Match

St Kilda vs Sydney Swans

Commentary / 01 Aug 2020

Pre Game

00:00
Sydney have been able to create turnovers by winning the loose ball at ground level more than any other side since Round 4, averaging 38 intercepts from ground ball gets per game in this period.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
00:48
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Rowan Marshall)
03:36
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jade Gresham)
03:45
Jade Gresham gets the opening goal for the Swans after the Saints won an intercept possession in their forward half. They have averaged 23 points per game from this source in 2020, the fourth-highest average of any side in this category this year.
05:25
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Matthew Parker)
07:18
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Tom Papley)
07:55
Tom Papley kicks truly to retake the outright lead in the Coleman Medal race with his 20th goal for 2020. His 21 lead marks and 54 disposals inside forward 50 are also league-high marks this year.
10:01
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Tom McCartin)
10:41
Sydney get a second goal through Tom McCartin to establish a rare early lead in today's match. In 2020, the Swans have been outscored by an average of five points per game in the opening 10 minutes of play, the second-worst record of any side this season.
16:04
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Nick Blakey)
17:30
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Nick Hind)
21:50
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Hunter Clark)
22:11
Back-to-back goals for the Saints as Hunter Clark gets on the end of a clearance chain to score their first goal from this source. The Saints have won 11 first possessions after hitouts to the Swans four but had not been able to convert this stoppage dominance into a score until that goal through Clark.
23:57
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Rowan Marshall)
26:16
St Kilda's tackling efficiency of 83 per cent in the first term is a considerable improvement on their 2020 average of 63 per cent. They rank 13th in the AFL in this regard over the 2020 season.

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
01:13
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Rushed)
02:13
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Will Hayward)
03:08
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Rushed)
03:54
The Swans have won three forward half intercept possessions in quick succession in the opening minutes of this term, but have only managed to convert it into two behinds on the scoreboard. Sydney have only managed 18 points per game from this source in 2020, the third-lowest average of any side in this category.
04:24
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Josh Battle)
05:52
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jade Gresham)
06:49
Three straight clearance wins at the stoppages for the Saints to start the second term, with the last two clearances converting to goals on the scoreboard. Their pre-clearance pressure rating of 3.75 this term is off the charts, compared to the league average of 2.54.
08:20
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Sam Gray)
09:13
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Dan Butler)
09:59
St Kilda are starting to kick away, and their 79 per cent disposal efficiency compared to the Swans 48 per cent this term is a large reason why, especially when that disparity balloons out to 100 per cent for St Kilda and 27 per cent for the Swans when each team is kicking the ball in their forward half.
10:52
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Sam Reid)
15:16
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Max King)
16:14
Sydney have recorded nine marks to St Kilda's six inside 50 in today's match. However St Kilda lead the score count from marks 3.1.19 to 0.3.3. St Kilda averages 4.5 goals per game from marks, the third-best average of any side in 2020.
19:51
Jack Steele is better known for his stoppage work than his attacking ability but his 204 metres gained, four inside 50's and two goal assists in this term alone, leading all players on the ground in each category are showing his development as a more complete midfielder.
24:35
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Shane Savage)
24:58
After a quiet first term, Luke Parker has stood up as the leader for the Swans this quarter, with a team-high eight disposals, four contested possessions, three clearances and two score involvements.
25:10
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Oliver Florent)
25:13
It has been an intriguing battle in the ruck in the first half, with Callum Sinclair matching Paddy Ryder with five hitouts-to-advantage, and Rowan Marshall having four hitouts sharked by Swans players in the second term alone.

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
00:20
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Rushed)
01:18
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Shane Savage)
05:30
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Zak Jones)
06:22
St Kilda get the first goal of the second half through ex-Swan Zak Jones. His goal was the Saints fourth from a possession chain launched inside their forward 50 in today's match, a zone where they have scored 13 goals since Round 4, sharing the league-leading record in this category with Richmond in this time.
08:52
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Callum Sinclair)
11:14
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Aliir Aliir)
11:32
Sydney have started to reverse their fortunes at the stoppages, with Swans ruckmen winning six of the nine ruck contests so far this term, allowing the Swans to lead the clearance count 6-2 for the quarter.
13:53
Five forward half intercept possessions to three, and four forward half clearances to zero has allowed the Swans to lock the ball in their forward half for 76 per cent of time elapsed in the third quarter.
16:05
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Lewis Taylor)
17:50
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Tom Papley)
19:03
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Oliver Florent)
20:39
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Tom McCartin)
24:04
After recording an ordinary pressure rating of 1.70 in the first half, since the last St Kilda goal the Swans have recorded an elite pressure rating of 2.29, lead by a pressure rating of 2.97 at the stoppages allowing them to propel the ball forward repeatedly and win 15 of 20 inside 50's recorded this term.
25:00
James Rowbottom has been released from a tagging role on Zak Jones and has started winning his own ball, recording seven disposals and leading all players on the ground with five contested possessions and four clearances in the third term.
25:37
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Nick Hind)
26:13
Swans Interchange - Harry Cunningham off due to an injury.
27:57
St Kilda won 60 per cent of their defensive one-on-one contests in the third quarter after winning just two of their seven defensive contests in the first half. They have won 31 per cent of their defensive one-on-one contests in 2020, the sixth-highest win rate of any side in the AFL.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
00:19
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Nick Hind)
03:57
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Dan Butler)
06:04
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Max King)
06:25
St Kilda win the first five inside 50's of the final term and the territory pressure pays off as Dan Butler kicks the first goal of the final term. They have won all three of the centre bounce clearances to start this term and have scored two goals from this source.
07:43
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Nick Hind)
09:43
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jarryn Geary)
10:00
All four of St Kilda's goals in the final term have been scored from shots at goal in general play, a shot source they lead the AFL in with 26 goals scored since Round 4.
11:35
SCORE GOAL - Swans (Tom McCartin)
14:34
The Swans defenders have been under the pump for much of today's match but have rarely been beaten in the air, conceding just six marks from 40 St Kilda kicks inside 50. By comparison, they have recorded 10 marks in the Sydney forward 50 from just 28 targets.
15:54
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Max King)
17:54
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Josh Battle)
18:21
Despite recording fewer intercept possessions than the Swans (59-62), the Saints have outscored the Swans 10.3.63 to 4.5.29 from this source. Nick Coffield has been the standout in this regard, launching three goals from his team-high eight intercepts, including the last goal to Josh Battle.
21:22
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Matthew Parker)
22:12
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Hunter Clark)
24:13
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Jack Billings)
24:42
St Kilda have recorded 73 disposals inside forward 50 in today's match, the most of any side in any match this year.
27:23
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Josh Battle)
28:01
SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Luke Parker)
28:17
St Kilda kicked away in the second half to run out convincing winners. They recorded 12 more inside 50's and scored 8.2.50 from 18 possession chains inside their forward 50 to dominate the Swans in this zone and run out 53 point winners.