen.

Nick Riewoldt kicked four goals for the Saints, but he was forced to take too much on his own shoulders up forward with Justin Koschitzke, Stephen Milne and Adam Schneider unable to exert an influence for long enough.

The Dogs were simply unstoppable in the first quarter with Hall kicking the first two goals and setting up another to help his side to a 22-point lead at the first break.

Disappointing for Saints fans was the sight of Sam Fisher limping from the ground after being flung in a tackle early in the first quarter. The important defender took no further part in the game after sustaining an ankle injury that saw him on crutches in the rooms.  

The Saints were stung into action in the second with Riewoldt leading the charge, but seven points were as close as they could get before a Mitch Hahn super goal eased the margin back out to 22 points at half time.

Hahn's night took a turn for the worse, however, with a heavy collision seeing him sent to hospital for scans on a suspected broken cheekbone.  

More to follow.

Western Bulldogs    0.4.5   1.5.6   2.7.7     2.13.8  (104)
St Kilda                    0.1.1   0.3.5   0.7.10    0.9.10  (64)

GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Nine-point goals: Hahn, Higgins  Goals: Hall 7, Higgins 2, Akermanis, Everitt, Griffen, Murphy.
St Kilda: Nine-point goals: Nil  Goals: Riewoldt 4, Milne, Gram, Geary, Goddard, Koscitzke.

BEST
Western Bulldogs: Hall, Cooney, Boyd, Giansiracusa, Griffen, Higgins, Gilbee, Cross.
St Kilda: Riewoldt, Montagna, Goddard, Dal Santo, Gram, Blake,

INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Nathan Eagleton (back), Hahn (head knock)
St Kilda: Sam Fisher (ankle)

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Rosebury, Stevic, Chamberlain

Official crowd: 42,381 at Etihad Stadium

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.