SF 1 Match Wrap

The lowdown

Hero:
Nick Riewoldt. A down week against the Geelong juggernaut had some questioning the Saints skipper's champion status. He must have been listening. Riewoldt finished with 15 marks, 20 possessions and five goals straight. But it was his unbelievable work rate around the ground and superb leadership that added a September entry into his already bulging resume, and brought his team to within one win of a grand final appearance.

Goat:
Paul Medhurst. Medhurst was just one of a number of Magpies who did not do enough, but it was his on-field displays of petulance that got him the votes. The forward starting blowing up at his teammates in the second term and carried it through the night. Mind you, he had reason to be angry -- Collingwood's entry by foot into its forward 50 was appalling.

Turning point:
The lead changed nine times in the opening quarter-and-a-half as both teams went goal for goal. But then James Gwilt used his beautiful long left foot to drill one from 50m to bring up back-to-back goals for the Saints and break the sequence. St Kilda went on to kick six in a row and blow the game wide open. The Pies never recovered.

Bonus points:
... to Robert Harvey's hairdresser. Unless our eyes deceived us, the St Kilda champ was sporting a (slightly) more aerodynamic 'do. And it's only taken 21 years, 382 games and two Brownlow Medals.

... to the redemptive powers of footy. Stephen Milne shirked the issue twice in the first two quarters -- behaviour at odds with his recent heroics in playing with two broken cheekbones. The goalsneak was benched but came back with his usual effervescence to end with three goals and present as a dangerous forward option for his team.

... to hitting the side of a barn. St Kilda's return of 17.4 was one of the most accurate displays in finals history, while Collingwood's kicking -- for goal and around the ground -- was the stuff of pre-seson . . . very, very early pre-season.

Match Report

ST KILDA will meet Hawthorn next week for a place in the Toyota AFL Grand Final after disposing of Collingwood by 34 points in their semi-final clash at the MCG on Saturday night.

The deadly-accurate Saints won 17.4 (106) to Collingwood's 9.18 (72).

St Kilda's captain, Nick Riewoldt, was a commanding figure up forward with five goals, marking almost everything that came his way and kicking beautifully, with his notoriously fragile radar working perfectly.

... Full match report

stats

Leading possession winners

St Kilda
Nick Dal Santo 32
Leigh Montagna 29
Sam Fisher 27

Collingwood
Scott Pendlebury 23
Dane Swan 23
Rhyce Shaw 21

Click here for full match stats

extras

All the news, views and frank exchanges of opinion in the lead-up to the game. Match centre

Vote for history's best Grand Final mark

Match Details

St Kilda 4.1 8.1 14.2 17.4 (106)
Collingwood 3.4 4.11 5.16 9.18 (72)

GOALS
St Kilda: Riewoldt 5, Milne 3, Koschitzke 3, Gram 2, Dal Santo, Gwilt, McQualter, Schneider.
Collingwood: Anthony, Brown, Goldsack, Clarke, Cloke, Lockyer, McCarthy, Medhurst, Swan.

BEST
St Kilda: Riewoldt, Dal Santo, Harvey, Clarke, Gilbert, Montagna, Fisher, Gram, Blake
Collingwood: Swan, Fraser, Davis, O'Bree, Pendlebury, R Shaw

INJURIES
St Kilda: Ball (hamstring) replaced in selected side by Allen, Allen (hip).
Collingwood: Burns (calf) replaced in selected side by R Shaw, Prestigiacomo replaced in selected side by Wakelin.

Reports: St Kilda: Koshitzke reported for rough conduct on Wakelin by umpire Kennedy

Umpires: Kennedy, Rosebury, McLaren

Official crowd: 76,707 at MCG

Reaction

Spirit saw Saints triumph, says Lyon

St Kilda's Ball may still roll

Malthouse not looking for excuses

Player Ratings: St kilda

St Kilda player ratings

Jarryd Allen - 1
Copped a heavy hit to the hip early in the first quarter and took no further part in the match.

David Armitage - 3
Wasn't able to work into the game at any stage and looked to be carrying an injury late.

Jason Blake - 8
Matched up on Cloke and kept him to six possessions and just one goal while gathering 27 disposals to be high amongst his side's best.

Full St Kilda ratings

Player Ratings: collingwood

Collingwood player ratings

John Anthony - 4
Stood tall to mark and goal and inadvertently kneed Robert Harvey in the guts at the same time in the first quarter. That was his only major, but like all Collingwood tall forwards on the night, was not helped by poor delivery.

Nathan Brown - 4
Handed the task of minding Riewoldt and struggled to match his pace on the lead or his endurance. Had four goals kicked on him before being moved late in the third quarter.

Chris Bryan - 3
Missed one he should have kicked when the game was in the balance in the third and then gave an undisciplined free kick away directly after. Wasn't an influence at the stoppages or in general play. Not a night he'll remember fondly.

Full Collingwood ratings