Saints back on winners list

St Kilda 14. 8 (92) def. Western Bulldogs 12. 6 (78)

St Kilda have returned to the winners circle, registering a 14-point win over a fast finishing Western Bulldogs side that struggled to penetrate the wall of St Kilda players behind each and every contest at the Telstra Dome on Saturday afternoon.

A five goal to one second quarter to St Kilda set up the win, with Fraser Gehrig returning to form with six goals and Nick Dal Santo running rampant with more than 20 possessions in the second half.

After St Kilda’s controversial loss to Fremantle last week in Launceston, and the Western Bulldogs thumping at the hands of Adelaide, both teams were keen to get back on the winners list.

With the roof open at the Telstra Dome, St Kilda’s Robert Harvey equaled Nathan Burke’s club games record as he stepped out for his 323rd match. With Andrew Thompson also celebrating a milestone, his 200th match, the Saints had plenty of motivation.

And as if the Bulldogs did not have enough troubles with injuries to their big men, key position player Wayde Skipper was a late withdrawal for the match. Cameron Wight came in to replace him.

The Western Bulldogs started the game with their customary run, but with St Kilda setting up a wall of players behind the ball they could not find any forward options and disposal errors started to creep into their game.

St Kilda weren’t without their own skill errors, with Nick Riewoldt kicking the ball into the man on the mark twice in the first quarter, one resulting in the first goal of the game to Mitch Hahn.

Fraser Gehrig, Aaron Hamill and Matt Maguire started in the forward line, as St Kilda played Riewoldt floating across the half back line where he caused the Western Bulldogs plenty of headaches as they struggled to pinpoint their small forwards.

The first quarter was a mistake riddled affair with neither team able to take advantage of their oppositions errors. St Kilda took a 14-point lead at one stage after Maguire and Gehrig goaled from close range, and Robert Harvey casually slotted on through from a tight angle.

The Bulldogs finished the first quarter strongly with goals to Brad Johnson and Hahn, reducing the deficit to four points at the first break.

The second quarter continued in the same vain as the first with St Kilda setting up their forward thrusts from the half back line, with plenty of run provided by Jason Gram, Andrew Thompson, Allan Murray and Harvey.

St Kilda kicked the first four goals of the quarter to extend their lead to 34 points, with Gehrig adding another two goals, Harvey kicking his second and Troy Schwarze his first. Schwarze was back in the thick of things again shortly after as he and Brett Montgomery collided, resulting in the baffling report of Montgomery.

The Bulldogs were running the ball well off the half back line, but with three loose men in defence, they then had nobody in the forward line to kick too, and St Kilda were able to sweep the ball out of defence with ease.

After more than 20 minutes, the Bulldogs were finally able to register their first goal of the quarter as Johnson marked and kicked his second goal for the day, reducing St Kilda’s lead to 27 points at half time.

The Bulldogs woes going forward were highlighted late in the second quarter as a good passage of play out of defence found Mitch Hahn 55 metres out from goal. With nobody to kick to in the forward line, he ran around the man on the mark, took on another St Kilda defender before being run down from behind by Lenny Hayes and being penalized for holding the ball.

The third quarter started in much the same vain as the first half, with skill levels still not reaching any great heights. The Bulldogs kicked the first two goals before Gehrig responded with his fourth to give St Kilda a 20-point buffer.

Drama soon followed as, on a Nathan Eagleton run down the wing, Giansiracusa applied a heavy hip and shoulder to Justin Koschitzke, and a clash of heads saw the big man lying on the ground, not moving at all.

The stretcher came onto the ground stopping the game, and as it did, a melee ensued with St Kilda players remonstrating with Giansiracusa.

As the game re-commenced, Brett Voss didn’t hear the umpire call a Bulldogs free kick in their forward half and was off and running. As he kicked for goal, a 50 metre penalty was paid against him and the resulting Giansiracusa goal bought the Bulldogs to within three goals.

As the Bulldogs continued to attack, they could not penetrate St Kilda’s defence as Nick Dal Santo racked up possessions across half back as the game was played between the two 50 metre arcs.

Eventually, the Bulldogs were able to get the ball forward and Rohan Smith made it four goals to one for the quarter with a quick kick out of a pack and the teams were separated by only 10 points going into the last quarter.

St Kilda blitzed the Bulldogs in the first five minutes of the last quarter with 27 possessions to two as they kicked the first two goals to extend their advantage to 22 points.

The Bulldogs veterans in Grant and West responded to keep their side in the contest, before Gehrig kicked his sixth goal for the game to once again give St Kilda some breathing space.

Hamill extended the lead, but goals to Grant and Cooney kept the Bulldogs in the contest as there was only eight points the difference with five minutes remaining.

Robert Harvey capped off a memorable match for him as he kicked his third goal to seal the game for St Kilda in his record equaling 323rd match.

St Kilda now look ahead to next Friday night where they will be back at the Telstra Dome taking on a disappointing Geelong outfit who will be determined to stop a four match losing streak. The Bulldogs will be attempting to get back on the winners list as they head over to AAMI stadium on Sunday to tackle Port Adelaide.

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