A dominant second half saw the St Kilda Saints power away for a 46-point win over the Essendon Bombers who kept pace to half time but fell away afterwards.
REPORT: SAINTS GET THE JOB DONE
Final score
St Kilda 16.13.109
Essendon 9.9.63
Two low ranked sides will be looking for a rare win when the St Kilda Saints host the Essendon Bombers at Etihad Stadium. Join us on The Roar to follow all of the action from the first bounce at 4:40pm (AEST).
Despite a strong start to the year, the Saints’ season came to a screeching halt in Round 8 with a 103-point loss to the Eagles in Perth. With this hiccup behind them, Alan Richardson’s men will be desperate to bounce back against the Bombers in the more familiar surroundings of Etihad Stadium.
For the Bombers, 2016 was always going to be a tough season but early on they showed they can be dangerous if they play at their best. Although they gave the ladder-leading Kangaroos a fright in the final quarter last week, the Bombers have lost their last five and they will be desperate to pull off an upset win.
For the Bombers to have a chance they will need a big game from Joe Daniher, so expect either Sam Gilbert or Sean Dempster to give him plenty of attention for the Saints.
Down the other end, the Saints will be looking for a big lift from their forward line against a Bombers defence that has seen plenty of faces pass through this season.
Prediction
Although the Bombers are probably due for one of their good weeks, the Saints will have a chip on their shoulder after a dismal game against the Eagles and they will hit back with a win.
Saints by 28
With all of this in mind, can the Saints get back on the winners list or will the Bombers pull off another victory? To find out join us on The Roar from 4:40pm AEST to follow all of the action.
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Match Summary ST KILDA 16.13 109 def. ESSENDON 9.9 63 St Kilda have bounced back on t the winners list with a solid 46-point win over Essendon on Sunday afternoon at Etihad Stadium. After a tense first half the Saints dominated the second half against the young Bombers to run away with a much needed win. The first term proved to be a defensive stalemate as the Saints built a seven point lead at the first break. Just when it looked like things would blow out, the Bombers hung tough in the second stanza and stayed within reach at half time. But this is where the joy would end for the Bombers as the Saint big forward in Membrey, Bruce and McCartin put on a show and extended he lead. With the result beyond doubt the final term was a fairly open affair as both teams bounced the ball from end to end with great pace and ball movement. This is a much needed win for the Saints after their debacle against the Eagles last week, while the Bombers will switch their focus to their big game against Richmond in Dreamtime at the G. The votes are fairly self explanatory in this one with Steven racking up 40 disposals and a goal in a clear best on ground performance. Although he went goal less, Nick Riewoldt was a standout out for the Saints as he created a lot of attacking play from the wing. The one vote goes to Seb Ross who started strongly and continued at a great pace as he finished with 37 touches, one goal and numerous scoring involvements. Votes: Jack Steven 3 (St Kilda) Nick Riewoldt 2 (St Kilda) Seb Ross 1 (St Kilda)
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FULL TIME! ST KILDA 16.13 109 def. ESSENDON 9.9 63 And that is a wrap four round nine of the 2016 AFL season. No real surprises about the result in favour of the Saints. A poor first half but then they burned off the young Bombers after half time. Thanks again for joining us here on The Roar. Stay tuned for the match summary as well as the 3, 2 and 1 votes. Who do you think deserves votes and what are your thoughts on the game?
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GOAL ESSENDON Brown sneaks in and snags another goal nearing full time. 1 sec left Q4 St. Kilda: 109 Essendon: 63
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Well and truly junk time now.
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Crowd of 29,026
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GOAL ST KILDA Armitage sneaks forward to take a mark and kicks a goal. 5:05 left Q4 St. Kilda: 109 Essendon: 57
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BEHIND ST KILDA McKenzie misses from outside 50. 7:30 Q4 St. Kilda: 103 Essendon: 57
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GOAL ST KILDA Montagna squares one up to Hickey and the ruckman kicks truly. 10:03 Q4 St. Kilda: 101 Essendon: 57
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GOAL ST KILDA Geary spears a pass to Billings and the youngster misses to the right. 11:17 Q4 St. Kilda: 95 Essendon: 57
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Saints leading the contested possessions 116-99 and the inside 50s 55-35.
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GOAL ST KILDA Josh Bruce takes an easy mark and nails it from directly in front. 15:47 Q4 St. Kilda: 94 Essendon: 57
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GOAL ESSENDON Daniher gets a rare touch and nails one from outside fifty. 16:40 Q4 St. Kilda: 88 Essendon: 57
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GOAL ST KILDA Riewoldt hands off a simple goal to Weller. 17:25 Q4 St. Kilda: 88 Essendon: 51
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RUSHED BEHIND ESSENDON Montagna bobbles it through. 19:38 Q4 St. Kilda: 82 Essendon: 51
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Three Quarter Time! ST KILDA 12. 10 82 ESSENDON 7.8 50 So the game is playing out how a lot would have expected with he Bombers just running out of steam in that term. A great sign for the Saints is there big forwards in Membrey, McCartin and Bruce are playing well with Riewoldt up on a wing. Hard to pick positives for the Bombers as they will have to work hard to avoid this becoming a blow out. Jack Steven is running away with the three votes at the moment while Matt Dea has been in everything for the Bombers down back. How do we think this term will play out Roarers?
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What are everyones thoughts on the Saints? What do they need to become a finals chance?
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BEHIND ESSENDON Brown with the dribble kick hits the post. 1:48 left Q3 St. Kilda: 82 Essendon: 50
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Jack Steven just doing his own thing with over 30 touches already.
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GOAL ESSENDON Brown takes a juggling mark and kicks a rare goal for his team. 2:52 left Q3 St. Kilda: 82 Essendon: 49
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GOAL ST KILDA Free kick to Josh Bruce after a chop of the arms and he kicks another as the margin starts to grow quickly. 3:39 left Q3 St. Kilda: 82 Essendon: 43