Saints Move Clear From Geelong in Thriller

MELBOURNE—St Kilda have taken a giant stride in the race for the AFL premiership after beating Geelong by six points in Sunday's blockbuster at Etihad Stadium.

The Saints began the clash of the two pace-setters like a shot with the first five goals and then withstood a late Geelong comeback in the final quarter to win 14.7 (91) to 13.7 (85) before a record crowd of 54,444.

Ruckman Michael Gardiner kicked the winning goal after a skyscraper mark 15 metres out from goal, but was forced to wait several minutes before taking his kick as Geelong officials attended to defender Harry Taylor, who was knocked out.

The late drama capped an extraordinary match, during which the Cats rallied from 23 points down in the final quarter, and drew level with just under five minutes left when Mathew Stokes goaled on the run.

Both sides slugged it out until Gardiner rose high, and his goal -- 65 seconds from full-time -- was the last score of the game.

St Kilda's win was their 14th in succession, and put them a game clear on top of the ladder.

The defeat was Geelong's first this season, but just their fourth in 59 games dating back to round six of 2007.

Saints captain Nick Riewoldt provided the game's defining moments, with a mark running against the flight of the ball in the opening minutes, a superb kick for goal in the second quarter and a magnificent steadying goal in the third term.

His three goals, Gardiner's four and another great team defensive effort earned St Kilda one of their most memorable wins in recent times.

The withdrawal of star forward Steve Johnson, with hip tightness, hurt Geelong's prospects before the opening bounce, but the Cats took too long to get into the game.

St Kilda's first-quarter onslaught put them 31 points up at one point, although the Cats did well to whittle down the deficit.

They got within three points halfway through the third term when Joel Selwood rolled through his side's third successive goal.

But Riewoldt responded with a superb piece of individual play, when he gathered the ball at half-forward, wrong-footed opponent Harry Taylor and landed a 55-metre goal, which gave his side a 10-point lead at the final change.

 

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SYDNEY—Without Barry Hall, Sydney needed someone to take a big mark against North Melbourne in a tense final quarter and it was youngster Craig Bird who filled the void.

While Sydney's 15.10 (100) to 13.7 (85) victory keeps their slim AFL finals hopes alive and improves their win-loss record to 6-8, Swans coach Paul Roos is also keeping an eye on developing the side for their next premiership tilt.

Roos praised his less experienced players including 20-year-old Bird, who kicked two crucial goals in the last quarter.

Midfield tagger Kieren Jack had a huge match to keep North's dynamic skipper Brent Harvey to an ineffective 17-possession game, although Harvey was carrying a toe injury.

Sydney's 2006 All-Australian Ryan O'Keefe and co-captain Brett Kirk had 37 possessions each and Kirk's 16 touches in the last quarter showed yet again he's a man for the tough situations.

But with North's Josh Gibson playing a solid defensive game on dual Brownlow Medallist Adam Goodes, the Swans uncovered an unlikely hero in Bird, who kicked a goal from 50 metres out in the final quarter and another after taking a courageous mark.

"You've got to be careful, we've got an eye on the finals. But we've got to be making sure we're getting better as a club towards the next premiership," Roos said on Sunday after 21,929 fans were given a glimpse of Sydney's future.

Michael O'Loughlin, who kicked two goals in his 295th game, is retiring at the end of the season and Hall, 32, faces an uncertain future and is due to return from a two-match ban in round 16.

"The positive about today was you had Ryan Brabazon, Nick Smith, Ed Barlow (two goals), Kieren Jack," Roos enthused.

"It's good to see some of those young guys, Ed Barlow kicked two (goals), Birdy kicked a couple when we really needed them.

"Heath Grundy played his best game for the club.

"Patty (Veszpremi with one goal and 14 touches). It's good to have six or seven young guys playing well within the team.

"It certainly keeps us alive. I think we're only one game out of the eight so mathematically it's definitely possible but there's not much margin for error."

