The Eagles have always been difficult to beat at home and headed into the Saints clash with a perfect five-from-five there this year. One of West Coast’s ‘road’ victories had also come at Subiaco, against cross-town rival Fremantle in round three.
But, in champion Robert Harvey’s 350th game, St Kilda provided a blueprint for what the Lions will try to achieve in two weeks time, outplaying their hosts and then weathering the inevitable Eagles fightback to win by 23 points.
The Saints led by 44 points at one stage of the third term, thanks largely to Justin Koschitzke’s four first-half goals.
West Coast, minus injured skipper Chris Judd, hit back hard and closed the margin to as few as four points in the last quarter, before St Kilda rallied and Nick Dal Santo capped an excellent personal day with the sealer.
It was a mixed weekend for sides due to play the Lions over the season’s final 10 rounds, with Collingwood (round 17, away) continuing its excellent form against a lacklustre Sydney (round 20, home).
The Pies made the Swans look very ‘un-Sydney-like’, although Mick Malthouse and company are likely to be sweating over how the AFL’s match review panel assesses Anthony Rocca’s heavy bump on Sean Dempster.
Sydney, meanwhile, must find a way to turn around its fortunes, having fallen to 10th spot on the back of a performance that featured only 17 scoring shots and just three goals up to three-quarter time.
Melbourne, which travels to Brisbane for its annual home game at the Gabba in round 15, suffered a 10th loss of the campaign on Friday night, going down to Richmond by 49 points.
For the Tigers there was double reason to celebrate – a first victory of the season and a successful and event-free return by star Nathan Brown from his nagging leg problems.
Richmond’s Matthew Richardson would have valid claims for the best performance of the second half of the split round, despite kicking a wasteful 3.6. The hard-working key forward had 23 possessions and 16 marks in a dominant display.
Richmond 18.16 (124) d Melbourne 11.9 (75)
Richmond welcomed back Nathan Brown and posted its first win of the season in impressive fashion. Brown, whose last two seasons have been hindered by complications of a broken leg suffered two years ago, kicked three goals, as did Tigers key forward Matthew Richardson. Their contributions helped Richmond lead at every change, with an especially productive first half putting the Tigers up by 64 points at the long break. Melbourne mustered only two goals to half time and its effort in outscoring Richmond thereafter was creditable, but in vain.
Collingwood 10.16 (76) d Sydney 8.9 (57)
Sydney’s mid-season form slump continued as it was comprehensively outplayed by Collingwood - the eventual 19-point margin flattering the Swans, who kicked several goals in junk time. The Magpies led from go to woah and, with Dale Thomas and Anthony Rocca combining for seven goals, they had by far the most effective forward line. Barry Hall and Michael O’Loughlin kicked two majors apiece for Sydney, but had little impact on the contest. The win marked a fairytale debut for Collingwood’s Irish import Martin Clarke, who had 20 possessions little more than six months after being plucked from the Gaelic game.
St Kilda 15.9 (99) d West Coast 11.10 (76)
St Kilda reinvigorated its finals aspirations, beating West Coast at its own game at the usually fortress-like Subiaco. The Eagles were looking to atone for a last-start loss to Essendon but were outplayed by the Saints in the first half, particularly in a second quarter in which the visitors piled on seven goals to one. As is their wont, the Eagles hit back and hit back hard, getting within four points early in the fourth quarter and threatening to finish over the Saints. But St Kilda star’s Robert Harvey’s 350th game eventually ended as he would have hoped, with the Saints becoming just the second Victorian team in 60 attempts to beat West Coast in Perth.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
