AFL round 8: St Kilda topple Port Adelaide in entertaining contest
St Kilda were struggling to convert opportunities in the opening quarter, but an unorthodox team exercise proved a turning point for the club.
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The Saints are seemingly loving life in the Adelaide bubble.
A defiant St Kilda squad has toppled Port Adelaide during Saturday evening’s enthralling encounter in front of packed Adelaide Oval crowd.
With tens of thousands of vocal fans watching on, the Saints showed their class to trump Port 12.1 (73) to 6.8 (44) and slide into the top three on the AFL ladder.
St Kilda struggled to convert early opportunities, and only managed two scoring kicks in the first 16 minutes.
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“It’s one of those situations when you come up against a good team, you don’t be flamboyant too early … find some range and then start opening the game up on your terms,” former Hawthorn star Daniel Harford said on AFL Nation.
“That’s what the Saints are doing.”
The Saints mustered just one major in the opening quarter, and were spotted taking part in an unorthodox breathing exercise during the break.
Breathe in, breathe out 😤#AFLPowerSaints pic.twitter.com/0869xjNhEB
— AFL (@AFL) July 25, 2020
Richmond great Matthew Richardson noted how the game had changed since his era, with a renewed focus on mental strength coming to the fore.
“Times have changed in footy. I reckon Paul Vander Haar used to have a dart at quarter time,” Richardson said on Channel 7.
“Mindfulness is big now.”
Channel 7 presenter James Brayshaw recalled: “The great Sam Newman swears that in the sixties he had a teammate that used to have a pipe packed for him.
“At three-quarter time, that got brought out on and a man would smoke a pipe on the ground.”
Meanwhile, Western Bulldogs great Luke Darcy had a startling confession about his father’s shenanigans during match intervals.
“I don’t like to bring it up, but my old man Dave Darcy used to get his hair shampooed at halftime,” Darcy conceded.
“It’s a family disgrace … they had a club hairdresser.”
Hey @mattricho0 get it right, Vander would have a dart DURING the quarter! #aflpowersaints
— Rohan Connolly (@rohan_connolly) July 25, 2020
I’ve been breathing as heavy as that every quarter for 10+ years saints #aflpowersaints
— EuroDez (@djx1984) July 25, 2020
The obscure breathing strategy seemingly worked for visitors, who bounced back to score four goals in the second quarter.
However, six-time All-Australian Brad Johnson was “not a huge fan”.
“Everyone’s trying to find their edge … you try and find something that works for you in the moment,” Johnson said on Fox Footy.
“I’m not into that sort of thing … it’s just something that I’m not into.”
Both clubs exchanged the lead on several occasions during the tight contest — never did either side fall behind by more than eight points until after three-quarter time, where the scoreboard read 43-42 in the Saints’ favour.
But St Kilda steamed ahead in the final passage of play, scoring five consecutive goals to put the result beyond doubt.
“What about the Saints supporters that have waited a long, long time,” Darcy cried.
“They look like they’re serious contenders this year.”
St Kilda’s victory marks the first time in 120 years an AFL side has won a match with only one behind.
Dan Butler, Rowan Marshall, Tim Membrey and Paddy Ryder each slotted two goals for the Saints, while Hunter Clark achieved a match-high 24 disposals.
Port Adelaide have five days to rediscover their mojo before they take on the Melbourne Demons in Brisbane on Friday, while St Kilda will face the Sydney Swans at Gabba on Saturday.
Originally published as AFL round 8: St Kilda topple Port Adelaide in entertaining contest