Amid speculation this week that Hall would be sacked following his third AFL tribunal suspension in the past two seasons, Roos said the players had carried on as normal.

"Everyone knows, including Barry, what he has done but he's very popular and he's very affable and he's easy to like," Roos said.

"He comes in, he does the training. So really for the players it wasn't that big an issue."

Jarrad McVeigh and defender Rhyce Shaw also had outstanding matches for Sydney although McVeigh may be in doubt for next week with a hamstring injury.

Sydney led by one point at quarter-time but three second-quarter goals from Corey Jones lifted the Kangaroos to a five-point advantage at halftime.

Roos and his North Melbourne counterpart Darren Crocker agreed Sydney's two late goals in the first half, after trailing by 17 points, were vital in keeping them in the contest.

Leading by seven points at three-quarter time after crowd-pleasing goals from Shaw and Veszpremi, the Swans added another four in the final term to North's three with Bird the hero and Goodes kicking a crucial six-pointer.

Sydney host Essendon at the SCG on Saturday and North face Hawthorn in Launceston next Sunday.

 

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MELBOURNE—The Western Bulldogs effectively ended Hawthorn's AFL title defence after keeping the reigning premiers goalless to halftime en route to an 88-point thrashing on Saturday night at Etihad Stadium.

In one of the more remarkable starts to a game of recent times, the Bulldogs led by 84 points at the main break, after the Hawks trudged off the ground to the boos of their own fans with just four behinds on the scoreboard.

The Hawks lifted slightly in the second half, but the 19.19 (133) to 6.9 (45) defeat means they are in serious danger of missing the finals, and there is no chance of reaching the top four.

Given the significance of the game, the Hawks were embarrassingly pitiful in the first half as they were brushed off the ball, out-run and woeful in defence, while the Bulldogs piled on 9.6 to quarter-time and had 79 more disposals.

The Bulldogs' win kept them a game clear in third spot and avenged last year's heavy defeat to Hawthorn in the qualifying final.

Shaun Higgins, Brad Johnson and Scott Welsh all kicked three goals, and fullback Brian Lake thrashed Hawk forward Lance Franklin by keeping him goalless for the first time in 62 successive games.

It wasn't until five minutes into the third quarter that Jarryd Roughead booted Hawthorn's first major, to the sounds of Bronx cheers.

Hawks fans also hurled abuse and one mockingly pointed to his heart as the players walked off the ground at halftime.

Hawthorn's scoreline at that point was their equal-lowest to halftime -- alongside the 0.4 they managed against Collingwood in 1950 -- and the first time the club had been kept goalless in the first half since 1979.

The defeat will leave Hawthorn one game plus percentage outside the eight after round 14, and they must play six sides currently inside the eight in the run home, including unbeaten St Kilda and Geelong.

Although cursed by injury in 2009, the Hawks still had 15 members of last year's premiership side playing against the Bulldogs, and some of them had shockers.

Franklin dropped marks and was constantly under pressure, captain Sam Mitchell was run down from behind and Luke Hodge sent the ball out on the full, to name several glaring errors.

The Bulldogs had good players across the ground and there was a gulf between the sides' tackling and field kicking.

Defenders Jarrod Harbrow and Ryan Hargrave were impressive, Lindsay Gilbee and Matthew Boyd excellent with the ball in their hands and Jason Akermanis set the game alight with 2.3 in the first quarter.

Jordan Lewis was Hawthorn's best player and finished with three goals, while Roughead kicked two.

 

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COLLINGWOOD 2.3 9.6 12.10 15.12 (102)
ESSENDON 2.6 3.8 6.10 9.13 (67)
Goals: Collingwood: T Cloke 4 D Beams 2 D Thomas 2 B Dick D Swan J Anthony J Fraser L Davis P Medhurst T Lockyer. Essendon: S Lucas 3 M Lloyd 2 A Davey A Lovett A Monfries K Reimers.
Best: Collingwood: J Fraser A Didak T Cloke D Swan N Maxwell D Beams. Essendon: B Prismall A Lovett C Dempsey S Lucas A McPhee A Davey.
Injuries: Collingwood: Nil. Essendon: A Monfries (hamstring).
Reports: Nil.
Umpires: Hayden Kennedy, Shaun Ryan, Simon Meredith.
Official Crowd: 77,699 at Melbourne Cricket Ground.

