ST KILDA has recorded its seventh successive victory over the Western Bulldogs in emphatic style, hammering the disappointing Dogs by 63 points at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.
The Saints took a stranglehold of the contest late in the first term, eventually winning their second game of the year 15.13 (103) to 5.10 (40).
Five talking points: St Kilda v Western Bulldogs
For much of the final term it appeared the Dogs might be restricted to the second-lowest score in their history, but after trailing by 82 points they kicked the last three goals of the match in the dying minutes to avert this humiliation.
St Kilda, meanwhile, had 11 individual goalkickers.
The Bulldogs are still looking for their first win under coach Brendan McCartney. This was by far the worst of their three losses for the season.
To compound matters, star defender Brian Lake appears certain to be suspended after being reported for striking young Saint Tom Simpkin in the final term.
For a brief period after half-time the Bulldogs appeared capable of fighting their way back into the game when Daniel Giansiracusa goaled to bring his side within 25 points. Soon after, the Bulldogs veteran had a chance to kick another but was denied by Jarryn Geary on the last line.
That desperate effort proved the catalyst for the Saints to produce the most decisive burst of the match, with Scott Watters' men piling on five goals in seven minutes among a purple patch that netted nine consecutive goals.
Of great concern to McCartney must have been the fact that the vast majority of the Saints goals came from Bulldog turnovers.
Just once in their seven-game drought against the Saints have the Bulldogs managed to score at least 10 goals. This time they struggled to kick half that many.
Bulldogs skipper Matthew Boyd played a lone hand for his side, amassing 40 disposals, but even he let himself down at times with some mediocre delivery. Across the board, the Bulldogs were let down by their delivery and decision-making.
Boyd and his teammates were swamped by the Saints band of runners with Lenny Hayes (30 touches) back to his best, Leigh Montagna (27) damaging with his kicking forward of centre, as was Nick Dal Santo (23), while Brendon Goddard prominent all over the field and twice drifted forward to outmark Daniel Cross and kick goals during the third term burst.
Saints tagger Clint Jones (24 touches), in his 100th AFL game, nullified Bulldogs playmaker Ryan Griffen (18 possessions).
The only negative for the Saints was Sam Gilbert being subbed off with a lower back problem just after half-time.
The Saints' stranglehold over the Dogs now stretches into a fourth season. The last time they succumbed to the Bulldogs was in round 11, 2008, when Jason Akermanis slotted 6.4 from 21 kicks.
The Saints are in great touch going into their first clash with former coach Ross Lyon's Fremantle at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.
The Bulldogs have a chance to bounce back and finally record an ice-breaking victory against Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday week.
BULLDOGS 1.2 1.5 2.6 5.10 (40)
ST KILDA 4.5 6.6 13.9 15.13 (103)
GOALS
St Kilda: Milne 3, Riewoldt 2, Goddard 2, Dal Santo, Polo, Stanley, Koschitzke, McEvoy, Montagna, Armitage, Steven,
Western Bulldogs: Jones, Giansiracusa, Griffen, Cooney
BEST
St Kilda: Hayes, Fisher, Montagna, Goddard, Stanley, Geary, Jones
Western Bulldogs: Minson, Boyd, Picken, Murphy
INJURIES
St Kilda: Nil
Western Bulldogs: Nil
Subs: Jamie Cripps (St Kilda) replaced Sam Gilbert in the third quarter
Nathan Djerrkura (Western Bulldogs) replaced Tom Liberatore
Reports: Brian Lake (Western Bulldogs) reported for striking Tom Simpkin in the last quarter
Umpires: Donlon, Farmer, Meredith
Official crowd: 28,971 at Etihad Stadium
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
