AFL Round 2 St Kilda v Geelong: All the news, analysis and fallout from the Saints’ upset win
Ross Lyon and the Saints proved many wrong with an upset win on Saturday night. But ED BOURKE asks, did they also prove a point to their biggest young star?
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Just as St Kilda’s outlook appeared its bleakest yet under Ross Lyon, another stirring Docklands heist revealed the Saints haven’t lost any ground at all.
Undermanned and reeling from a heavy defeat in Adelaide, a return to Marvel Stadium was just the tonic for Lyon’s side as it resisted a Geelong bombardment of epic proportions to make it seven wins from its last nine matches under the roof.
The experienced players who had to lift did so; and perhaps confidence had begun to return to the ranks even before the game after a glance at Adelaide’s dismembering of Essendon.
The Saints could not retain possession long enough against the Crows to display any rhyme or reason with their ball movement, but early on a lacklustre Geelong gave them a blank canvas – and they painted a picture that would excite supporters.
Carlton and Essendon find themselves under the pump after two rounds because they turned up to the season without defensive-half kickers.
For all its injury concerns, St Kilda, as it turns out, has them.
Every time Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera found the ball, no matter how far up the field, Geelong players who had last week treated Fremantle with disdain were on edge.
The 22-year-old has started the season in imperious touch, chopping and changing lanes with his kicking, and always happy to prop and absorb pressure before a teammate in the corridor finds enough space.
The South Australian looks to have one of the most enjoyable on-field roles in football.
Feeling he is the heartbeat of an exciting side on the up could be what he needs to decide to stay on as the clubs in his home state salivate over his contract status.
St Kilda will not concede it right now, but it could be inevitable that Wanganeen-Milera seeks a move home during his career.
What the Saints can certainly do is build a case that convinces him to prolong his stay, and there is momentum to be gathered from their night of free-flowing fun against the Cats.
Midway through the second quarter, Wanganeen-Milera gathered a daring grubber kick from Zak Jones along the wing and turned Geelong into hoop-decorated traffic cones with a punching ball across his body into the middle.
It gave Marcus Windhager the time and space to browse through no fewer than four loose options before he hit Jack Higgins on his chest for an easy goal.
Windhager’s slick ball use going inside 50 – and finishing of his own work with 2.1 – was another highlight as he delivered arguably the best of his 54 games for Saints.
All week the Saints had planned to send the 21-year-old to Bailey Smith, but with his withdrawal, Windhager instead went to Max Holmes and kept him to just a solitary handball in the first term.
When Windhager kicked the opening goal of the night from a set shot, Rowan Marshall and Jack Sinclair beelined for Holmes on their way back to the stoppage, and it set the tone for a fierce performance.
Mason Wood believes Windhager is on the verge of “catapulting” into the top echelon of AFL midfielders.
“(Windhager) put the clamps on, but also won his own footy. God, he was good around the ball,” Wood said.
“He had a little bit of a rough pre-season, he split his hamstring and he was trying to get back, but he was way more delayed than he wanted it to be.
“He’s finally back in the midfield where he cut his teeth in his early career, so another standout performance for him, and hopefully it catapults him into bigger and better things for the rest of the year.”
Mattaes Phillipou (leg) and Liam Henry (knee) can make the Saints better in the middle of the ground when they return.
Likewise Max King (knee), Cooper Sharman (thumb) and Dan Butler (achilles) inside 50, with the trio all expected back by Gather Round.
Mitch Owens’ return this week improved St Kilda’s forward line exponentially – his willingness to crash packs and throw his body around despite a nasty pre-season shoulder injury meant his impact was far greater than his eight possessions.
Returning after his six-match suspension for homophobic remarks in a VFL game last year, Lance Collard laid three tackles inside 50 and snagged a pair of goals to suggest the Saints might have finally unearthed a new small forward.
The dream scenario for the Saints is that their fringe players maintain the rage and make selection meetings a nightmare for the first time in Lyon’s second coming at the club.
Lyon says the young group holding their nerve against a strong side will hold them in good stead moving forward.
“You can’t buy belief, confidence comes from action because all it is is a feeling, an emotion,” he said.
“We’ll be more confident in what we’re asking them to do and I think more importantly when we give great effort and all buy in where it can take you.
“It won’t guarantee us but it’ll certainly create more opportunity than not.”
Zak Jones at halfback and Ryan Byrnes on the wing were impressive, and debutant Isaac Keeler competed hard for five tackles and launched a crucial set shot goal from a tight angle near the arc late in the third term.
Liam Stocker’s first-half was exceptional, but a concussion detected at halftime thwarted his attempt to re-cement himself in the Saints’ backline and will leave a spot open against Richmond next week.
No. 8 pick Tobie Travaglia was encouraging over the pre-season, but if he doesn’t take Stocker’s place, it could be a while before he gets a look at senior football.
All of a sudden, it looks like the tail-end of St Kilda’s list can hold a bat.
Scoreboard
ST KILDA 6.1 10.5 14.6 15.8 (98)
GEELONG 1.4 5.6 9.9 13.12 (90)
GOALS
Saints: Higgins 4, Collard 2, Wood 2, Sinclair 2, Windhager 2, Owens 2, Keeler
Cats: Dempsey 2, Stengle 2, Clohesy 2, Neale 2, Close, Blicavs, Holmes, Cameron, Knevitt
TYLER LEWIS’ BEST
Saints: Wanganeen-Milera, Windhager, Sinclair, Marshall
Cats: Knevitt, Humphries, De Koning
INJURIES
Saints: Stocker (concussion)
Cats: Stewart (knee)
TYLER LEWIS’S VOTES
3 Wanganeen-Milera (St Kilda)
2 Sinclair (St Kilda)
1 Windhager (St Kilda)
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