Australian Football

Match Report

The GWS Giants has further staked their claim as a genuine finals contender with a strong win over St Kilda on Sunday afternoon. The Saints took it right up to GWS for the best part of three quarters, trailing by just 10 points minutes before the last break, but the powerful GWS line-up then combined to kick the next seven straight goals to set up an emphatic victory. 

GWS certainly started the match off in emphatic fashion, kicking four goals in the first 20 minutes while restricting St Kilda to just one behind. The last of those four goals went to Jeremy Cameron, playing his first game for premiership points this year after he had served his four-week suspension for a pre-season misdemeanour. The Saints found their mojo in time-on and rattled on three straight goals to cut the margin to seven points. Cameron then kicked his second and the Giants led by 14 points at quarter-time. 

Picking up where he left off in the first quarter, Cameron marked and kicked his third goal within a minute of the second term starting. Josh Bruce responded for the Saints but it was that man  Jeremy Cameron again at the six-minute mark, marking yet again and kicking his fourth goal to put GWS 19 points ahead. The sides shared goals from then until half time and the Giants were 21 points to the good at the long break. 

Both teams traded behinds instead of goals early in the third quarter, before Jonathon Patton kicked a major at the 14-minute mark to put the Giants 27 points clear. The game looked to be petering out after that, but it was brought suddenly back to life by Jack Newnes and skipper Nick Riewoldt kicking three goals for the Saints within five minutes to cut the margin to just 10 points. Jack Steele got one back for GWS just before three-quarter time but St Kilda looked poised to make a game of it, trailing by just 16 at the final end-change. 

Any thoughts of a close finish were sadly quickly extinguished soon after the last term began. The quarter went three minutes without a score but a major to Stevie Johnson set off an avalanche of goals the way of the Giants, with Lachie Whitfield. Toby Greene (two), Zac Williams and Johnson again adding five more majors over the next 10 minutes without a St Kilda score. The Saints recovered to kick three of the last five goals but GWS won in the end by a very comfortable 43 points.

Greene was a match-winner for the Giants, with four goals to go with his 31 possessions, while Riewoldt was once again outstanding for St Kilda, with 11 marks and four goals.

The win took the Giants up to sixth on the ladder with a 3-2 record and they will look to take Hawthorn's spot in the top four when they take the Hawks on at home on Saturday. The Saints are 1-4 and 13th on the ladder, and will take on the improved Melbourne at Docklands, also on Saturday. 

GOALS
St Kilda: Riewoldt 4; Bruce, Savage 2; Dunstan, McCartin, Sinclair, Newnes
GWS: Cameron 5; Greene, Johnson 4; Patton, Smith, Steele, Ward, Whitfield, Williams

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
St Kilda: Riewoldt, Armitage, Steven, Ross, Savage
GWS: Greene, Coniglio, Williams, Wilson, Cameron, Griffen, Shaw

BEST - THE AGE
St Kilda: Riewoldt, Steven, Ross, Montagna, Dempster, Armitage, Savage
GWS: Shaw, Greene, Coniglio, Scully, Williams, Cameron, Griffen

INJURIES
St Kilda: Riewoldt (foot), Montagna (hamstring)
GWS: Nil

UMPIRES: Harris, Fleer, McInerney

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Fox Footy

COMMENTATORS: Anthony Hudson, Jason Dunstall, Tony Shaw, Cameron Mooney