AFL news 2024: St Kilda defeats Sydney in thriller after another Logan McDonald miss
Ross Lyon has revealed the cross-code inspiration helping drive the Saints following their win over the ladder-leaders on Sunday, while the Swans have wrapped their arms around Logan McDonald.
St Kilda
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St Kilda coach Ross Lyon attributed a part of his side’s upset win over Sydney to the cultural lessons the Saints have learned from perennial NRL giant the Melbourne Storm.
Lyon revealed after St Kilda’s two-point win over the Swans that the Saints had been “building a relationship” with the Storm to set the “standards for future success”.
“They (the Storm) come in and we just spoke about when they went through the heartbreak and shared that experience of when they had their cups ripped off them,” he said.
“They played a season without points, basically won that competition and stayed united.
“After the initial shock and that they just committed and their leadership was ‘no, we want full preparation, full review’.
“They knew that laid standards for future success, so we just know it’s unlikely and probably impossible to play finals but how we go about it, train, prepare, compete and review sets standards for future success.
“I think it (the win) sits in that category today, so that was pleasing.”
Lyon said St Kilda had improved culturally from the Storm’s impact but still had a long way to go.
“We’re just building out that real family club – there’s a lot of lessons culturally you can take from them and we’ve done it on and off-field today,” he said.
“You know what? They’ve done it for a 10-year period so we’ve got to build it out.”
Included in St Kilda’s big improvers on Sunday was Mattaes Phillipou, who collected 26 disposals and kicked a goal, after spending an extended period with Sandringham in the VFL this year.
Lyon said Phillipou “embraced his time in the seconds” to eventually deliver his career-best performance against the ladder-leading Swans.
“It’s not the end of the story but he worked on his midfield craft with Lenny Hayes, played and played and was happy to play until he improved,” he said.
“He gets the reward for that.”
Lyon confirmed midfielder Marcus Windhager would spend an extended period of time on the sidelines with the hamstring he was subbed out for.
SWANS NOT STRESSED OVER McDONALD’S MISS
Sydney coach John Longmire says the Swans won’t “make a big deal” of Logan McDonald’s successive misses late in matches.
McDonald had a shot to win Sunday’s game against St Kilda just eight days after his miss after the siren against Fremantle.
McDonald slid the ball to the left and the Saints were able to hold on to the two-point lead.
Longmire says the Swans won’t assess the misses in detail, instead will just “get on with it”.
“We just gotta say ‘oh well, we gotta keep working, mate’ and get to work,” Longmire said.
“Experience teaches you a lot, there’s a couple of technical things you can help with but in the end that’s part of footy, you have to get on with it.
“You have those opportunities, he went back and at least had a crack at it.
“There will be a day it goes through and he will feel good about himself.”
McDonald kicked Sydney’s two first-quarter goals as it made another slow start.
The Swans’ forward wasn’t able to kick another goal during the game and finished with 2.3.
Longmire says McDonald’s shot late in the match and not impacting the scoreboard after a strong first term is “part of growing up”.
“You can’t say much, those things happen in footy, that’s part of growing up,” he said.
“Part of experience is dealing with those situations and working through them.
“I think in the end we thought he could’ve kicked it from there, maybe it was the old adage ‘aim to the right because you’re a right footer you’ll pull it to the left-hand goalpost’ – (but) that’s something we will work through.”
The Swans allowed the Saints back into the game in the second half by failing to capitalise on their chances in front of goal.
Longmire saw the conversion and the unsuccessful entries inside 50 as the catalyst for the Swans’ third loss of 2024.
“Conversion, as Leigh Matthews said, is the most important stat in AFL footy,” he said.
SAINTS PULL OFF A MIRACLE
St Kilda has pulled off one of the upsets of the year after history repeated itself for Sydney forward Logan McDonald.
The Swans’ forward had a chance to correct his miss from last weekend’s miss after the siren against Fremantle with a set shot from a similar distance in the final minute on Sunday.
McDonald skewed it left late to deliver St Kilda the 13.6 (84) to 11.16 (82) victory.
The Saints, in the absence of star forward Max King, fought back from a deficit as big as five goals during the third quarter.
It was the Saints’ first tight win of the year, having previously lost six matches by less than 10 points in 2024.
St Kilda defender Callum Wilkie was extraordinary in the win while Rowan Marshall took the points over fellow gun ruckman Brodie Grundy.
The wayward Swans kicked 3.5 in the first quarter before five minor scores in the last.
A NERVOUS WAIT FOR HEENEY
Brownlow Medal contender Isaac Heeney will nervously wait for the match review panel’s verdict on his off-the-ball incident with Jimmy Webster.
Heeney hit Webster late in the third before he kicked two goals in a minute to boost the Swans back out to a more comfortable lead.
Heeney was booed by the St Kilda faithful each time he touched the ball in the last quarter.
DOUGAL’S DASH DOWN
St Kilda defender Dougal Howard provided one of his side’s many moments of the day with an inspiring last-line effort.
Chasing down a shot on goal from Swan Justin McInerney, Howard went full tilt over the fence and into the Sydney cheer squad.
Howard was across the floor of the front row for a short period of time before resurfacing back over the fence.
The ball went back to the centre of the ground after being called a goal but Howard’s effort was soon rewarded with the arc deeming the ball touched.
Howard’s brief visit into the Swans’ cheer squad was far from Tony Lockett’s famous interaction with the supporters back in 1994.
REMEMBER ME, SELECTORS
Callum Wilkie sent a timely reminder to the All-Australian selectors with a sensational performance patrolling St Kilda’s last line.
Wilkie played directly on Sydney spearhead Joel Amartey and kept him goalless while collecting 26 disposals himself.
One of the 28-year-old’s 14 marks was in a one-on-one battle late in the last quarter with star Swan Isaac Heeney.
Wilkie earned his maiden All-Australian blazer in 2023.
SLOW-STARTING SWANS
First quarters remain Sydney’s only obvious kryptonite.
The Swans’ first-term tie with the Saints on Sunday is the sixth time they haven’t gone into quarter time with a lead in their past seven matches.
It took the Swans, who haven’t kicked more than two goals in the first term since Round 11, 13 minutes of play to score against the Saints.
If it wasn’t for a rushed behind in the final seconds of the quarter, it would have been another first-term defeat for the Swans.
As it has done for the entire year, Sydney bounced back with a strong second term.
Originally published as AFL news 2024: St Kilda defeats Sydney in thriller after another Logan McDonald miss
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