At 16th and 17th on the ladder, this was never going to be a brilliant game. However, the Demons entered with a new senior coach after Neil Craig took the reins in a caretaker capacity following Mark Neeld's sacking on Monday. While the result saw the Dees lose their 11th game for the season, their endeavour seemed better at times than it has in recent weeks. The Demons won the last quarter 3.4 to 1.2 and stopped the Saints from blowing the lid off the game, a "minor step forward" according to Leigh Matthews in his post-match assessment. Still, skill errors were rampant from both sides and it wasn't a game you'd rush home to watch on replay.
2. Supporting Stephen
The Saints reiterated their stance on forward Stephen Milne, who has been stood down indefinitely by the club in the wake of four rape charges laid against him this week. Coach Scott Watters said on Friday he hoped Milne would be back playing within a month and there was a presumption of innocence at play, a stance backed by president Greg Westaway in the hours before the game. "We were concerned about the sensitivity surrounding everyone affected by this matter as well as the welfare of Stephen and his family," Westaway said. "Therefore, we felt a period of absence was in the best interests of all concerned and both Stephen and his teammates are supportive of the club's position at this very difficult time. We all hope to see Stephen back playing soon." Milne was at the game but stayed out of public view. "Out of respect to the situation, we just wanted him to keep a low profile but we through that he, certainly as an innocent person, deserved the opportunity to be there when his long-time mates were playing a milestone," Watters said afterwards. "I thought we handled it relatively respectfully."
3. Celebrating Saints
The Saints celebrated three milestones on Saturday evening with Nick Riewoldt and Nick Dal Santo playing their 250th games and former Sydney Swan Sean Dempster his 150th. They were all celebrated at the pre-game president's function where teammates speaking glowingly of the group and Westaway heralding Riewoldt's "fearless approach to the marking contest and his incredible athleticism" and the poise of Dal Santo and his "ability to move with the ball seemingly in slow motion". Both players had their wives and family at the game - and in the rooms before and afterwards - to watch their respective three-goal and 28-disposal performances. As for Dempster, he didn't have the start he was after when he kicked the ball straight into Dean Kent deep in defence in the first quarter to hand the Demons a goal, but he ended the game with 19 disposals and a goal, his first in nearly two seasons.
4. Spencer and Simpkin look set for a spell
The Match Review Panel will have at least two incidents to look at from this one, both from the second quarter. The first one happened at the 19-minute mark when St Kilda ruckman Ben McEvoy was caught high by Melbourne's Jake Spencer while he had his head over the ball. A groggy McEvoy went off and tried to prove he was ok on the boundary as the Saints used their concussion substitute and brought on Jimmy Webster, before the swap was made official in the third quarter. In the second incident moments before halftime, Chris Dawes was left crumpled deep in Melbourne's attack about 50m behind play. The broadcast replay showed Tom Simpkin swing a left-arm roundhouse into his jaw that will no doubt be scrutinised on Monday. Dawes got to his feet and went into the break seething.
5. Gulls gone
The nine anti-seagull high wires suspended over the MCG have appeared to multiply in a bid to win the war against the persistent white birds. As the evening grew dark and the lights illuminated the surface as a tempting bright green patch, the seagulls gathered on the Great Southern Stand and looked like they were assembling their assault. But, with the exception of a few brave stragglers who dipped under the wires for a brief soar, the Melbourne seagull gang largely stayed away and sought their evening meal elsewhere.
Jennifer Phelan is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow her on Twitter @AFL_JenPhelan.
