Australian Football

Match Report

St Kilda entered this match in the knowledge that they had little chance of competing in the 2012 finals but that they must win for any hope to remain. And for the first half of this match, they played as though they believed finals remained a realistic proposition, putting GWS to the sword. Stephen Milne was outstanding in this period, kicking of five his side's 17 first-half goals. The Saints made every post a winner against the undermanned Giants and went into the dressing rooms with a half-time lead of 98 points and several records under threat.

To the Giants' credit, they became a much more determined outfit in the third quarter, holding St Kilda to just two goals and adding one of their own. Toby Greene and Taylor Adams were prominent for GWS in this period. The Giants continued to apply further pressure in the final quarter, but St Kilda's stronger bodies and experience enabled them to once again exert their authority on the match. The Saints kicked 6.6 to 2.0 in the final term to run out winners by a whopping 128 points. Alas for St Kilda, the huge win was to no avail, as Fremantle defeated North Melbourne the following day to secure the last remaining place in the top eight.

Sean Dempster continued his great form and seems destined for All-Australian selection. He was ably backed up by Leigh Montagna, Jarryn Geary and Arryn Siposs in his 15th game. For GWS, as well as Greene and Adams, Dom Tyson and veteran Luke Power were solid contributors, while Adam Treloar chipped in with two of his side's five goals.

GOALS
St Kilda: Milne 5; Milera, Wilkes, Goddard 3; Cripps, Montagna 2; Stanley, Newnes, Saad, Dal Santo, Ledger, McEvoy, Siposs
GWS: Treloar 2; Adams, Cooyou, Hampton

BEST - THE SUNDAY AGE
St Kilda: Montagna, Dal Santo, Dempster, Goddard, Milne, Siposs, Ray
GWS: Greene, Power, Adams, Treloar, Ward

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
St Kilda: Dempster, Montagna, Geary, Siposs, Milne, Goddard, Cripps
GWS: Greene, Power, Adams, Haynes, Tyson

COACHES' COMMENTS
Scott Watters (St K): Our younger players... were given some quality game today and we think they're going to be very good players for us going forward.

Kevin Sheedy (GWS): It's very, very hard [to lift] when you have so many young players.

Umpires: Hosking, Findlay, Mitchell