ST KILDA has drawn the curtains on the Western Bulldogs' already faint 2011 premiership hopes with a 24-point win in an error-riddled contest in front of 31,237 fans at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.
Given the manner in which they played, the Saints will have departed with little confidence of doing any damage at the pointy end of the season themselves, but the 12.9 (81) to 8.9 (57) victory at least means that possibility remains.
The contest was tight for much of the match, as both teams struggled to execute skills well enough to build a match-winning break.
But a three-goals-to-none third quarter helped the Saints to a 19-point lead at the final change.
The Bulldogs had their chances to claw their way back into the match when Liam Jones kicked the first goal of the last quarter to give his team momentum, but Daniel Cross and Ryan Griffin both missed set shots soon after.
When Brendon Goddard dashed through the centre, took three bounces and goaled on the run, the Saints had steadied and hopes of a Bulldogs come-from-behind win were dashed.
Influential players
Steven Baker was pivotal in St Kilda's victory, its fourth of the season, shutting Bulldogs playmaker Shaun Higgins out of the game from the seven minute-mark of the third quarter.
Higgins had previously been his team's most damaging player as a loose man across half-back, but managed just four possessions from the time the tenacious Baker was sent to his side.
St Kilda laid a season-high 91 tackles for the match, with Jack Steven contributing 11.
Clinton Jones (29 disposals) and Goddard (26 disposals) were the victors' other prominent players.
For the Bulldogs, Liam Picken did a superb job in keeping Saints star Nick Dal Santo to 14 possessions while gathering 27 of his own, and Higgins (27 disposals) was outstanding in an unfamiliar role for three-and-a-bit quarters before being curtailed by Baker.
Captain Matthew Boyd had 39 disposals but was often let down by errant kicking. His disposal efficiency was 51 per cent, the fourth-lowest on the ground.
Major goal-kickers
Nick Riewoldt, goalless in his past two matches, booted two goals for the Saints, as did Dal Santo and Stephen Milne.
Jones and Daniel Giansiracusa were the Bulldogs' best forward targets, each kicking two.
Giansiracusa's 18 goals for the season leads the club's goal-kicking.
What it means
The win was St Kilda's sixth straight over the Bulldogs and moved last year’s runners-up to within two points of eighth place on the AFL ladder.
Although they're still nowhere near their Grand Final-drawing best, the Saints have won three of their past four matches and look the team most likely to make the finals from those currently outside the eight.
After reaching a preliminary final against St Kilda last season, Rodney Eade’s Bulldogs now have just three wins from 11 matches and sit closer to the bottom of the table than the top eight.
Not one for the DVD collection
Skill errors were a major theme of the night from both teams, but poor kicking was especially costly for the Bulldogs.
In a first quarter where St Kilda had much of the play but struggled to capitalise, the Bulldogs could have pinched a quarter-time lead if not for a string of costly mistakes.
Boyd kicked straight to Zac Dawson with the Bulldogs' first forward 50 entry, Higgins picked out Goddard inside defensive 50, Robert Murphy fluffed a kick-in that led to a Riewoldt goal, Giansiracusa put a set shot straight into the man on the mark, and Ryan Griffen kicked directly to Steven Baker as he streamed out of defensive 50 unopposed.
In the second half, the Bulldogs had the same number of scoring shots as the Saints (nine), but wayward kicking meant they managed just two goals to St Kilda's six.
Talking point
After leading for most of the night without managing to break the game open, a piece of good fortune during the third quarter helped St Kilda finally kick away to an advantage it could be confident about defending.
Midway through the term, Bulldogs forward Nathan Djerrkura won a free kick deep in the Bulldogs' forward line.
But just as a goal looked certain, Djerrkura's teammate Cross scooped the ball up and took three steps before abruptly stopping.
Cross' action was enough for the umpire to blow 'advantage', and the Saints swarmed and forced the ball free.
From there, the footy found its way swiftly to Riewoldt at half forward, who picked out Dal Santo in the clear inside 50.
The midfielder slammed the goal home to give the Saints their third for the quarter and a decisive 22-point advantage.
