St Kilda v Hawthorn: Brett Ratten defends Saints’ tactics following Alastair Clarkson criticism
They may have coached together at Hawthorn, but that didn’t stop Brett Ratten firing back at Alastair Clarkson after he took a swipe at St Kilda’s gameplan – which he suggested may not stand up in finals.
AFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson has cast doubt that St Kilda has a game plan to win big matches after accusing them of playing ‘keeping’s off” to take control of the game at Metricon Stadium.
St Kilda inflicted Hawthorn’s sixth-straight defeat and its tenth loss from its past 11 matches with a 14-point win on Sunday to move into sixth place with two rounds remaining.
The Saints wrestled back control of the match by chipping the ball around in the second term, taking 42 uncontested marks to shut down the game.
Kayo is your ticket to the 2020 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. Watch every match of every round Live & On-Demand. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
After a free-flowing first term where nine nine goals were kicked and Hawthorn led by three points, scoring evaporated with just one second term major.
“They’re playing an interesting game of keepings off ... especially in the second quarter, I think they took 42 marks and kicked one goal,” Clarkson said post-game.
“They might be able to get away with against us, but I don’t think the method itself is going to lend itself to kicking a lot of goals.
“In terms of trying to win big games and score heavily it will be interesting to see if that works for them in the long run, but it worked for them today.”
Clarkson, however, did praise St Kilda coach Brett Ratten for his tactics in slowing the game down and taking out Hawthorn’s strength of moving the ball swiftly
“That’s good coaching and good play by them to ... change midstream,” he said.
Ratten admitted they probably “overdid it” in terms of slowing the game down although it achieved its outcome of a vital win.
He was taken aback by Clarkson’s comments and suggested the Hawthorn coach should concentrate more about his own side than the Saints.
“We’ll focus on what we can do and maybe they could to,” Ratten said.
“We wanted to control the ball and we probably overdid it slightly.
“It was a way we could control the footy.”
Other than taking a shot at St Kilda’s game plan, Clarkson was upbeat about the performance of first-gamer Damon Greaves and rookie Will Day.
The duo were among Hawthorn’s best players and even took kick-ins from fullback, while Day racked-up 21 disposals across half back.
“He (Greaves) had composure around the ball and a couple of times he kicked the ball in from full-back and that can be pretty daunting for any player, let alone a first gamer,” he said.
“We had Will Day and Greaves, who has played one game, doing our kick-ins from full back,” Clarkson said.
“That can be pretty daunting for any player, let alone a first gamer... and that’s good experience for and good for our side.”
The Hawks look set to lose star midfielder James Worpel for the remaining two rounds after he sustained a serious shoulder injury in the third term.
SAINTS HAD TO HOLLER FOR MARSHALL
St Kilda can largely thank hulking forward Rowan Marshall for dodging a bullet.
The 24-year-old is shaping as the ultimate swingman approaching the finals with his ability to either pinch-hit in the ruck or be the go-to forward.
Marshall, who was backing up after taking four contested marks against Melbourne last round, had to shoulder the aerial work up forward following the late withdrawal of young gun Max King.
He pulled in eight marks, including two contested grabs and bagged two goals, as he proved a handful for Hawthorn defenders James Frawley and Sam Frost.
It was his goal, following a marking contest against Frost late in the third term, that was the steadier St Kilda needed after it struggled to gain fluency across the middle of the ground.
When the Saints finally did get inside 50, it was Marshall who they were hollering for.
BREUST BLUNDERS
While Marshall was cool in front of goal, Hawthorn forward Luke Breust looked like a man permanently trapped between thoughts.
He wasted three legitimate goal scoring chances in the space of 15 minutes in the first half that could have made a world of difference.
The dual All Australian’s first blunder was a shot from some 25m out after the quarter-time siren, which he kicked into the man on the mark.
Then, early in the second term, he brilliantly dodged an opponent to swing onto his preferred right foot from 40m out, but instead of kicking through the ball, he opted to kick across it for an ugly behind.
Soon after, from almost the same spot, he took a regulation set shot that also missed to the left.
FUTURE BRIGHT FOR FIRST-GAMER
Hawthorn had five players with 10 games or fewer experience including rookie Damon Greaves, whose debut performance should fill fans with hope.
The 20-year-old, who was a 2019 rookie draft selection, had an auspicious opening with four marks in the first term and a scoring involvement when he set up the opening goal of the match.
Playing across halfback, Greaves showed maturity beyond his years in gathering 17 disposals, seven marks and a scoring involvement.
He looked comfortable guarding space and, when not on the tail of Saints small forwards Dan Butler or Jack Billings, forging forward to create overlap run.
Fellow rookie Will Day should have also put a smile on supporters’ faces as he racked up the third highest number of team disposals with 21 touches.
SCOREBOARD
ST KILDA 4.4 5.8 7.13 11.14 (80)
HAWTHORN 5.1 5.5 6.6 9.12 (66)
GOALS
St Kilda: Marshall 2, Lonie 2, Steele, Butler, Jones, Billings, Battle, Ryder, Abbott
Hawthorn: Breust 2, Lewis, Gunston, Moore, O’Brien, Hardwick, Scully, Mitchell
BEST
St Kilda: Hill, Coffield Jones, Steele, Ross, Marshall,
Haw: Mitchell, Worpel, Scully, Scrimshaw, Day, Greaves
VOTES
3: B. Hill (St K )
2: N. Coffield (St K)
1: S. Mitchell (Haw)
Originally published as St Kilda v Hawthorn: Brett Ratten defends Saints’ tactics following Alastair Clarkson criticism