MELBOURNE's season suffered another serious blow on Sunday afternoon when it not only lost to St Kilda by 79 points at Telstra Dome, but it also potentially lost forward Russell Robertson for an extended period with an achilles injury.
The Demons went down to the Saints 19.15 (129) to 7.8 (50) with the afternoon made even bleaker in the third term when Robertson left the field unable to put weight on his right leg.
The Melbourne goal-kicker, whose responsibility has recently increased with the retirement of David Neitz, was in immense pain following a crunching hit by a trio of Saints and was immediately helped from the field.
With its forward line in tatters, Melbourne struggled to kick goals on Sunday and went almost a quarter and a half without registering a six-pointer across the third term.
Put simply, the Demons had no answers on an afternoon where the Saints were out to prove something after being publicly labelled "soft" by their coach last weekend.
James McDonald and Brock McLean tried hard to lift their side with a combined 44 possessions, while defenders Colin Garland and Matthew Warnock did well against the Saints' tall timber.
And in another positive, Adem Yze returned from the VFL to put together a three-goal game, booting two majors in the final term.
Ultimately, St Kilda just had too many contributors for the struggling Demons to contend with throughout the one-sided encounter. Errors plagued the side, and the Saints' clearance and ruck work was largely superior.
The home side piled on five goals to two in the opening term after receiving excellent starts from Jason Gram, Sam Fisher, and ruck combination Steven King and Michael Gardiner.
Two bursts of goals dictated the term for the Saints after they got on top in the clearances, but a late goal to Yze, who was making his first senior appearance since round one, reduced the margin slightly to 20 points at quarter-time.
The Demons persisted with Warnock minding Justin Koschitzke and Garland alongside Nick Riewoldt in the second, and the move paid off with the goal-kicking pair restricted to just a major apiece before halftime.
But, while the spearheads were kept quiet – and even shifted into defence late in the term – the Saints' small forwards of Stephen Milne and Adam Schneider combined for three second-quarter goals, while Clinton Jones kicked his second career major to extend the side's lead to 44 points at the long break.
The Demons entered the third term with Paul Wheatley finding plenty of the ball after missing last week with a calf injury, while McDonald was getting the better of a duel with Nick Dal Santo to have picked up 16 possessions.
But, in a low-scoring third term, the Saints booted 2.6 to the Demons' 0.2, and Dean Bailey's men were faced with a demoralising 60-point deficit to chase with a quarter to go.
Melbourne now has a seven-day break before it takes on Collingwood in the annual Queen's Birthday blockbuster at the MCG next Monday.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or the clubs.
MATCH DETAILS
ST KILDA: 5.4, 10.6, 12.12, 19.15 (129)
MELBOURNE : 2.2, 3.4, 3.6, 7.8 (50)
GOALS:
St Kilda: Schneider 5, Milne 3, Birss 2, Koschitzke 2, Riewoldt, Dal Santo, Gram, Ball, Jones, Montagna, Dempster
Melbourne: Yze 3, Dunn, Robertson, Sylvia, Bruce
BEST:
St Kilda: Ball, Fisher, Gram, Dal Santo, Goddard, Montagna, Riewoldt
Melbourne: McDonald, McLean, Bruce, Warnock, Garland
INJURIES:
St Kilda: Nil
Melbourne: Robertson (achilles), Bate (hand)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Stevic, Stewart, Head
Official crowd: 27,854 at Telstra Dome