Cue yet another round of debate about the merits of the 'player's call' advantage rule, introduced at the start of this season.
Toyota AFL Dream Team highlight
St Kilda: Goddard (119 points), ruckman Ben McEvoy (110) and Steven (104) all cracked 100.
Western Bulldogs: Boyd's 39 possessions gave him a whopping 143 points, while Picken (117 points) was next best for the losing team.
Next four
St Kilda: A tough one against Geelong at the MCG next week followed by a bye, then clashes with North Melbourne and Port Adelaide away.
Western Bulldogs: A reasonable next three weeks, with matches against Adelaide at home, Gold Coast away and then Melbourne at home. A clash with Carlton rounds out the month.
What the coaches said
Ross Lyon (St Kilda)
"Both clubs came here tonight under the microscope, and I just said it was going to be about character. If I forget the skill error and the lack of method at times, I thought we showed good character to deal with that pressure and expectation and continue to fight and try and improve. That's what the positive is."
Rodney Eade (Western Bulldogs)
"I know we are a young side, we had nine guys under 20 games, but we came here to win. That is the disappointing part, we had our chances and could have, should have won. They just capitalised on the mistakes that we made. We just have to be better than that."
QUARTER BY QUARTER
First quarter
With eight of the first nine shots on goal, St Kilda dominated the early stages of the quarter but couldn’t convert their opportunities. The Bulldogs made plenty of mistakes in the face of the Saints’ relentless tackling pressure. Saints ruckman Ben McEvoy kicked the opening goal of the night before Justin Sherman opened the Bulldogs account after a free kick in the goal square. Late goals to the Dogs through Daniel Giansiracusa and Matthew Boyd close to the siren kept the Bulldogs in the contest.
Second quarter
The lead changed hands four times in the second quarter as both teams found a little more run. The Bulldogs controlled the early minutes and grabbed the lead when Giansiracusa kicked his second goal of the night. The Bulldogs were still making some easy mistakes but they were getting drive out of defence from Shaun Higgins and Robert Murphy. Goals in quick succession to Nick Riewoldt and Stephen Milne saw the Saints push out to lead by 10 points, and they led by four points at the main break.
Third quarter
The quarter was an arm-wrestle with both team making mistakes, but it was only the Saints who could find the goals. St Kilda kicked all three goals scored in the term, the most damaging coming from Nick Dal Santo. At the other end of the ground, Nathan Djerrkura thought he had a free kick in front of the Bulldogs’ goal, but when Daniel Cross played on, the umpire called advantage. The players stopped, the Saints forced a turnover, and the ball ended up with Dal Santo who strolled towards goal.
Fourth quarter
The Bulldogs went on the attack in the opening minutes of the final term but their inaccuracy hurt, with Cross and Ryan Griffen missing kickable set shots. When Brendon Goddard took three bounces down the wing and kicked a long goal, the Saints had a handy buffer. Liam Jones’ second goal for the quarter gave the Bulldogs some hope, but a free and goal to Steven Baker secured the much-needed win for the Saints.
St Kilda 3.5 6.6 9.7 12.9 (81)
Western Bulldogs 3.0 6.2 6.6 8.9 (57)
GOALS
St Kilda: Riewoldt 2, Milne 2, Dal Santo 2, McEvoy, Gamble, Armitage, Goddard, Baker, Ledger
Western Bulldogs: Giansiracusa 2, Jones 2, Sherman, Boyd, Picken, Stack
BEST
St Kilda: Steven, Baker, Jones, Goddard, Schneider, Milne
Western Bulldogs: Picken, Boyd, Higgins, Williams, Sherman
INJURIES
St Kilda: Nil
Western Bulldogs: Adam Cooney (knee) replaced in the side by James Mulligan. Mulligan (hamstring)
SUBSTITUTES
St Kilda: Tom Simpkin replaced by Tom Ledger in the third quarter.
Western Bulldogs: James Mulligan replaced by Luke Dahlhaus in the third quarter.
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Donlon, Stewart, Jeffery
Official crowd: 31,237 at Etihad Stadium
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
