After a tumultuous afternoon - in which it looked like the match might not go ahead due to damage to the stadium - the Saints were far too good for Freo, leading from start to finish as they won 2.15.7 (115) to 2.3.9 (45).
The only sour point for coach Ross Lyon was a calf injury to Saint playmaker Lenny Hayes, who is certain to miss next week’s NAB Cup grand final against the Western Bulldogs.
“It’s a corked calf, maybe the slightest of strains, which upset me a bit,” Lyon said of Hayes’ injury.
“It took the gloss off what was a good performance … a weight-of-numbers performance.
“But regardless of whether it’s a cork or a really slight [strain], he’ll play round one, we’re really confident of that.”
Watch Ross Lyon's post-match press conference »
Saturday night was a thorough team effort from the Saints who, despite being without skipper Nick Riewoldt and Brendon Goddard, pretty much did as they pleased against the younger, lighter Freo team.
The match itself wasn’t one for the highlights reel. Perhaps the tiny crowd - their numbers thinned by having been kept outside while the stadium underwent a thorough safety examination following the storm - added to the dullness of the contest.
But that didn’t worry the Saints’ big bodies, who helped them establish an early lead that they would not relinquish.
St Kilda led by 14 points at the first break and more than doubled that advantage by the main break.
Clint Jones set the tone with his attack on the ball and ferocious tackling, while the continued emergence of Jarryn Geary was a pleasing sign for Saints fans.
Jason Gram and Nick Dal Santo added some polish for the home side, whle Stephen Milne bobbed up with four goals in Riewoldt’s absence.
There was little to write home about for Fremantle after two impressive displays earlier in the NAB Cup.
Fremantle was without plenty of its own regulars - including Aaron Sandilands, Des Headland, Chris Mayne and Hayden Ballantyne - but coach Mark Harvey admitted even their inclusion would not have mattered.
Paul Duffield was lively for Freo and rookie Michael Barlow was prolific enough, while Chris Tarrant was a pillar of strength deep in defence.
But Harvey’s men never really looked like it. The only slight resistance from Freo came early in the third quarter, when Anthony Morabito and skipper Matthew Pavlich banged through back-to-back supergoals.
Even after the Dockers had quickly reduced a half-time deficit of 35 points back to just 18, St Kilda had all the answers.
“A lot’s happened today, hasn’t it? I think we’re still in that storm,” Harvey said after the match.
“I think at the 10-minute mark of the third quarter we were only sort of two goals down, so we were within striking range but once again some errors came in and they capatalised.
“We got beaten in the centre square in that third quarter quite convincingly. I think some of our midfielders today probably got stuck into thinking Aaron was still there.”
Watch Mark Harvey's post-match press conference »
The Saints booted six of the final seven majors of the third term to kill off any sniff the visitors might have had.
Lyon’s team then marched clear in the final term to set up a crack at another night premiership, a match the coach believes will serve as an ideal lead-in to the home and away season.
“The Doggies obviously look in really good nick and [so does] Hally,” he said.
“It’s nice to have a look at them early before the year.”
St Kilda 0.4.1 1.6.2 1.12.4 2.15.7 (115)
Fremantle 0.1.5 0.1.6 2.2.7 2.3.9 (45)
GOALS
St Kilda: Nine-point goals: Geary, Gram Goals: Milne 4, Gram 2, Schneider 2, Stanley 2, Armitage, Geary, Koschitzke, Lynch, McQualter
Fremantle: Nine-point goals: Morabito, Pavlich Goals: Barlow, Hayden, Murphy
BEST
St Kilda: Jones, Armitage, Dawson, Milne, Geary, Dal Santo
Fremantle: Duffield, Tarrant, Barlow, Hasleby, Bradley
INJURIES
St Kilda: Hayes (calf), Blake (back tightness) - late withdrawal
Fremantle: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Jeffrey, Chamberlain, Pannell
Official crowd: 5241 at Etihad Stadium
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
*Carlton Draught Match Centre is unavailable for this game due to technical problems relating to Saturday's severe weather in Melbourne. AFL.com.au apologises for any inconvenience.
