ST KILDA has slipped to ninth on the ladder after being defeated by North Melbourne by 33 points during a spirited and at times spiteful match at Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Midfielder Daniel Wells exemplified the North Melbourne style with his scything dashes through the middle of the ground in a best-on-ground performance as the Roos outlasted the Saints, 21.10 (136) to 15.13 (103).
St Kilda suffered its first blow of the match when swingman Rhys Stanley was subbed with a hamstring injury halfway through the third quarter.
Stanley was playing his first match since missing six matches with a hamstring injury. He was replaced by small forward Terry Milera.
Shortly afterwards Saints key defender Jason Blake injured his ankle in a marking contest.
His loss was highlighted when North key forward Robbie Tarrant marked a kick over a pack as Blake was limping off.
Tarrant's goal put the Roos 14 points ahead, their biggest lead to that stage.
Blake was unable to return, meaning North Melbourne had an extra rotation for the last quarter-and-a-half.
It made a crucial difference as St Kilda managed to claw within two goals at the 20-minute mark before the effort took its toll.
North took advantage of its extra puff with late goals to midfielder Ryan Bastinac, Wright and Wells.
Delaney's inclusion was justified by his performance in holding Justin Koschitzke, who finished without a kick or mark to his name. Koschitzke had only three handballs.
Fellow Roos key defender Nathan Grima did well to contain Nick Riewoldt, who tried hard but struggled to get into the game.
At the other end, Drew Petrie and Lachie Hansen were menaces in the air.
Petrie kicked four goals, while Hansen kicked three and small forward Lindsay Thomas kicked three, the last one a set shot from outside 50m at the 15-minute of the last quarter.
North players rushed in to congratulate Thomas, whose kick contrasted with the yips that bedeviled him early in the season.
ST KILDA 6.2 9.5 10.11 15.13 (103)
NORTH MELBOURNE 3.1 9.3 13.5 21.10 (136)
GOALS
St Kilda: Armitage 2, Hayes 2, Milne 2, Montagna 2, Steven 2, Gram, McEvoy, Milera, Riewoldt, Schneider
North Melbourne: Petrie 4, Hansen 3, Thomas 3, Adams 2, Wells 2, Bastinac, Harper, Harvey, MacMillan, Swallow, Tarrant, Wright
BEST
St Kilda: Hayes, Armitage, Geary, Montagna, McEvoy, Steven, Schneider
North Melbourne: Wells, Adams, Petrie, Swallow, Ziebell, Goldstein, Bastinac, Anthony, Thomas
INJURIES
St Kilda: Stanley (hamstring), Blake (ankle)
North Melbourne: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
St Kilda: Rhys Stanley replaced by Terry Milera in the third quarter
North Melbourne: Kieran Harper replaced by Matt Campbell in the fourth quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Rosebury, Pannell, Bannister
Crowd: TBC
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