MELBOURNE 6.1 11.2 16.6 17.10 (112)
WEST COAST 4.6 7.8 11.12 13.14 (92)
Goals: Melbourne: R Robertson 4 B Green 2 L Jurrah 2 M Bate 2 R Petterd 2 A Davey C Sylvia M Jamar N Jones S Martin. West Coast: J Kennedy 4 M LeCras 3 A Selwood 2 C Masten D Wirrpanda M Spangher S Butler.
Best: Melbourne: J Grimes B McLean R Robertson M Jamar N Jetta C Bruce B Green. West Coast: A Selwood J Kennedy S Hurn C Masten M Priddis.
Injuries: Melbourne: Nil. West Coast: B Jones (hamstring) E McKenzie replaced in selected side by A Cockie.
Reports: Melbourne: A Davey (Melbourne) reported by field umpire M Nicholls for striking C Masten (West Coast) in the first quarter, R Petterd (Melbourne) reported by field umpire M Nicholls for abusive language in the first quarter . West Coast: Nil.
Umpires: Chris Donlon, Jacob Mollison, Mathew Nicholls.
Official Crowd: 23,149 at Melbourne Cricket Ground.

PORT ADELAIDE 2.2 10.3 13.6 19.14 (128)
BRISBANE 2.4 6.7 11.11 11.14 (80)
Goals: Port Adelaide: B Ebert 4 J Westhoff 3 R Gray 3 W Tredrea 2 B Lade D Brogan D Pearce K Cornes N Krakouer S Salopek T Logan. Brisbane: A Proud 2 D Bradshaw 2 J Brown 2 D Rich J Sherman R Hooper S Black T Johnstone.
Best: Port Adelaide: D Rodan B Ebert D Pearce D Brogan P Burgoyne T Chaplin W Tredrea. Brisbane: J Adcock J Sherman J Macdonald L Power A McGrath.
Injuries: Port Adelaide: Nil. Brisbane: D Rich (head knock).
Reports: Port Adelaide: T Chaplin (Port Adelaide) for charging D Rich (Brisbane) by field umpire C Kamolins in the third quarter. Brisbane: J Brennan (Brisbane) for misconduct on J Carr (Port Adelaide) by field umpire S McLaren in the fourth quarter.
Umpires: Scott McLaren, Chris Kamolins, Dean Margetts.
Official Crowd: 20,293 at AAMI Stadium.

ADELAIDE 5.3 9.6 14.9 15.12 (102)
RICHMOND 2.1 5.3 8.5 13.7 (85)
Goals: Adelaide: K Tippett 5 C Knights 2 D Mackay 2 S Stevens 2 A McLeod J Porplyzia R Douglas S Thompson. Richmond: R Nahas 4 D Jackson 2 M Morton 2 A Graham B Deledio J Riewoldt R Tambling T Hislop.
Best: Adelaide: K Tippett T Edwards N Bock B Rutten. Richmond: R Nahas R Tambling B Deledio J Post.
Injuries: Adelaide: Nil. Richmond: N Foley (calf).
Reports: Nil.
Umpires: Stuart Wenn, Troy Pannell, Damien Sully.
Official Crowd: 11,174 at Gold Coast Stadium.

WESTERN BULLDOGS 9.6 13.10 15.14 19.19 (133)
HAWTHORN 0.2 0.4 4.6 6.9 (45)
Goals: Western Bulldogs: B Johnson 3 S Higgins 3 S Welsh 3 J Akermanis 2 J Hill 2 M Boyd 2 L Gilbee M Hahn R Griffen W Minson. Hawthorn: J Lewis 3 J Roughead 2 R Ladson.
Best: Western Bulldogs: B Lake S Higgins J Harbrow R Hargrave J Akermanis L Gilbee M Boyd A Cooney. Hawthorn: J Lewis B Sewell.
Injuries: Western Bulldogs: S Reid (groin soreness). Hawthorn: Nil.
Reports: Nil.
Umpires: Matt Stevic, Stephen McBurney, Stefan Grun.
Official Crowd: 36,827 at Etihad Stadium.

