Two St Mary’s players cleared of concussion in 11-point win over Leopold
St Mary’s has snuck home again by a tight margin against the reigning premier in a low scoring slog, with two its players cleared of concussion following collisions.
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History has repeated in a low scoring slog at Leopold, just when St Mary’s’ inaccuracy and a pair of downfield decisions opened the door for the reigning premier.
The Saints and Joeys remain the undefeated outfits in Geelong’s premier football competition after Mary’s steadied early in the final term to win 7.17 (59) to 7.6 (48) — the visitors’ second 11-point win at Leopold in a row.
It followed three consecutive Polders goals which cut the margin to just four points despite the visitors’ territory dominance.
In conditions bordering on feral at times, it looked like the Saints may have wasted their momentum following 13 consecutive scoring shots which yielded just two majors.
It was a day for the diehards, where the rain came in sideways, one boundary umpire was rubbing his hands together to stay warm and would have made for a pretty short Kayo Mini highlights reel.
However, those three, third term Lions goals on the bounce – two via downfield decisions – suddenly made things interesting as the home side threatened to shatter a seven-year regular season winning record held by the Saints at Melaluka Rd.
However, a huge centre clearance goal in the final term steadied things for the Saints before two Sam Scott majors in just under four minutes made the visiting fans a little restless in the dying stages.
Earlier, Leopold defender Andrew Pepper received a yellow card after felling Noah Biggs as the Saints hunted their third goal before the Lions had troubled the scorers.
Oscar Morphet’s shot from the boundary line would light up a largely forgettable opening term where both sides had their share of forward entries without getting the necessary reward.
It could have been a far wider half time margin than the 19 points in favour of the Saints, with Mary’s harnessing a gathering breeze to put 2.8 on the board to no score on the back of countless inside 50s.
Leopold was lucky to have the resolute vice-captain Trent Thompson down back as he repelled multiple forward entries.
However, the Saints managed to keep the ball locked in its forward 50 through the arctic conditions, strategy and some fierce tackling — all bar seven players were within the Saints’ arc during one stage of play.
A brilliant roving goal from Sam Bourke shone amid the gloom while the Leopold defenders were perhaps getting a little too aerial with their defensive exits.
A superb Harry McMahon tackle on Logan Wagener set up a goal to Jack Wilson, who like Morphet, bent the ball back through the sticks on a lethal left foot to extend the margin to 18 points.
However, the third term saw a shift in momentum as Leopold started to win more of the ball in space.
A superb Marcus Thompson pass found Tate Porter for his first.
Then, when Thompson was felled after getting boot to ball from the restart, Billy Ritchie converted the downfield decision and suddenly Leopold was back in the contest as the lights came on.
A further downfield free kick to Morphet cut the margin to just four points.
But a kick which penetrated Leopold’s press would allow Bourke to run into an open goal and the Saints were pretty much home.
Post-match, Saints coach Luke Rayner said Biggs and Charlie Sprague, late in the game, had passed concussions tests following incidents.
He said the Saints had left themselves “vulnerable” due to second term dominance that didn’t quite result in a game-changing lead.
“Leopold are a quality side, you know that they’re going to keep coming,” Rayner said.
“There’s always nervous moments when you haven’t put the game away, but they’re tough shots in conditions like this.
“It’s not a blight on anything, but if they don’t go through it means you’re still vulnerable.
“We knew we were going to get a genuine contest today, they’re back-to-back premiers, and maybe they haven’t got off to the start they’d be hoping for.
“It’s always good to come down here and get a win, it’s a hard ground to play at.”
He said the Saints attempted to create density in Leopold’s forward half in the third term, knowing they were going to respond and were kicking to the scoring end.
Ten of the 14 goals were kicked in the Portarlington Rd direction.
Originally published as Two St Mary’s players cleared of concussion in 11-point win over Leopold
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