St Kilda coach Alan Richardson insists bubble hasn’t burst as Crows spoil Saints party
Saints coach Alan Richardson insists his side’s bubble hasn’t burst and is relishing the toughest three-week stretch of the Saints’ season. On Saturday he was powerless to stop the Crows humbling his team.
St Kilda
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Alan Richardson insists the St Kilda bubble hasn’t burst and is relishing the toughest three-week stretch of the Saints’ season.
A 29-point loss to Adelaide will now be followed by a daunting three-game block in which the Saints face Greater Western Sydney (Canberra), West Coast (Marvel Stadium) and Collingwood (MCG).
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“No, it’s exciting. It’s a great opportunity for this group,” Richardson said.
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“We’re 4-2 with two JLT victories. The period that we’ve had now has been strong for us.
“Today wasn’t, particularly the back-end of the game, but we’ve been able to respond quickly after going over and getting beaten in Perth by Freo (Round 3).
“I’d expect us to respond and I know our guys will embrace the challenge and the opportunity. We’re looking forward to it.”
St Kilda’s resurgence hit a roadblock after a wasteful 3.6 to 3.0 first quarter opened the door for the Crows to assert their authority.
The loss of ruckman Rowan Marshall to illness was significant, with the Saints bullied at stoppages.
St Kilda lost the clearances 40-28, failing to kick a goal from a stoppage, and were hammered 152-131 in contested ball.
Adelaide won the first 11 clearances of the third quarter.
“They looked much safer in the contest and the numbers reflected that. They smashed us,” Richardson said.
“I don’t think we’ve kicked the ball as bad as that. We got outworked and then we started to fumble.”
The Crows also controlled the air, taking 14 contested marks to eight as Taylor Walker and Alex Keath dominating at either end of the ground.
“That’s been a bit of a pattern and something we need to look at, whether that be the long punt down the line or the backs marking our footy,” Richardson said.
“They’ve kicked a pretty big score from marking the ball today — at the other end of the ground.”
Josh Bruce’s place in the side wasn’t confirmed until the final warm-up, with the club’s calculated risk to play him after last week’s corkie not paying off.
“That was just a call you make. He did the warm up and it was one of those late one’s. He didn’t train all week,” Richardson said.
“Brucey was pretty confident and so was our medical staff, but he wasn’t able to play four quarters the way we like him to play.
“He’d have to be a lot better than that to play next week and we think he will be.”
The Saints believed Jack Lonie has escaped an ACL injury after the goalsneak hyperextended his knee in a marking contest in the second quarter.
He will have scans on Sunday.
MATCH: CROWS SEND TEX MESSAGE WITH BIG WIN
Daylight saving finished three weeks ago, but Taylor Walker wound back the clock.
The Crows were hit between the eyes by a frenzied Saints side who kicked three of the first four goals at Marvel Stadium. But the home side’s wastefulness — 3.6 at quarter time — was the invitation “Tex” and Adelaide gleefully accepted.
A blistering 5.1 to 2.0 second term, in which the Crows controlled the ball with a poise and precision that was once their hallmark, laid the foundation for a comfortable 15.7 (97) to 10.8 (68) win that burst St Kilda’s bubble.
This was the Walker of 2017 — when he was the only captain of the Crows and voted the game’s best skipper for the second year running.
He had three goals by the 18-minute mark of the second term, the last of them a dynamite one-step left-foot spearing snap from 35m.
Walker finished with 4.2 and played with a commanding presence the occasion demanded.
He was critical in wrestling that early momentum away from the Saints and stood up again at the start of the fourth to snuff out any revival.
Beside him, Tom Lynch came along for the ride and at the other end, Alex Keath just kept taking intercept marks.
The Crouch brothers, Matt and Brad, combined for 66 disposals to control the midfield and help the Crows to amass 47 more disposals, 12 more clearances and 21 more contested possessions.
Suddenly the Crows are 3-3 and have a platform to launch from.
St Kilda slip to 4-2 and while it’s only taken a bit of shine off a bright start, a daunting next three weeks awaits against GWS, West Coast and Collingwood.
MATTHEW PARKER
The word is St Kilda’s energiser bunny doesn’t mind glancing back over his work.
If that’s the case, he would have had a long night in front of the TV last night.
