Match

St Kilda vs North Melbourne

Commentary / 21 Jul 2023

Pre Game

00:00
North Melbourne restricted their opposition last round to less than 100 points for the first time in their last six matches. North Melbourne had an 11-game streak last season between Rounds 5 to 16 where they conceded 100 points or more in each match.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
03:47
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jack Sinclair)
03:57
Jack Sinclair has taken an intercept mark inside 50 and converted the set shot for his sixth goal of the season. Sinclair has only scored more than six goals in a season twice in his career, most recently in 2017.
06:19
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Mitch Owens)
06:40
St Kilda has quickly scored two goals in the opening term, responding positively from their performance last round. St Kilda did not score a goal in the opening term for the first time all season last round against Gold Coast. They have lost their last five first quarters.
06:44
Saints Interchange - Bradley Hill off due to an injury.
12:18
North Melbourne's kicking has been poor in the early stages of this match, recording a kicking efficiency of 33%. The Kangaroos average a kicking efficiency of 67% this season (ranked fourth) with a season-low of 61.5% in Round 17 against Geelong.
15:26
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Eddie Ford)
16:38
North Melbourne has transitioned the ball from defensive 50 to record their first goal of the match. This zone has been a consistent avenue to goal for North Melbourne, having launched multiple defensive 50 goals in every game but one since Round 5.
18:19
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Nick Larkey)
19:51
Consecutive goals for North Melbourne have come following a strong response at the contest, winning eight more contested possessions than St Kilda in the last 10 minutes. The Kangaroos have only led once at quarter-time since Round 5.
20:11
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Mitch Owens)
21:20
Kangaroos Interchange - Will Phillips off due to an injury.
22:00
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Mitch Owens)
23:23
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Jack Billings)
24:38
St Kilda has won five intercepts in their forward-half, whilst the Kangaroos are yet to win one in their respective attacking half. The Saints only won 17 forward-half intercepts last Round against the Suns, their equal second-worst result of the season.
27:15
North Melbourne's pressure has been evident, laying 24 tackles for the quarter - six more than St Kilda. North Melbourne's most tackles in any quarter this season is 25.
27:46
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Rushed)
30:47
St Kilda enters the first break with their first quarter-time lead since Round 13. Their efficiency inside 50 was the clear difference, scoring from 46% of their entries compared to 18% for North Melbourne from their respective inside 50s.

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
00:56
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Tarryn Thomas)
01:25
Kangaroos Interchange - Nick Larkey off due to an injury.
02:33
St Kilda and North Melbourne have both been poor second-quarter teams in 2023, each winning four of these terms for the season. Only West Coast (two) has won fewer second quarters.
05:25
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Rushed)
08:48
Luke Davies-Uniacke has won a game-high eight contested possessions, whilst also leading the game in clearances with three. Davies-Uniacke has never reached 10 contested possessions from five career games against the Saints –averaging 7.4 – his fewest against any opponent.
08:54
Kangaroos Interchange - Eddie Ford off due to an injury.
09:37
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Marcus Windhager)
10:57
St Kilda has increased their pressure in the second quarter, laying seven more tackles than North Melbourne and recording a pressure factor of 221 for the quarter. St Kilda's best pressure performance this season came in Round 13 against the Swans, recording a pressure factor of 200.
12:32
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Nick Larkey)
12:52
North Melbourne has taken five marks inside 50, a significant improvement from recent performances. In the last four rounds, North Melbourne has taken just 3.7 marks per game inside 50 – ranked last and well below the next worst team Hawthorn at 6.8.
14:22
SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Paul Curtis)
17:05
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Jack Higgins)
17:49
St Kilda has not been able to capitalise on their intercepts, scoring 2.5 (17) sourced from their turnovers. Conversely, the Kangaroos have scored an accurate 3.0 (18) from their turnovers.
20:43
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Tristan Xerri)
22:10
Josh Goater has provided the Kangaroos with a strong aerial presence this quarter, claiming three intercept marks and five intercept possessions overall for the term. Goater's most intercept marks and intercept possessions coming into tonight were two and five respectively.
23:50
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Nick Larkey)
25:44
North Melbourne has scored four unanswered goals this quarter to take their overall score to 6.1 (37). When they played St Kilda earlier this season in Round 8, the Kangaroos only scored 4.10 (34) for the entire match.
26:11
Saints Interchange - Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera off due to an injury.
26:23
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Jack Billings)
27:40
North Melbourne conceded four points to St Kilda in the second quarter - their equal-best quarter defensively of the season. The Kangaroos trailed contested possessions by two in the first quarter, but managed to win six more than St Kilda in the second quarter.

