Saints dispose of dismal Carlton

St Kilda 18.18 (126) def. Carlton   4.10 (34)

A Nick Riewoldt inspired St Kilda has clinically disposed of a dismal Carlton outfit to the tune of 92 points on a gloomy Sunday afternoon at the MCG.

The Saints led from the opening minute, and were bolstered by the return to form from their key forwards in Riewoldt and Fraser Gehrig, while the form of their midfield runners in Brendan Goddard and Jason Gram was most promising.

For the Blues, only full forward Brendan Fevola could walk off the hallowed turf with his head held high, having booted his side’s only four goals for the afternoon. Aside from Fevola, Bret Thornton and Heath Scotland were perhaps the only Blues capable of believing they had broken even with their direct opponents.

The tone for the match was set by Milne in the opening minute, as he put through a ripper to sting his side back into action after a lacklustre opening seven rounds. This triggered a mini precession, with goals to key forwards Fraser Gehrig and a white-hot Nick Riewoldt, with an extra major added by tagger Steven Baker, who had the tagging role on Blues ball magnet Nick Stevens.

St Kilda was simply too slick and took skilful by foot, with the way they moved the ball long and direct a stark contrast to the previous weeks effort against Geelong, where they were stifled by a defensive orientated Cat unit. They were unable to properly convert on the scoreboard, however, using only half of their 14 scoring shots to the full extent, going into the first break with a hefty 41 point buffer, the Blues only managing a goal through its forward trumpcard Brendan Fevola, who strove to present, but the quality of delivery coming his way was simply below par.

While Fevola fought for his touches, Riewoldt was doing as he pleased at centre half forward, and had it not been for his inaccuracy in front of the big sticks, he could have scored up to five goals for the term.

The second term was a scrappy display of football in which the gulf between the two sides was evident. The Saints toyed with the sloppy Blues who were unable to put any imprint on the scoreline, scoring only two behinds for the term.

Unfortunately for those watching the game, the inaccuracy disease contracted by Carlton soon spread to St Kilda, who uncharacteristically managed a mere two goals and six behinds for the term, increasing their lead, however, to a handy 56 points at the half time break, the deficit for the Blues having the potential to be much worse had the much vaunted Saints forwards had their kicking boots on.

Tempers frayed midway through the term, with some heated exchanges taking place on the boundary line, Carlton skipper Anthony Koutofidies and Milne both coming under some scrutiny from opposing supporters.

The match was over as a contest as the two sides ran out onto the field to begin the third term, and it showed, the Saints trampling their miserable opponents, kicking away to an 81 point lead at the final break.

The tireless Fevola, who ran his heart out all afternoon when forced to chase and harass his bounding opponents, managed to slot home his side’s second goal, both majors off the boot of the enigmatic forward. Riewoldt continued his magnificent form, adding his fifth goal for the afternoon late in the term, while unheralded wingmen Jason Gram and Brendan Goddard stood out on a gloomy day at the MCG.

The final term was a continuing highlights reel for the St Kilda diehards, their stars in Riewoldt, Gehrig, Hayes and Dal Santo all featuring in the procession, limp Blues looking flat and lifeless, a shadow of their inspired efforts in last weeks victory over old rivals Essendon. The fact that their only goal kicker was Fevola (4) is a sad indicator of how far the mighty have fallen.

The final scoreline was a sorry sight for all Carlton supporters, who saw their side dissected by a St Kilda team who enjoyed the luxury of playing themselves back into form after a quiet few weeks.

Things don’t get any easier for the besieged Blues, who travel to AAMI Stadium next Saturday to take on an Adelaide outfit on the rebound from an upset loss, while the Saints will look to carry on their winning form when they take on the Kangaroos next Sunday at Telstra Dome.

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