First quarter blitz burns Saints away from home again
Form away from home has been a focus for St Kilda across the last 12 months. Form in the first quarter away from home is the key to winning interstate and it was what undid the Saints at Adelaide Oval on Friday night. In a similar vein to the corresponding fixture last year, Adelaide dominated the opening term, booting 5.6 to 1.1 to all but put the game to bed by the first break. By half-time, the margin was 41 points and beyond reach. After strong efforts in Perth in Round 2 and Launceston in Round 6, St Kilda has undone some of the progress they made in the first two months of 2017 and brought their interstate form back into the spotlight.
Bruce roars back to life in Adelaide
On a night where not much went right, Josh Bruce reminded the football landscape how damaging he can be. Dropped after a quiet patch ahead of Round 9, Bruce spent three weeks at VFL level where he gradually got the wheels back in motion. Four goals in less than three quarters last Sunday stamped his passage back to senior football and he carried that form across to South Australia. He got on the board in the first few minutes, taking a strong mark deep inside 50 in a sign of what was to come. By the final siren, the 24-year-old finished with four majors – the most goals on the ground – from 13 disposals and seven marks (five inside 50).
Too much left to too few
While the midfield didn’t get the job done at Adelaide Oval, Koby Stevens and Seb Ross made a significant impact. Stevens was handed the colossal task of tagging Crows superstar Rory Sloane and he rarely left his side, holding him to just 14 disposals – his second lowest tally for the year – and next to no impact. It mattered little though, as Adelaide dominated St Kilda around the ball with the Crouch brothers, Matt and Brad, and Richard Douglas leading the way for the Crows. Ross continues his brilliant start to 2017 and continues to emerge as an All-Australian contender. He finished with a career-high 39 disposals – his eighth consecutive 30 + haul – 10 contested possessions and six clearances. Although, as Alan Richardson alluded to post game, the Saints lacked contribution and had too many passengers in the city of churches.
Where to from here?
It’s a question Alan Richardson was asked in his post-match press conference and again on SEN on Saturday morning and it’s one that will continue to hover over Linen House Centre. After such a bright start to the season, wins over Greater Western Sydney and Hawthorn have been overtaken by three consecutive poor performances against Sydney, the Western Bulldogs and Adelaide. Given all three are high-quality teams, it’s not so much the losses but the matter of the performances that is most concerning. Having slipped from 5-3 to 5-6, St Kilda will get the opportunity to respond when they face North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium on Friday night, before playing Gold Coast and Fremantle in the next few weeks. After a difficult run, can St Kilda emerged out the other side and recapture their daring form from earlier in the year?