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
01:30
SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Eddie Ford)
03:06
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Tarryn Thomas)
04:17
North Melbourne has now scored six goals sourced from stoppages, one point shy of their season average of 37 points from this source. The Kangaroos have not scored more than six goals from turnovers in a match since Round 5.
04:48
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jack Higgins)
06:58
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Anthony Caminiti)
07:25
St Kilda has won 18 clearances from around-the-ground stoppages compared to nine for North Melbourne. Despite this advantage, the Saints have not scored a goal from these stoppages whilst North Melbourne has scored one goal from these events.
10:26
Will Phillips has laid a career-high nine tackles and has recorded a tackle efficiency of 90%. Phillips' previous most tackles in a match before tonight was six.
10:45
SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Liam Shiels)
12:11
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Mason Wood)
13:31
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Zak Jones)
14:13
The Saints have won eight more contested possessions than the Kangaroos this quarter. St Kilda lost the contested possession count by 22 last week against the Suns – its worst differential this year.
15:47
SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Bailey Scott)
17:49
St Kilda has generated six inside 50s from 23 defensive 50 possession chains - a conversion of 26%. St Kilda has launched an inside 50 from 24.2% of its defensive 50 chains this season – ranked No.1.
20:27
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Zak Jones)
22:25
Harry Sheezel has collected a team-high 22 disposals for North Melbourne with a disposal efficiency of 91%. He also leads the match in metres gained with 460. Sheezel has won a total of 43 defensive 50 groundballs – ranked second in the competition.
22:45
Kangaroos Interchange - Liam Shiels off due to an injury.
26:20
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Tarryn Thomas)
27:47
Anthony Caminiti has laid five tackles inside 50 for St Kilda - the equal-most by any Saint this season. The most tackles inside 50 laid by any player in a match this season is nine (Jamie Cripps in Round 16).
29:49
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Brad Crouch)
29:53
North Melbourne has outscored St Kilda by 25 points from turnovers, with four of their seven goals from this source being launched from their defensive half. Ben McKay has been their main interceptor today, collecting a game-high nine intercept possessions with five of these being marks.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
02:14
North Melbourne has only entered the fourth quarter with a lead in two matches this season, winning both of these matches. St Kilda has won 30% of their matches this season when trailing at three-quarter time.
03:24
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Rowan Marshall)
04:01
Rowan Marshall has started in the forward line for St Kilda in the fourth quarter and has provided an immediate impact, scoring the opening goal of the final term. Marshall is averaging a career-high 4.6 tackles – ranked equal-third in the AFL among ruckmen.
07:02
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Cooper Sharman)
07:16
In the first three quarters, St Kilda retained possession from 35% of their 37 kicks inside 50. They have improved this efficiency in the final quarter, retaining possession from three of their four kicks inside 50.
08:15
SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Luke Davies-Uniacke)
09:57
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Rowan Marshall)
12:29
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jack Steele)
12:47
Jack Steele has scored St Kilda's first goal sourced from a turnover since the first quarter. The Saints have scored three goals from seven inside 50s this term after only scoring four goals from 37 inside 50s in the first three quarters.
14:17
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Anthony Caminiti)
15:44
SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Jack Ziebell)
17:17
The Saints have scored three goals from defensive midfield stoppages this quarter. In the last four rounds, the Saints have scored seven points per game from defensive midfield chains – ranked last.
19:02
SCORE GOAL - Kangaroos (Jack Ziebell)
22:02
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Rushed)
23:52
Marcus Windhager has amassed a career-high 29 disposals as well as an equal team-high nine marks. Windhager won a season and career-high 27 disposals last week against the Suns – playing 57% of game time in defence.
25:43
Both St Kilda and North Melbourne have been involved in four matches decided by less than 10 points this season. St Kilda has only won one of these four matches whilst North Melbourne has won two.
26:38
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Jack Higgins)
28:34
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jack Higgins)
29:48
An opportunistic goal to Jack Higgins, his second of the match, gives St Kilda a nine-point lead late in the match. Higgins is enjoying a career-best season, averaging 1.8 goals per game.
32:58
SCORE BEHIND - Kangaroos (Luke Davies-Uniacke)
33:02
After only scoring four goals in the first three quarters, St Kilda booted five goals in the final term to ensure victory against a spirited North Melbourne. The Saints won 13 more contested possessions and 22 more uncontested possession in the fourth quarter.