Match

St Kilda vs Melbourne

Commentary / 27 Mar 2021

Pre Game

00:00
In Round 1 there were contrasting fortunes for these teams at the stoppages. The Saints conceded an additional nine hit outs to the Giants, however managed to win nine more clearances. Conversely, the Demons won 23 more hit outs than the Dockers, but conceded eight additional clearances.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
00:29
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Jack Viney)
01:31
Jack Viney has goaled with his first kick of the season and just the fourth disposal of the game. This was just his fourth goal in his 11th career game against St Kilda.
02:31
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Bayley Fritsch)
03:58
Tim Membrey has hit back for St Kilda with its first attacking foray. Since 2016, Membrey has recorded a shot at goal accuracy of 60 per cent, ranked equal-second of the top-50 players in the AFL for shots at goal.
07:03
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Angus Brayshaw)
12:32
The Saints haven't been able to string many consecutive possessions together and now the Demons have capitalised. Melbourne has already won nine intercepts, directly resulting in 1.2 (8), while St Kilda has won just four for no score.
15:01
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Rushed)
16:39
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Jack Steele)
18:51
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Jack Billings)
21:58
It's only taken 22 minutes of this match, but for just the third time in his 136-game career, Melbourne vice-captain Jack Viney has kicked multiple goals in a game.
25:06
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jack Steele)
25:24
Jack Steele cuts the margin to seven points from a set shot, making it two goals from three set shots to date for the Saints. Last season, St Kilda recorded a set shot scoring accuracy of 68 per cent at Marvel Stadium in 2020 – the highest percentage of any side at the venue.
27:08
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Bayley Fritsch)
30:04
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Max King)
30:11
There is little in it at the first break after a Max King goal from a free kick on the siren. Melbourne controlled the majority of play, with three more clearances, four more intercepts and 39 more disposals, however St Kilda was ultra efficient with five shots from 10 forward 50 entries.

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
01:23
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Max King)
01:48
The Saints are in front for the first time tonight, with their second goal launched from eight midfield intercepts. The Demons have won 11 forward 50 intercepts, with none yet to directly result in goals.
04:30
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Tim Membrey)
05:40
A much brighter start for St Kilda this quarter, marked by the first four clearances setting up the first six forward 50 entries of the quarter. The Saints have enjoyed 90 per cent time in forward half of the early play of the second term.
06:03
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Rushed)
08:40
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jack Billings)
09:50
St Kilda's midfield is starting to bring the pressure, with the Saints applying 12 tackles to just two by the Demons this term, and launching both goals from midfield intercepts.
11:16
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Josh Battle)
11:49
The Saints now have kicked the last five goals of the game, and have won the first eight clearances of this quarter. St Kilda's efficiency this term is indicated by just 4.6 disposals per inside 50, well superior to Melbourne averaging 12.5 disposals per inside 50.
15:39
St Kilda has won all seven free kicks this quarter.
18:41
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Tom McDonald)
19:40
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Alex Neal-Bullen)
20:09
Melbourne's transition from defensive 50 to forward 50 has been a feature of its play, converting four of 11 attempts (36 per cent) which is well ahead of the league average of 25 per cent. The Demons have also scored from three of these four inside 50s.
21:19
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Kysaiah Pickett)
24:45
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Tom Sparrow)
25:36
Three in a row and the Demons are back in front, after eight minutes of rear-guard football. Melbourne has now launched three goals from 14 possession chains launched inside defensive 50.
26:47
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Bayley Fritsch)
30:36
St Kilda converted a two-point deficit into a 16-point lead in the first 11 minutes of the quarter, set up through all seven clearances. But in the final 12 minutes of the term, Melbourne took back the lead set up by six of the eight clearances in that period.