SYDNEY 3.4 7.6 11.7 15.10 (100)
NORTH MELBOURNE 3.3 8.5 10.6 13.7 (85)
Goals: Sydney: A Goodes 2 C Bird 2 E Barlow 2 J Bolton 2 M O'Loughlin 2 L Roberts-Thomson P Veszpremi R O'Keefe R Shaw T Richards. North Melbourne: C Jones 3 A Swallow 2 L Hansen 2 L Harding 2 M Firrito 2 B Ross D Harris.
Injuries: Sydney: J McVeigh (hamstring). North Melbourne: B Harvey (toe).
Reports: Nil.
Umpires: Justin Schmitt, Heath Ryan, Mathew James.
Official Crowd: 21,929 at SCG.

ST KILDA 5.3 8.4 10.5 14.7 (91)
GEELONG 2.2 5.5 8.7 13.7 (85)
Goals: St Kilda: M Gardiner 4 N Riewoldt 3 J Koschitzke 2 A McQualter A Schneider C Jones S Fisher S Milne. Geelong: C Mooney 2 D Milburn 2 G Ablett 2 A Mackie J Corey J Selwood M Rooke M Stokes P Chapman T Varcoe.
Best: St Kilda: N Riewoldt L Hayes S Fisher S Gilbert M Gardiner B Goddard. Geelong: G Ablett J Selwood A Mackie J Bartel P Chapman T Varcoe.
Umpires: Michael Vozzo, Ray Chamberlain, Brett Rosebury.
Official Crowd: 54,444 at Etihad Stadium.

AFL Ladder P W L D For Agst PC Pts
1 St Kilda 14 14 -- - 1447 849 170.4% 56
2 Geelong 14 13 1 -- 1594 1099 145.0% 52
3 Western Bulldogs 14 10 4 -- 1584 1215 130.4% 40
4 Collingwood 14 9 5 -- 1384 1169 118.4% 36
5 Adelaide 14 9 5 -- 1243 1208 102.9% 36
6 Brisbane 14 8 6 -- 1298 1235 105.1% 32
7 Essendon 14 7 7 -- 1339 1321 101.4% 28
8 Port Adelaide 14 7 7 -- 1305 1417 92.1% 28
9 *Carlton 13 6 7 -- 1313 1224 107.3% 24
10 Sydney 14 6 8 -- 1234 1295 95.3% 24
11 Hawthorn 14 6 8 -- 1217 1383 88.0% 24
12 West Coast 14 4 10 -- 1201 1352 88.8% 16
13 North Melbourne 14 4 10 -- 1042 1350 77.25% 16
14 *Fremantle 13 3 10 -- 1061 1393 76.2% 12
15 Richmond 14 3 11 -- 1148 1481 77.5% 12
16 Melbourne 14 2 12 -- 1051 1470 71.5% 8
*(denotes teams yet to play)

LEADING GOALKICKERS
47: J Brown (Brisbane) 2
45: B Fevola (Carlton) 2, N Riewoldt (St Kilda) 3
42: J Roughead (Hawthorn) 2, L Franklin (Hawthorn) 0
37: W Tredrea (Pt Adel) 2, S Johnson (Geelong) 0, M LeCras (West Coast) 3
36: D Bradshaw (Brisbane) 2
35: J Koschitzke (St Kilda) 2
33: J Anthony (C'wood) 1
31: J Porplyzia (Adelaide) 1, B Hall (Sydney) 0
30: M Lloyd (Essendon) 2, E Betts (Carlton) 0
28: M Morton (Richmond) 2