The tougher the grind gets, the better this St Kilda side plays and that determination pushed the young Saints past the Gold Coast Suns by 53 points on Saturday night and into a 4-0 record for the first time since 2010.
Ross Lyon’s Saints again out-ran and out-worked their opponents who showed good signs early but didn’t have the drive or game plan to keep up. The unheralded Saints won their early games with their fitness and are now overpowering sides with their added dare and belief.
Mattaes Phillipou.Credit: Getty Images
The Saints are the only team on 4-0 courtesy of undefeated Carlton’s draw, and they face premiership fancy Collingwood in Adelaide next Sunday. As the last game of Gather Round, it could well be the most anticipated clash of the weekend.
The Suns did a better job of winning the ball early with Noah Anderson’s goal giving them an eight-point lead in the second term, but from there the Saints kicked eight goals to one, taking a 22-point lead at half-time and a 47-point lead by the start of the last term, which all but ended the contest.
Jack Higgins kicked three of his five goals in the second term while the Saints goaled from the left, the right and the centre during the third term, as Brad Hill saluted from the left-boundary, Zaine Cordy from the middle and the best-on-ground Mitch Owens from the right, which had home fans roaring.
The big question might not be whether St Kilda are the real deal but how they can fit their injured veterans back into this side. Captain Jack Steele is a certainty, but there are six or seven other proven names who won’t be certainties once fit again.
The only downer for the Saints was substitute Jack Bytel injuring his ankle just minutes after being introduced in the final term.
Owens makes his mark
Mitch Owens takes a mark on Saturday.Credit: Darrian Traynor, Getty Images
Owens continues to win admirers with his tireless running and creative play. All of his skills were on show on Saturday, taking a mark of the week candidate in defence and kicking a rousing goal from the right boundary.
Most importantly, he continued to run, win the football and set up his teammates, finishing with 27 possessions and two goals. At 19 and having played just 11 games, he is only just getting started.
Saints show class
St Kilda took hold of the match in the second term, kicking five goals to one. Their goals came in last 15 minutes as they wore down the Suns and worked to keep them in their attacking half.
One phase showed all that is great about this Saints team, as Josh Battle refused to give up on Joel Jeffrey’s bouncing shot at goal reaching out at the goal line and knocking it over for a point.
The Saints went from that kick-in to a towering mark from Owens at half-back, to a move down the right wing, which ended in first-year forward Mattaes Phillipou winning a free kick and booting the goal for a 22-point lead going into half-time.
Moyle gets call-up
Suns debutant Ned Moyle was a game day addition to the side after ruckman Jarrod Witts was ruled out.
He joined No.6 draft pick Bailey Humphrey, who was also playing his first game.
Moyle, a former Kew Rovers and Oakleigh Chargers player, was able to alert his family in time to attend the match and his pre-game jumper presentation.
Moyle was picked up in the mid-season draft in 2021 so has done the hard yards to earn his call-up to senior football after being named VFL ruckman of the year in 2022.
The big man had a couple of touches and 36 hitouts while Humphrey had some nice possessions in limited chances.
BEST
St Kilda: Owens, Sinclair, Wood, Higgins, Marshall, Ross, Wilkie.
Gold Coast: Anderson, Miller, Weller, Collins, Macpherson.