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
00:23
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Christian Petracca)
03:57
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Kysaiah Pickett)
04:44
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Ed Langdon)
04:57
The first goal of the second half to Ed Langdon, following a mark and play on inside 50. The Demons have taken nine marks inside forward 50 compared to six by the Saints.
06:07
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Charlie Spargo)
06:23
A very strong start to the second half by Melbourne, enjoying 80 per cent time in forward half and six of the seven forward 50 entries for 2.2 (14) to no score. Christian Petracca has delivered inside 50 on two occasions this quarter, and four times for the game.
08:14
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Kysaiah Pickett)
11:40
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Rushed)
12:45
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Tim Membrey)
13:01
St Kilda has registered its first score since the 12-minute-mark of the second term, when it led by 16 points. In the following period, the Demons won 14 more groundball gets and 10 more clearances than the Saints, kicking 5.6 (36) to no score.
14:00
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Tom McDonald)
15:23
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Christian Salem)
16:45
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jack Steele)
17:01
Saints Interchange - Jimmy Webster and is possibly out for the game.
20:21
St Kilda co-captain Jack Steele has finally broken the drought for his side. The midfielder has been a key cog in the Saints' engine room, recording equal team-highs in goals (two), groundball gets (five), score involvements (five) and forward 50 entries (two).
23:15
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jack Steele)
25:10
Déjà vu for Jack Steele, as for the second time in the quarter he's won the crumbs from an dropped uncontested mark from a Demon defender to convert. There have only been two other uncontested dropped marks by either side for the remainder of the game.
28:31
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Bayley Fritsch)
28:49
It took until his fourth shot of the match, but Bayley Fritsch has converted and now has kicked 1.3 (9). He has been a lively option up forward for Melbourne, targeted on seven occasions for a game-high five marks inside forward 50, including three on the lead.
29:54
Melbourne stretched its lead to 15 points at the final change, set up by Max Gawn with 13 hit outs (and five to advantage) for the quarter while St Kilda just recorded three (one) in total. The Demons won four additional clearances for the quarter as a result.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
00:55
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Tom McDonald)
02:05
It's Max Gawn again to start the final term, with the first centre clearance to the ruckman ending up with Tom McDonald. The Demons have launched 3.3 (31) from 12 centre clearances, compared to St Kilda's eight centre clearances for no score.
02:39
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Kysaiah Pickett)
05:19
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Charlie Spargo)
05:58
Melbourne has kicked 2.1 (13) in quick time to start this term, while St Kilda has only had four disposals.
07:35
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Christian Petracca)
08:58
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Josh Battle)
09:53
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Christian Petracca)
10:37
Clayton Oliver came into this match averaging 30.1 disposals and 6.3 clearances against St Kilda. He has surpassed these averages tonight with time to spare, currently with 32 disposals, ten clearances, 499 metres gained, and six forward 50 entries.
11:09
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (James Jordon)
12:16
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Shaun McKernan)
13:28
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jade Gresham)
13:42
Back-to-back goals for St Kilda within a minute, as it wins the centre clearance after the McKernan goal and finds another through Gresham. The Saints outscored their opposition by 13 points from scores launched from centre clearances in Round 1, ranked second across the league.
15:20
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Tom McDonald)
17:35
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Tom McDonald)
19:20
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jack Higgins)
21:01
St Kilda's accuracy in front of goal, relative to Melbourne, has kept it in the hunt. Including the latest goal to Jack Higgins, the Saints have kicked 4.1 (25) to the Demons' 2.4 (16) from snap attempts.
22:12
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Luke Jackson)
24:23
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Zak Jones)
25:26
In a tough night for the St Kilda defence, Dougal Howard has stood tall with a career-high 28 disposals, exceeding his previous career-high by eight. He has won nine intercepts (including six intercept marks) and recorded a game-high 770 metres gained.
30:24
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Tim Membrey)
31:12
Melbourne was better for longer, winning all four quarters on its way to a solid 18-point win. Although the Demons recorded just one additional forward 50 entry, they took 17 additional shots at goal, with a much greater margin hampered by their 19 behinds and 11 complete misses.