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Saints superior - but not by much - in Power struggle

Roar Guru
23rd February, 2017
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Tim Membrey is part of the crazy young talent going to take the Saints to the finals. (AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy)
Roar Guru
23rd February, 2017
0

St Kilda have held off a strong finish from Port Adelaide to win their first match of the pre-season by a single point.

The Saints were clearly the stronger team early, outworking Port Adelaide and kicking the first five goals of the match, including three from Tim Membrey.

They seemed to slow down a little after that early flurry, and the Power began to find a bit more of the ball. They forced their way back into the contest but sloppiness in front of goal kept them from making serious inroads into St Kilda’s lead until the third quarter.

In the second half both sides started to withdraw key players, like Jack Steven, Nick Riewoldt and Paddy Ryder, but the Power continued to scrape their way back into the game.

The margin was just eight points at three-quarter time, but the Saints seemed to start the final term much more strongly as the Power struggled to find teammates by foot.

Port Adelaide persisted, and drew to within two points after goals to Karl Amon and Justin Westhoff. A late snap by Impey had the chance to win the game for the visitors, but it was touched on the line by new St Kilda captain Jarryd Geary for a behind.

St Kilda held on in the last few seconds, although in truth it never really felt like the result was all that important to either team, understandably.

St Kilda will be very encouraged by the performances of Jack Billings and Luke Dunstan, both of whom racked up decent numbers and each kicked a brace of goals. Jack Steven racked up 21 touches in less than a half of gametime.

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Jake Carlisle also looked solid in his first game in the Saints’ tricolours.

Ollie Wines was consistently good for the Power on an uneven night. Debutant Sam Powell-Pepper showed some exciting flashes, as did Brett Eddy and Dan Houston. Justin Westhoff and Chad Wingard were also good.

It doesn’t feel like there’s a great deal to be learnt from tonight. St Kilda certainly started with more intent, but in truth this was a pretty lacklustre affair with both teams clearly needing match practice to clear away the cobwebs.

Hopefully we’ll get a better idea of how these teams are tracking through the rest of the pre-season.

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