AFL Round 12 Melbourne v St Kilda: This trip to the Red Centre has left the Demons under the pump

A crestfallen Melbourne left Alice Springs with Ross Lyon’s words ringing in the ears of its administrators – if you’re selling home games, ‘you are not a serious footy club’.

Ed Bourke and Daniel Renfrey

6 min read

June 2, 2025 - 8:41AM

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A crestfallen Melbourne will leave Alice Springs with Ross Lyon’s words ringing in the ears of its administrators.

On the eve of the season, the St Kilda coach could not have been more strident in his view that selling home games interstate was a mistake.

And it was Lyon who engineered the Traeger Park heist on Sunday that stopped the Demons gaining an important foothold in the season ahead of a crucial month to come.

Melbourne was far too good for Sydney on the MCG the week before; this time, the Demons’ commitment to a home game in the Territory knocked them off balance just enough for their less experienced opponents to cash in.

The game was lost in a lopsided first quarter where the Saints came prepared to use the ground’s extra width to its advantage, and looked like they were thinking two steps ahead of the home side.

Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, Marcus Windhager, Bradley Hill and Isaac Keeler celebrate after the win. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

The key defensive trio of Steven May, Jake Lever and Daniel Turner were all over the Swans, but in unfamiliar territory they did not have an answer when the Saints continually targeted sixth-gamer Isaac Keeler – and found him.

The 21-year-old read the wind better than May to work him under the ball and take a contested grab midway through the first term.

He missed that set shot from a wide angle, but kicked two for the quarter and added the sealer in the last after being afforded room for a breakout performance.

In dry and blustery conditions, Melbourne has not defended this ground well – Fremantle’s 141-point haul in the corresponding game last year was its equal-highest score in almost a decade.

A stellar tagging job by Marcus Windhager on Kysaiah Pickett added to the Demons’ frustrations, and both Pickett and Clayton Oliver gave away silly free kicks which denied them stoppages close to goal in the first half.

The unusual conditions also got to Max Gawn and Christian Petracca, who made questionable decisions with the ball in hand when there were opportunities to disrupt the Saints’ momentum.

Zak Jones put some work into Clayton Oliver – and it paid off. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

Windhager wraps up Jake Bowey. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

Oliver used the ball beautifully going inside 50 and finished with three goal assists, but on the inside he was negated by a determined Zak Jones and only managed 16 touches for the game.

The Demons had seven more scoring shots, and surely would have made better inroads than 7.21 (63) at the MCG or Marvel Stadium.

“Obviously it’s frustrating - if you want to make a difference to how the game looks, you need to maximise your opportunities,” coach Simon Goodwin said post-natch.

“There’s no doubt bad goalkicking is contagious…if you take your opportunities and you’re efficient then you can win but we didn’t do that.

“I was really disappointed with our start, our inability to win the contest…we weren’t able to impact the scoreboard to change it.

“This is AFL footy, you’re going to go through your ups and downs in a season…we’ve played some pretty strong footy but we need to learn and get better and today we’ve got some things we need to work on…I’m sure once the dust settles there will be a lot of excitement heading into King’s Birthday.”

Instead of moving to 6-6 and breathing down the necks of the Hawks, Giants and Dockers, they allowed the Saints a leg-up which could prove costly.

The King’s Birthday game will carry significant weight for Melbourne – if any midfield can challenge Collingwood’s smoothly functioning system right now, it is the quartet of Gawn, Petracca, Pickett and Oliver.

And if they are serious about playing finals this season, as Pickett said they were last week, a win is almost necessary.

After the Pies, the Demons travel away to Gold Coast and to both South Australian clubs on either side of their bye.

The trip to the Red Centre has left the Demons under the pump.

Aidan Johnson bumps Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera

Match report: Nas hits back harder as Saints hold on

– Daniel Renfrey

A starring display by a returning Dan Butler has seen St Kilda end its three-game losing streak with a gritty win over Melbourne at TIO Traeger Park in Alice Springs.

It was the first AFL appearance for the electric Saints small this season after overcoming an achilles injury and the 28-year-old looked like he hadn’t missed a beat, tallying 12 disposals and four big goals as his side topped the Dees 14.7 (91) to 7.21 (63).

St Kilda exploded out of the gate to lead 38-14 at quarter time behind the play of Butler and developing young key forward Isaac Keeler up front as well as typical explosive moves by Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and strong clearance work from Marcus Windhager and Jack Steele, who both had five each for the game.

Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera after copping a big bump from Aidan Johnson. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

He returned to cut Melbourne apart. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

The Saints defence was tested significantly after the first quarter however, as Melbourne lifted the tackling pressure in its forward half and created waves of opportunities to get back in the clash despite a number of misses, cutting the lead to as little as 10 points to start the fourth term.

The Dees had 12 more inside 50s for the game off the back of solid work by Max Gawn in the ruck and stars like Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver on the ball but exceptional intercept work by Callum Wilkie, who had a huge 12 marks for the game, and his teammates ensured St Kilda held on for a much-needed win.

Melbourne was also made to regret a number of misses, including eight in the final term, and would have been a chance of snatching the win with a bit more accuracy.

The victory is St Kilda’s first since round eight and the club’s first in the Northern Territory.

“For us, it was about improvement today,” coach Ross Lyon said after the game.

“We’ve talked about our ball use and not getting skinny and hemmed in and I thought we improved.

“I thought we were harder today, especially at centre bounces where we were strong.

“We now go into the bye feeling good about ourselves but we still have work to do.”

YOUNG STAR SHOULD BOUNCE BACK

Utility Mattaes Phillipou should be available for the Saints after next weekend’s bye, according to Lyon.

The 20-year-old, who returned to the lineup in early May after recovering from a stress fracture, was subbed out of his side’s impressive 28-point win over Melbourne in Alice Springs during the first quarter with a lower calf injury.

Lyon said it was something Phillipou had felt during the week but remained confident he would be available for the club’s round 14 clash with the Western Bulldogs.

“It’s on the minor end, we think he’ll play post-bye.

“It’s pretty low end stuff but they (club doctors) felt it was something they couldn’t manage to get him back on with but he should be fine.”

KEELER’S BIG QUARTER

St Kilda youngster Isaac Keeler put on a show up front to start his sixth AFL game, racking up seven disposals, four marks and two goals to galvanise his side to an early lead.

The 20-year-old was everywhere in and around the 50, towering above defenders to take important contested grabs and slotting chances home nicely.

His early game performance was a promising sign for the Saints who have been searching for some inspiration up front without Max King.

Rowan Marshall and Max Gawn go at it. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

DEES RUE BAD MISSES

Melbourne got right in the contest after the first quarter, lifting their forward half pressure significantly after, but the Dees would rue some bad misses momentum-shifting in front of goal.

A set-shot miss by Kade Chandler 40 metres out in the second term was followed by a Max Gawn miss 30 out on a slight angle and a Xavier Lindsay poster from even closer late in the quarter, while two poor misses by Daniel Turner and Jake Melksham to start the fourth term, would all but seal the side’s fate.

JOHNSON BUMP UNDER SCRUTINY

Mature age recruit Aidan Johnson will come under scrutiny from the Match Review Panel after a late and high bump on Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera put the Saints young gun on the sidelines for the majority of the second quarter.

While Wanganeen-Milera returned to action, Johnson could still face a suspension ahead of Melbourne’s big King’s Birthday clash with Collingwood next Monday.