ST KILDA has come from the clouds to pull off the AFLW's greatest comeback, going from 27 points down at three-quarter-time to prevail over Port Adelaide by 11 points at RSEA Park on Sunday afternoon.

Headlined by three final-quarter goals from Jesse Wardlaw, the Saints turned what appeared to be a certain defeat into an unbelievable - and at the time - unfathomable 8.5 (53) to 6.6 (42) triumph.

SAINTS v POWER Full match coverage and stats

The win marks the biggest comeback from three-quarter-time in AFLW history, and comes just two months after the club's men's side did the same against Melbourne.

Similar to Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera's star turn in that fightback, Wardlaw’s three consecutive majors within the space of five minutes turned the game on its head in the blink of an eye, with the Saints only gathering more and more steam as the possibility of victory materialised with every passing second.

The inspiring treble from the Saints spearhead put her side within two points, but a costly 50m penalty paid against Piper Window for handing the ball back to the wrong player from a free kick saw Georgia Patrikios march to within scoring range, cooly converting to put her side in the lead for the first time of the afternoon.

Port Adelaide were led superbly by Matilda Scholz (30 hit-outs, 15 disposals) and Gemma Houghton (two goals), the former of whom drove her side’s ascendancy at stoppages (17-24) and enabled the defence to rebound into attack with danger and dare, but the Saints’ comeback ultimately caught all by surprise.

Wardlaw (four goals) was the star of the show late, but was brilliantly aided by Tyanna Smith (24 disposals, 11 tackles) and Ash Richards (20 disposals), who was taken out from the game in the dying minutes with an ankle injury. Meanwhile, Jaimee Lambert in customary fashion battled through a quad corkie — passing a fitness test pre-game — to amass a pivotal 19 possessions to lead the Saints’ on-ball charge.

The victory places the Saints inside the top eight as their hunt for a maiden finals berth beckons, leaving Port Adelaide’s own finals hopes fading out after letting slip a golden opportunity to stay in touching distance of the top eight.

Early, the Power were the ones with both hands comfortably on the wheel. Port Adelaide’s spring off the half-back line was a particular standout right from the game’s opening minutes, with the returning Piper Window the first beneficiary with an equally eye-catching kick on the run from long-range to get her side on the board.

The Saints had their own chances to curb the visitors’ surges at hit the scoreboard themselves, however their kicks inside-50 hit opposition defenders lace-out and opened the door for more counter-punches moving out of defence.

There was no better example than when Zoe Besanko was run down from behind by a desperate Teagan Germech, with Port Adelaide pouncing on the defensive turnover to move to attack and score through Gemma Hougton in the blink of an eye.

Houghton’s second major and another from the returning Jasmine Sowden blew the margin out to four goals at the main break, with Matilda Scholz’s dominance around stoppages giving every opportunity to further their steadily building lead.

Scholz ended her afternoon as Port Adelaide’s best player, dominating the hit-outs 36-12 and collecting 15 disposals to boot in what looked set to be a day of Power domination.

Despite a shakier to begin the second term in the hunt for their maiden goal, the Saints steadied through Jesse Wardlaw to piece together a much-improved second term which yielded two goals without reply.

Richards’ clean use and driving kicks in attack — standing in stark contrast to St Kilda’s opening term — was prolific in her team’s resurgence, with the ball living close to exclusively in the home side’s forward half with thanks to her efforts.

Nicola Xenos added to St Kilda’s spirited comeback with a long-awaited major after spending multiple months on the sidelines with a foot injury, however Port Adelaide still had punches left to throw.

Katelyn Pope and Indy Tahau quickly re-established Port Adelaide’s initial buffer within minutes of the third quarter, with their defensive tackling pressure and weight of forward-50 entries tightening their grip on the contest and making it appear all but certain that they would come home with the four points.

But then came the unbelievable. Lambert kicked off the Saints’ run before Wardlaw exploded onto the scene in style, with each celebration getting better and better as the red, white and black marched towards what just moments ago seemed the impossible.

Patrikios’ classy conversion put the Saints’ nose in front with minutes left to play as Wardlaw was pushed to the other end of the ground to shore up the defence.

Port Adelaide pushed hard to the end despite Amber Clarke firing through the would-be sealer with barely any time remaining, with the Power’s final push at the sticks fittingly marked by Wardlaw to signal one of the competition’s most memorable and inspiring triumphs. 

Up next
St Kilda will hit the tarmac to face Greater Western Sydney at Henson Park next Saturday afternoon to further its push into the top eight.

ST KILDA                0.1    2.3     2.3     8.5 (53)
PORT ADELAIDE     4.1    4.3     6.6     6.6 (42)

GOALS
St Kilda: Wardlaw 4, Xenos, Lambert, Patrikios, Clarke
Port Adelaide: Houghton 2, Window, Sowden, Pope, Tahau

BEST
St Kilda: Smith, Lambert, Wardlaw, Richards, Jakobsson
Port Adelaide: Scholz, Houghton, Goody, Dowrick, Paterson

INJURIES
St Kilda: Priest (nose), Richards (ankle)
Port Adelaide: Nil