St Kilda kicked seven goals to one in the final quarter on Saturday night, but it wasn’t enough to upset the West Coast Eagles who recorded their tenth straight win.
Final score
West Coast Eagles 16.5.101
St Kilda Saints 14.4.88
The ladder-leading West Coast Eagles face the struggling St Kilda Saints at Optus Oval. Join The Roar live at 8:10pm AEST for live scores and a blog.
West Coast are looking to further strengthen their grasp on the top spot in a matchup with disappointing St Kilda – the Saints have just win and a draw in their 10 games.
West Coast are carrying with them a nine-game winning streak, their only loss coming in the first game of the season.
West Coast have turned Optus stadium into a fortress already this season with big wins over Richmond and Port Adelaide in their last two home games.
St Kilda have already been to Western Australia once this season and were defeated by Fremantle in Round 8.
The big question for St Kilda is where will the scoring come from, they have only kicked more than 10 goals in two games this season and the Eagles are averaging 107 points a game at home this season.
St Kilda will need an all-around performance from their players if they are to trouble West Coast at all, the Eagles are dominating their games at the moment and won’t want to let up top spot any time soon.
This game could turn into the tipping point for the St Kilda coach Alan Richardson who is well and truly on the hot seat with a team that was tipped to push for a top eight spot at the start of the season, now sitting in 16th and with no signs of improvement in recent weeks a large defeat won’t look good.
West Coast looks far better on paper and in recent results as opposed to St Kilda, with a raucous home crowd behind them the Eagles should cruise to an easy win.
Prediction
West Coast by 57
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog from 8:10pm AEST.
Doctor Rotcod
Guest
Not saying different. Saints brought their best game of the year. Up till yesterday they were averaging 67 points a game. Kicking 14.4 still wasn't enough
DingoGray
Roar Guru
Why would there be mention of the umpiring? It's one small influence on the game. Not to mention, individual players who stink up don't often get signalled out, so why should the umpires?
Paul Thompson
Guest
No Mention of the disgraceful Umpiring Sam! Heaven help this Competition if these Umps are 3 of the Best in the Land.
Lroy
Guest
... what goes in the book champ?? Eagles win or Saints win??
Doctor Rotcod
Guest
The Saints go from a goal accuracy of 40%,to this game and a goal accuracy of 70%?!?! Eagles season of 51% accuracy would have seen them lose...
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Thanks for joining me tonight for the game. Exciting finish from St Kilda but they left it too late to over run the Eagles in WA.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
West Coast hold off late charge from St Kilda to win their 10th The West Coast Eagles late surge to get the win over St Kilda at Optus stadium 16.5.101 - 14.4.88. Josh Kennedy lead the way for the Eagles kicking 6 goals including 4 in the game breaking 3rd quarter. Tim Membrey for St Kilda was able to regain his kicking form with 5 goals straight. The game started off with a bang for West Coast with them kicking the first 3 straight goals, St Kilda struggled early in the first term but were able to find a groove midway through the term to keep the score close at the first change. The second term was much the same as the first with ebbs and flows from both sides but West Coast continued their accurate goal kicking and making the most of their chances inside 50. Two injuries in the quarter to Jack Darling and Bailey Rice were unfortunate but both seemed to be more serious on the ground than they may be. Bailey returned to the game in the 2nd half while Jack Darling was kept out of the game in what was more likely a precautionary measure with them having the bye next week. Josh Kennedy was the main story of the third term kicking 4 goals and seemingly put the game away with his dominance in the forward line. St Kilda had no answers for the big man and he was making them pay in a big way. The game looked almost completely done and dusted at the final break but the Saints had other ideas. A comeback looked unlikely at the start of the final quarter but St Kilda almost pulled off the most unlikeliest of results, a 7-1 goal final term to the Saints gave their fans some belief a upset may happen. Jeremy McGovern did what he does best by taking late marks to end the Saints chances late in the game. Tim Membrey and Josh Kennedy were stand outs for both teams kicking 6 goals each. Sebastian Ross lead all players with 32 disposals for the Saints. Best on ground. West Coast. Andrew Gaff Josh Kennedy Jeremy McGovern St Kilda Tim Membrey Sebastian Ross Jack Sinclair West Coast have the bye next week and St Kilda will be facing Sydney at Etihad Stadium.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Cue the epilepsy lights!
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Eagles hold off the Saints winning 16.5.101 - 14.4.88. What a final quarter from the Saints but it wasn't enough to pull them over the line as the Eagles make it 10 straight wins.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Matters little. Another win, that’s all that matters. Well done, Eagles. Thanks for the call, Sam.
User
Roar Rookie
10 in a row is massive, this game was the let down expected last week so no worries in margin, four points is what counts and we remain top with a well earned rest ahead.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
McGovern may have just finished off the saints with a strong mark in the Eagles defensive 50.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Goal St Kilda. Back to 13 points as Gresham gets a goal for the Saints. West Coast 16.4.101 St Kilda 14.4.88 1:31 fourth quarter.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
These aren’t even junktime goals. Did not expect this from the Saints at all. Too bad they’ll still lose.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
Behind Eagles. Elliot Yeo misses the shot on goal. West Coast 16.4.101 St Kilda 13.4.82 2:37 fourth quarter.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
You and the rest of us.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Important point though.
Sam Walker
Roar Guru
I may have jinxed the Eagles by pre writing part of my match report :/ haha.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Eagles don’t need a steadier. They just need to burn time. Still 3 goals up.
User
Roar Rookie
This is annoying, we look exhausted , find something boys