Saints escape with draw against Dockers
St Kilda 13.16 (94) drew with Fremantle 14.10 (94)
St Kilda and Fremantle have played out a controversial draw in their clash at a cold and windy
Aurora Stadium in Launceston this afternoon.
A furious debate erupted at full time when the siren sounded and the
Dockers led by one point. With the deafening crowd noise, the umpires failed to
hear it and play continued for several seconds after.
Ultimately, St Kilda midfielder Steven Baker was awarded a kick 'after the
siren', to which he missed and resulted in a farcical draw - 13.16 (94) to 14.10
(94).
In what could only be described as an enormous blight on the management of
the game, an investigation into the matter by the AFL is currently underway,
which is surely to include why the siren at the ground was so soft.
With the result, both the Saints and Dockers improve their season record to
two wins and a draw from five matches, sitting in sixth and seventh position
respectively on the ladder.
Matthew Pavlich was the dominant player on the ground with six goals for
Fremantle, while captain Peter Bell (26 possessions) and Josh Carr (23) provided
midfield run and hardness around the ball.
St Kilda's Nick Dal Santo, Lenny Hayes and Luke Ball were impressive in
winning the hard ball, while Jason Blake collected 25 touches, 20 hit outs and
two goals in his finest performance this season.
Despite kicking into a stiff breeze, the Dockers slammed on three of the
first four goals through Pavlich, Jeff Farmer and Luke McPharlin to provide them the
perfect start.
St Kilda clawed the margin back to five points when Jason Blake snagged a
goal from a defensive Fremantle turnover, before the visitors booted the final
two majors of the quarter to lead by 15 points at the break.
That buffer was extended to 22 points by the half time break after a
dominant three-goal term by Pavlich as Fremantle slammed on five goals to
four.
Although the Saints reduced the deficit to as little as two points mid-way
through the term, the visitors ended well with five of the final seven majors
to make use of the breeze.
An angry Gehrig, who was reported for striking earlier in the match,
surrendered three successive 50-metre penalties as the Dockers booted the
first two goals of the third term.
Inspired by two goals from forward Stephen Milne, St Kilda slammed on the
next three goals to reduce the deficit from 33 points to 16 at the
final change.
Pavlich booted his sixth major in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter
to extend their lead to 22 points.
As the match ebbed and flowed, Brett Voss, Gehrig and Dal Santo brought the
deficit back to eight points as they each kicked goals.
McPharlin extended the lead back to 14 points with his second goal of the
match, before Murray and Montagna hit back with two brisk goals to reduce the
deficit to a point with 37 seconds remaining.
Next week, St Kilda return home to Melbourne for what should be an
intriguing clash against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday, while Fremantle
clash with the West Coast Eagles at Subiaco Oval.
| |
Qtr Time |
Half Time |
3 Qtr Time |
Final |
| St Kilda |
2. 5 (17) |
6. 7 (43) |
9. 9 (63) |
13.16.
94 |
| Fremantle |
5. 2 (32) |
10. 5 (65) |
12. 7 (79) |
14.10.
94 |
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St Kilda:
Goals: - F.Gehrig 3, J.Blake 2, B.Voss 2, S.Milne 2, N.Dal Santo, N.Riewoldt,
L.Montagna, A.Murray.
Best: - N.Dal Santo, L.Hayes, J.Blake, L.Ball, B.Voss.
Fremantle:
Goals: - M.Pavlich 6, J.Farmer 3, L.McPharlin 2, D.Headland, M.Johnson,
D.Gilmore.
Best: - M.Pavlich, P.Bell, J.Carr, D.Headland, A.Sandilands, B.Schammer.
Injuries - St Kilda: M.Hudghton (hand). Fremantle: nil.
Reports - St Kilda: F.Gehrig (striking), L.Hayes (attempted striking),
M.Hudghton (spitting). Fremantle: J.Farmer (striking).
Umpires - M.Vozzo, H.Kennedy, M.Nicholls.
@ Aurora Stadium, Launceston. Crowd: 15,282.
Votes - Player of the Year:
3 - Matthew Pavlich (Frem), 2 - Peter Bell (Frem), 1 - Nick Dal Santo (St.K).
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