AFL round seven St Kilda v Port Adelaide: All the news, action and fallout from Cairns thriller
Selling games to play in Cairns has helped St Kilda on a number of financial front, but the Saints’ horror performance in Cairns irked fans and has prompted the club to review its deal.
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St Kilda will review its two-year agreement to play in Cairns at the end of the season despite believing the deal worth between $600,000-$700,000 per game has strong player buy-in.
The Saints kicked 4.18 in humid and slippery conditions and at one stage piled on 10 consecutive points as Robbie Gray’s late behind dropped them to 5-2 with Melbourne ahead on Sunday.
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St Kilda was able to cut $4.2 million of debt and reduce that figure to $9.56 million last year and the Herald Sun understands it plans to shrink it by a further $2 million this year.
The St Kilda players who enjoyed time in a Noosa hub in 2020 were happy to play in Cairns with nearly every mid-sized Melbourne club selling games away.
The club has also been able to boost its football department funding because of the deal, using all the allowable exemptions to pay over the $6.5 million cap.
The Western Bulldogs play in Ballarat, Melbourne in Northern Territory and North Melbourne and Hawthorn in Tasmania.
But the Saints will review that deal despite its lucrative nature, with St Kilda’s slick game and marking forwards not conducive to the slippery conditions of Cairns.
Richmond players protested against the club’s three-year deal to play in Cairns from 2011-13 and the Tigers eventually dropped the final season of that deal.
Richmond star Jack Riewoldt told Fox Footy on Sunday the Tigers had been shattered after losing after the siren to Gold Coast’s Karmichael Hunt in their second Cairns game.
“I have got no doubt the Saints boys would have got on the plane last night, and their leaders would have said, ‘Why are we playing up here?” he said.
“We could have played at Marvel Stadium at a ground that is suited to their home ground and to watch five minutes of that football last night it was slippery and it wasn’t the way the Saints wanted to play.
“I have go no doubt they Saints got on the plane and had the same conversations we were having after the Karmichael Hunt game,”
St Kilda’s two-year deal was brokered using a money from the Recovery for Regional Tourism fund as part of a $1 billion Covid recovery fund.
But rivals do not want to play the Dogs in Ballarat, Hawthorn has a great Tasmanian record and the Demons have won three of the past four in Alice Springs.
They have won two of the past four in Darwin but only four of 10 games there in total.
St Kilda coach Brett Ratten made no complaints about the venue, adamant the Saints just didn’t take their chances.
“We had our opportunities, there is no doubt about it. 61 inside-50s, won contested ball, tackles, pressure count but when you have 21 clanger kicks you don’t finish your work,” he said.
“We had our chances and give Port their credit, they won some critical contests in the back end of the game and they got an advantage there but it is pretty disappointing.
“The ball was slippery, mistakes were made but Port capitalised, especially after quarter time.”
Gray does what Saints can’t to pinch thriller for Port
—Harrison Murtough
It was a scrappy and hot game of footy in the tropics that came down to the wire, and it was Port Adelaide who willed themselves over the line to get their second win in a row.
Cazalys Stadium was packed to the rafters with frenzied Cairns fans, who watched St Kilda kick themselves in the foot repeatedly against the Power, who won 5.13 (43) to 4.18 (42).
The wet turf and humidity made life difficult for both teams, with neither able to gain consistent traction on the scoreboard.
St Kilda had a hard time on attack, with Port’s Aliir Aliir batting back most entries and doing what he could to give life to his struggling forwards.
As Aliir’s pressure eased off, the Saints were their own worst enemy inside 50, seemingly unable to score goals and keeping the Power in the game.
“We had our opportunities, there’s no doubt about it,” Saints coach Brett Ratten said after the game.
“We had about 61 inside 50s, won contested ball by a bit, won the tackles, won the pressure count.
“But when you have 21 inefficient kicks, you don’t finish your work.”
A quick start by Robbie Gray and Kane Farrell to open the second half had Port’s forward line finding its feet, booting back-to-back majors to put the Saints on the back foot.
St Kilda’s hopes for a win ebbed and flowed on the boot of Max King.
The tall forward booted one goal in the Saints-heavy first quarter, then scored another to open the final term to give his team the energy boost it needed.
But the Power refused to give up throughout the game, sensing their side’s vulnerability and failing to relent throughout the contest.
Jack Steele was the fire St Kilda desperately needed in the midfield to keep his team holding on against a veracious Port.
The 26-year-old was here, there and everywhere for his team in foreign conditions to get 26 disposals.
Power coach Ken Hinkley said that it could have gone both ways, but was proud of his team’s resilience to end up on the winning side.
“I’m so pleased our boys showed enough of a fight to keep going, and after the first quarter where St Kilda got a bit of an advantage, we played some pretty strong, ugly footy,” he said.
“But that’s the way you have to play it this time up here.”
Fun in the tropics
An afternoon of rain in Cairns made the turf at Cazalys plenty slippery to wreak havoc with both teams’ plans.
The 88 per cent humidity made life even worse for the visiting teams, who seemingly spent the first half adjusting to the conditions.
The conditions yielded plenty of errors from both sides, with Port tallying 71 and St Kilda scrounging together 76.
History repeats itself
In their second game in a row in Cairns, the Saints might think themselves cursed.
The team’s gut-wrenching six-point loss to Adelaide in 2021, paired with Saturday night’s bitter one-point defeat, might have St Kilda reconsidering any future games against South Australian teams in Far North Queensland.
Scoreboard
SAINTS 2.3, 3.6, 3.13, 4.18 (42)
POWER 0.2, 1.4, 4.6, 5.13 (43)
MURTOUGH’S BEST Saints: Steele, King, Higgins, Ross, Hill, Campbell. Power Aliir, Wines, Gray, Finlayson, Motlop, Farrell, Powell-Pepper
GOALS: Saints King 2, Higgins, McKenzie. Power Gray 2, Marshall, Farrell, Wines,
Injuries: Power Mitch Georgiades (calf)
VENUE Cazalys Stadium
CROWD 6600
Murtough’s votes:
3 Wines (PA)
2 Steele (STK)
1 Aliir (PA)
Port star fumes at travel s*** show’
– Simeon Thomas-Wilson
Port Adelaide forward Charlie Dixon has taken aim at the Power’s longer than usual trip to Cairns, describing their scenario as a “bit of an absolute s**t show”.
The Power left Adelaide for their Saturday night clash against St Kilda at Cazaly’s Stadium on Thursday but didn’t arrive in Cairns until Friday evening.
The travelling squad had to spend Thursday night in Sydney and travelled straight to Cazaly’s Stadium for a captains run after arriving in Cairns.
The Saints have been in Cairns for two days and Dixon teed off at the situation.
“Then we are back at the hotel at around 8pm or 8.30pm and have a bit of a feed,” Dixon said on FIVEaa.
“It’s bit of an absolute s**t show at the minute.”
The Power had to go via Sydney because AFL clubs travel with the league’s corporate partner Virgin — who don’t have a direct flight from Adelaide to Cairns.
Rival Jetstar does have a direct flight and Dixon questioned why the Power weren’t on that one.
“We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do and cop what we’ve got to cop,” Dixon said.
“But it is a bit silly, there is a direct flight. I know we have a partnership with Virgin but to get people where they need to be straight away and keep us out of harm’s way you’d think they would put us on a Jetstar flight.
“We are up there, can get a proper training session in and the boys can relax.”
On Thursday Power coach Ken Hinkley said it was “an unusual flight plan”.
“But it is a plan that we can cope with,” he said.
Because of the longer than expected trip the Power have taken 26 players with them to Cairns.
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