The sort of maniac you love in your side, if Parker’s first six games are a sign of things to come he’ll have a feature-length highlights package by retirement.
Resplendent in pink boots, he kicked a reflex running banana in the first term, took a flying mark over a big pack of Crows in the second and then a hanger on Rory Laird in the third before playing on and pumping the ball into the third tier.
Got the crowd going.
OH NO, LONIE
It was as bad a hyperextension as you will see and as soon as it happened you knew Jack Lonie’s day was done.
The Saints are hopeful Lonie’s ACL has survived, but the Saints goalsneak was in the tracksuit and on crutches before half time.
He had leapt up to take a sharp mark on the lead in the second quarter, but a nudge from Rory Laird while he was airborne led to the most awkward of landings.
BILLY
What’s with the dislike for Billy Longer among Saints fans?
OK, Polly Farmer he ain’t. But Bronx cheers as early as the second quarter?
He might not be the best mark among the ruck fraternity, but that’s a tad harsh, surely.
THE FORMER ALL-ROUNDER
Ex-cricketer Alex Keath is now the No. 1 intercept marker in the AFL.
He was a rock against the Saints, marshalling the Crows defence with authority.
Took 14 marks two contested.
WHERE THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU?
The Saints were flying at 4-1, playing at home, under a roof and on a Saturday afternoon.
It had all the ingredients for a big, parochial home crowd.
But nup, only 28,421 showed up. Where were you Saints fans?
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Glenn McFarlane
Something had to give at some stage for a battle-scarred St Kilda, whose early season revival hit a stumbling block against a reborn Adelaide with a clutch of key clashes against premiership contenders across the next three weeks.
With skipper Jarryn Geary watching from his hospital bed following emergency surgery for a seriously corked thigh last weekend, with a host of other senior stars watching on from the sidelines, and after playing one man down quarter-time onwards, the Saints proved no match for the Crows.
Alan Richardson’s team looked competitive early, wasting a few chances in the opening term to open a clear advantage, but were overpowered in the final term to lose by 29 points, with their 2019 ledger now 4-2.
Now, they must regroup — and fast — before taking on Greater Western Sydney on the road on Saturday, followed by tough clashes with 2018 Grand Finalists West Coast and Collingwood.
The Saints’ task was always going to be a tough one, given their manpower issues leading into the game, but their problems continued.
When the teams were officially lodged 90 minutes before the game, fans couldn’t believe their luck when important ruckman Rowan Marshall was a late out due to illness, with Billy Longer coming in as his replacement.
Then towards the end of a first term that saw the old goalkicking bogey resurface for St Kilda, Jack Lonie flew for the ball and his foot locked, hyperextending his knee. He was gone for the game, leaving the home side a player short with three quarters to play.
Saints medical staff are hopeful it is medial ligament damage rather than the ACL injury that so many feared when he went down and lay on the turf.
Scans today will determine the extent of the damage.
Ben Long was off during the game with a shoulder injury, but was able to return to the field.
There had been talk leading into the game that Saints forward Josh Bruce would be a late withdrawal, after receiving a bad corkie last week. But he toughed it out because his team needed him, and while his impact was minimal with only seven disposals and no goals, he was undoubtedly sore.
The Saints’ systems have worked extremely well all season, and they have been big improvers to date.
But the real challenge comes now as they need to remain competitive against the Giants, the Eagles and the Magpies to stay in touch, needing to channel the heart and soul spirit of their injured skipper, who could miss a large chunk of the season.
ADELAIDE 3.0 8.1 10.6 15.7 (97)
ST KILDA 3.6 5.6 8.7 10.8 (68)
Goals: Adelaide: T Walker 4 L Murphy 3 E Betts 2 E Himmelberg2 H Greenwood J Gallucci R Knight T Lynch
St Kilda: M Parker 3 T Membrey 2 B Long B Paton D Kent J Gresham J Steven.
Best: Adelaide: Walker, M Crouch, Keath, B Crouch, Laird, Himmelberg, Lynch, Atkins
St Kilda: Ross, Steven, Savage, Parker, Savage, Steele, McKenzie
Official Crowd: 28,421 at Marvel Stadium
SAM EDMUND’S VOTES:
3 — Taylor Walker (Adel)
2 — Matt Crouch (Adel)
1 — Alex Keath (Adel)
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