St Kilda have secured a stunning upset and a massive scalp, defeating the Geelong Cats by three points at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.
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The Saints came into tonight’s clash fresh off their bye to take on the ladder leaders Geelong.
St Kilda came out hard right from the first bounce applying tremendous pressure early and broke away from the game leading at quarter time by 16 points.
The second quarter was similar to the first as the Cats struggled to find their groove allowing the Saints to continue to breakaway and head into the main break with a 23 point lead.
The Ca’s came out firing early in the third term kicking three early goals on the back of some quality clearance work by Paddy Dangerfield and Captain Joel Selwood.
Lincoln McCarthy was running hot in the third term kicking multiple goals with Tom Hawkins slotting a goal to bring the margin back to within one straight kick.
However St Kilda managed to stay true late in the third term with a couple of late goals to head into the final break with an 11 point lead.
It was all clutch time in the final quarter as Geelong came out hard from the get go. Motlop struggled to put away goals and was involved with two missed opportunities. But it was Mark Blicavs that snapped a goal on a tight angle to put the Cats in front by 3 points.
Just when you though it was game over for the young Saints, they continued to move the ball forward and find Jake Gresham. Gresham booted the goal of the night, selling some candy and snapping a ripper to bring the margin to just 3 points.
Moments later a ball up occurs inside the Saints forward 50, Jack Steven found the ball, burst through and smashed home the winner in what was a well deserved victory for the Saints. Their pressure around the football was simply too good tonight.
As for Geelong, they can enjoy a week off and prepare for a huge second half of the season.
St Kilda 14.9.93
Geelong 13.12.90
Full Time Statistics:
Disposals: Saints 355 Geel – 385
Kicks Saints 204 – Geel 215
Handballs: Saints 151 – Geel 170
Clearances Saints 35 – Geel 27
Inside 50s Saints 53 – Geel 52
Free Kicks Saints 16 – Geel 15
Tackles Saints 63 – Geel 50
Full Time Leading Goalkickers
St Kilda: Michington 3, Wright 2, Weller 2, Newnes 2
Geelong: Hawkins 3, McCarthy 3, Kersten 1, Dangerfield 1
Full Time Leading Possession Winners
St Kilda: Ross 33, Steven 25, Montagna 24, Riewoldt 26
Geelong: Selwood 29, Dangerfield 29, Enright 25, Guthrie 25
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