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We got a couple of classics to end Round 2, in the form of Port’s win over Sydney and Hawthorn’s thrilling victory over Geelong, but we shouldn’t forget what happened earlier in the round.
As awesome as the Hawks and Cats were on Easter Monday, it only highlighted how pathetic St Kilda were on Good Friday, given that a hard, physical, top four level of football is what the Saints aspire to produce.
But instead of being hard against North Melbourne, St Kilda were marshmellow soft. Instead of being physical, they were bullied around by a young Roos outfit. Instead of offering up a competitive performance, they were inept in all facets.
After knocking on the door of the eight in the last two seasons, finishing 11th and ninth and winning more games than they lost across that period, the Saints have aspirations of finals action in 2018. Whether you think they are good enough to have them is another story, but the onus is on them to then play up to that standard.
In Round 1, they did just enough in beating Brisbane on their own home turf at Etihad, taking three and a half quarters to shake off a side widely expected to finish in the bottom four this year. The Lions belted St Kilda at the clearances and also won the contested possession count. The Saints were able to prey on opposition skill errors and hurt them on the outside through turnover.
(AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy)
It was a win to build on, but it certainly wasn’t a statement game by any stretch of the imagination.
Based on St Kilda’s first quarter against North, it was a win that made them more comfortable than they were entitled. Having achieved nothing but mediocrity as a playing group, they somehow stand accused of getting ahead of themselves after a middling Round 1 win.
Despite the Saints being two points up at quarter time, the Kangaroos dominated the term but couldn’t convert that on the scoreboard, finishing with 0.6.
St Kilda weren’t prepared for North’s pressure from the outset, and weren’t equipped to handle it. The Roos hunted the ball and the man, and were well organised with pressure in their forward half. It is widely known that the Saints have a number of average ball users, and can be exploited in this regard.
The longer the game went, the worse the St Kilda skills were. The closer they got to the end of the game, the less heart they showed.
St Kilda had 119 contested possessions against North Melbourne. The next two lowest contested possession counts so far this season both belong to the Western Bulldogs, who have been universally lambasted for their lack of competitiveness in the opening rounds. Sitting alongside them in any category is not where you want to be right now.
Another area the Saints compare to the Dogs is scoreline, with both sitting in the bottom three for points for. And remember, St Kilda have played teams that won 11 games between them last year.
In perfect conditions at Etihad, St Kilda kicked five goals, and the three key forward set-up of Josh Bruce, Tim Membrey and Paddy McCartin couldn’t kick one between them.
It can be said the Saints kicked 5.13, and if they’d kicked 13.5 it would have only been a two goal loss. But this then speaks to a lack of skill and execution that has been all too prevalent under Alan Richardson, and was well and truly on display against North. They were so bad this time around, that a large part can only be put down to mental weakness.
Will the coach swing the axe at selection this week, to make a statement?
Billy Longer has to be the first to go, he’s been a non-entity in the first fortnight. Koby Stevens should go out for Luke Dunstan. One of McCartin or Bruce has to be cut. Jack Sinclair should be looking over his shoulder. Although it must be said, if the club turns to Sam Gilbert again, supporters will burn the place to the ground.
(AAP Image/Julian Smith)
St Kilda had to start 2-0 with Brisbane and North to open the season. They just had to. And now that they haven’t, they are in turmoil. The fans are ropeable.
The Saints have Adelaide, Geelong, GWS, Hawthorn and Melbourne coming up over the next five rounds. Based on what we’ve seen so far, these teams will all be seeing September action later this year.
Any side is allowed a bad game. St Kilda haven’t built up a huge amount of respect within the competition, but whatever they had was lost on the weekend. Their next five matches give them a chance to show us what they are really made of with their backs to the wall.
The Saints now have it all to prove. And they’re going to be pushing uphill to do it. Let’s see if they’ve got any spine, because it wasn’t evident against North.