St Kilda defeats Essendon by 46 points at Etihad Stadium in Round 9

NORTH Melbourne and Adelaide have set the tone and St Kilda are catching on given the evidence at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Paddy McCartin of the Saints (right) taps the ball to a teammate during the round 9 win.

NORTH Melbourne and Adelaide have set the tone and St Kilda are catching on given the evidence at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

The resurgence of the tall forward this season has been a happy byproduct of the reduced interchange rule and for some they’ve gone with the ‘more-the-merrier’ theory.

St Kilda have wrestled with the three-headed monster setup which has been the cornerstone of North’s stunning start and the Crows improved status.

On Sunday they committed to it by bringing back No. 1 draft pick Paddy McCartin after he’d spent a couple of weeks in the VFL.

With captain Nick Riewoldt playing on the wing, the Saints put McCartin in the goalsquare next to Josh Bruce with Tim Membrey the lead-up third tall.

In the first half there were some promising signs before the monster came to life in the third quarter.

A brilliant set shot from 55m by McCartin at the nine-minute mark ignited a six goal blitz by the Saints tall forwards.

They all kicked two goals each in a 17-minute block which blew the match apart, taking St Kilda’s lead from four points to 39.

And by the final siren it had got out to 46.

Tim Membrey of the Saints (L) and Paddy McCartin celebrate the win with a fan.

McCartin had showed glimpses in his previous 10 games but this was his coming out parade and the timing couldn’t have been better.

Across town at the MCG, Christian Petracca, the dynamic midfielder who was taken at No. 2 behind the power forward two years ago, was having his best game for Melbourne.

Both are going to be serious players and there will be no complaints from the Saints faithful about the draft strategy as they can thank McCartin for kickstarting the victory.

He moves like an old-fashioned spearhead and has great hands, taking 10 marks as he overwhelmed Essendon youngster Michael Hartley.

Bruce was more the swingman, spending time in the ruck and forward but came to the party with three goals in the third quarter and five for the game.

The work of Membrey is recent weeks has given coach Alan Richardson confidence to go with the big setup as the ex-Swan brings a different look to compliment the others.

A more mobile option, the ex-Swan also has good hands and finished with three goals.

While the trio will face stiffer opposition than Hartley, James Gwilt and Matt Dea in coming weeks, there is reason to get excited if you’re a Saints fan.

Unfortunately, it was the same old story with Essendon who hung around in the first half before being overwhelmed by a superior opposition who found another gear.

Tim Membrey celebrates a third quarter goal.

The stats sheet suggested it was on the cards but the problem in the first half was St Kilda’s inability to hit the scoreboard.

While disposals were even at 194 each, the Saints dominated contested possessions (80-54), clearances (24-9) and inside 50s (39-17).

The problem was that extra 22 inside 50 entries had only resulted in a 10-point halftime advantage.

Essendon had hung around thanks to some impressive ball movement at times from half-back where excitement machine Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti was showing his class.

His poise under pressure stood out and he set up an important late goal to youngster Kyle Langford at the 25-minute mark of the second quarter which kept the Bombers in touch.

After the main break it was only Mitch Brown who offered something, kicking three goals in the third quarter and finishing with four for the afternoon.

The Bombers lack of depth in the midfield got exposed as the likes of Sebastian Ross (37 possessions), Jack Steven (40) and Leigh Montagna (26) got busy.

Ross hadn’t reached 30 possessions in a game before this season — in the first nine rounds he’s done it four times.

Veteran James Kelly again led the Bombers with 33 touches while David Zaharakis (31) and Zach Merrett (29) tried hard but they couldn’t cope with the Saints new three-headed monster.

ST KILDA 2.5 5.9 12.10 16.13 (109)

ESSENDON 1.4 4.5 7.8 9.9 (63)

GOALS

St Kilda: Bruce 5, Membrey 3, McCartin 2, Steven Ross Newnes Armitage Weller Hickey

Essendon: Brown 4, Daniher 2, Cooney Baguley Langford

BEST

St Kilda: Steven, Ross, Bruce, McCartin, Montagna, Riewoldt, Dunstan

Essendon: McDonald-Tipungwuti, Brown, Merrett, Kelly, Zaharakis, Dea

VOTES

3 — Jack Steven (St Kilda)

2 — Sebastian Ross (St Kilda)

1 — Josh Bruce (St Kilda)