HOW THEY LINED UP
It was anticipated that Brian Lake would go to Justin Koschitzke with Dale Morris given the big job on Nick Riewoldt. That's what happened. Ryan Hargrave's versatility meant he started on the dangerous Stephen Milne while Jarrod Harbrow took Adam Schneider.

In the midfield, tagger Liam Picken looked for Leigh Montagna and the Saints did the same with Clint Jones on Adam Cooney. Brendon Goddard, Jason Gram, Lenny Hayes and Nick Dal Santo went head-to-head with Ryan Griffen, Shaun Higgins, Daniel Cross and Matthew Boyd.

Zac Dawson began on Will Minson but then struggled for a while find a suitable opponent. Sam Gilbert switched from Scott Welsh to Robert Murphy and Jason Blake started on Mitch Hahn. Steven Baker was used on Jason Akermanis.

FOUR QUARTERS
Q1: St Kilda 0.2 (2) v Western Bulldogs 2.5 (17)
It was a typical start to a final with both teams applying great pressure, but it was the Dogs who peppered the 50m arc with seven inside 50s to the Saints' zero in the first six minutes. They were patient, hitting up the leading forwards and not allowing the Saints' defenders to drop off. They were cleaner with their disposal and when they didn't have the ball, their pressure was creating doubt in the Saints' minds and causing them to fumble. The Dogs' plan was working to a tee.

Riewoldt was having to work right up the ground for his possessions and when he did get a chance inside 50, Morris backed himself to play in front and didn't allow him to mark. That brought the ball to ground and the crumbs were mopped up by Harbrow and rebounded. Unfortunately, the Dogs didn't capitalise on their chances and only kicked the two goals.

Q2: St Kilda 3.6 (24) v Western Bulldogs 4.7 (31)
After a five-minute arm wrestle, Dal Santo kicked a great goal from 50 to register the Saints' first of the game. The Saints started to apply the pressure that won them 20 of 22 games in the regular season and were hemming the Dogs in their own back half. The Dogs' midfielders and half-forwards were not presenting to the defenders who were trying to bring the ball out of the backline. This caused them to panic at times and turn the ball over which resulted in a goal to Andrew McQualter. The Dogs started to lose that patience they had in the first quarter and were bombing the ball in, which played right into the St Kilda defenders' hands.

Harbrow was sensational for the half with 17 possessions, giving plenty of run and drive. Hahn was able to get away from a loose Goddard to kick two goals to keep the Dogs in front but they needed to go into the break, regroup and remind themselves of what made them successful in the first quarter: patience when going forward, having their forwards continually present and making the Saints' backmen accountable.

Q3: St Kilda 7.6 (48) v Western Bulldogs 6.7 (43)
It was a horror start for the Dogs with Lake having one of his brain fades and knocking Riewoldt over in front of goal. The free kick was paid and a goal kicked before the ball was even bounced. Finals pressure was at its best and although it wasn't pretty football, it was great to watch.

A 55m set shot from Sam Fisher put the Saints in front for the first time for the night and when the ball shot out of the centre after the bounce and to Riewoldt for another goal, the signs were not looking good for the Dogs. They were still winning the contested ball and plenty of possessions but their structure was breaking down which was causing them to continually bomb it long. Fisher and Dawson were releasing themselves and repelling everything that came into the defensive 50.

The Dogs were still one point up with 30 seconds to go but another bomb to an outnumbered forward line allowed the Saints to sweep it out and get it to Milne, who kicked a goal with five seconds remaining in the term. The Dogs had been sensational and with the amount of times they had the ball inside 50 compared to the Saints, they should have been four goals up.

Q4: St Kilda 9.6 (60) v Western Bulldogs 7.11 (53)
It wasa titanic struggle in the last quarter. Five minutes in, Brad Johnson took a great mark one-on-one and kicked a captain's goal to get the Dogs back in front. Another eight minutes of intense pressure went by before Riewoldt popped up to take a strong grab and put the Saints back in front.

Daniel Giansiracusa had a tough chance on his left foot to regain the lead but just missed. When Riewoldt kicked one off the ground, his second for the quarter, the game was in the bag and the Saints were off to the GF.

MATCH-UPS THAT MATTERED
Daniel Cross v Lenny Hayes
Hayes was sensational with 34 touches and 13 of them contested. He willed himself to contest after contest and won the important possessions when his team really needed them. Cross was great as usual but couldn’t stop Hayes' influence in and under.

Dale Morris v Nick Riewoldt
Morris took the points in the first half and Riewoldt looked proppy at times after landing hard on his troublesome knee. But like a true leader and champion, he stood up in the second half and kicked four goals to win the game for his team.

THE COACHES
Ross Lyon
After a slow start and with his defence unusually under siege, Lyon was able to get his players back on track. They clogged up the back half and released Fisher and Goddard so they could use their rebound and ball use to set up their forward attacks.

Rodney Eade
He had his players playing out of their skin, but if the tactic after quarter time was to kick it long into 50, it was the wrong one.

HOW THE GAME WAS LOST
I'm sounding like a broken record now, but the Dogs' entry into forward 50 was all wrong after quarter time. This was the difference between the sides. The stats tell the story:

- The Bulldogs had 400 possessions to the Saints' 378
- They had 40 clearances to the Saints' 41
- The contested possessions were 147 to 130, the Dogs' way
- The uncontested possessions were 250 to 242, again the Dogs' way
- The Dogs went inside 50 on 57 occasions compared to the Saints' 40
- The Dogs kicked seven goals. The Saints kicked nine

The Dogs kicked a goal every 8.1 times they went into their attacking arc, as opposed to St Kilda who goaled every 4.4 times they entered.

HOW THE GAME WAS WON
The Saints' ability to defend won them the game. Riewoldt was sensational in kicking the match-winning goals but had the defenders and midfielders not have been able to continually repel the Dogs' attacks the way they did, the skipper's contribution wouldn't have been enough.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.