Match

Hawthorn vs St Kilda

Commentary / 28 Jul 2023

Pre Game

00:00
Hawthorn broke a five-match losing streak against St Kilda in Round 11 this season and won by 10 points. James Sicily won a career-high 43 disposals in that game, while also recording 22 intercept possessions which is the second-most ever recorded.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
00:51
An early mark for debutant Brandon Ryan. The mid-season recruit has kicked 26 goals in 12 VFL games this season and taken multiple forward 50 marks in 11 of these games.
02:30
The first goal of the game to the Hawks came from a forward 50 stoppage. Hawthorn has scored only 6.1 points per game from this source in 2023 (ranked last).
05:25
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Luke Breust)
05:54
The goal to Luke Breust was launched with an intercept in the defensive midfield. Hawthorn has averaged only 18.4 points per game from defensive half intercepts this season, but did score 29 points from this source against St Kilda in Round 11.
07:15
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Mason Wood)
08:04
St Kilda scored its first goal of the game from a centre bounce clearance. The Saints average 9.0 points per game from this source and the Hawks are ranked second in centre bounce clearance differential.
09:11
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Chad Wingard)
09:54
A second goal from a defensive half intercept for the Hawks who have kicked three goals from their first three inside 50 entries. Hawthorn is ranked second-last this season in goals per inside 50.
10:23
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Dan Butler)
10:55
St Kilda has an early 4-1 lead in centre bounce clearances and has kicked both of its goals from this source. Only once this season have the Saints kicked more than two goals in a game from centre bounce clearances.
11:46
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Brad Crouch)
12:00
The Saints leads 5-3 in forward half intercepts with their third goal of the game coming from this source in a frantic start to the game. Ironically, these are the bottom-2 ranked teams in scores per inside 50 this season.
14:12
Saints Interchange - Zak Jones off due to an injury.
15:28
SCORE BEHIND - Hawks (Mitch Lewis)
15:52
St Kilda leads the clearance count 8-3 which includes 5-1 from centre bounces. The Saints have already sharked four hitouts from the Hawks which is helping them to first possession wins at stoppages.
16:38
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Dan Butler)
17:40
The last two goals for the Saints have followed forward half intercepts. St Kilda is ranked fourth at generating such intercepts this season but has scored from only 29.7 percent of these opportunities which is ranked in the bottom-4.
18:31
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Cooper Sharman)
19:15
A third centre bounce goal in the opening quarter for the Saints with captain Jack Steele winning three such clearances already and St Kilda has won nine of the last ten clearances in the game.
20:10
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera)
21:29
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Anthony Caminiti)
21:40
Today is only the second time St Kilda has kicked seven goals in an opening quarter since 2013. Five of the goals have come from centre bounce clearances which is easily the best return for St Kilda this season in any game from this source.
24:52
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Rowan Marshall)
25:00
Seven goals in a row for the Saints and their first eight-goal opening quarter since 2010. St Kilda has kicked a goal from 21 percent of its inside 50 entries this season but has eight kicked goals from 12 entries to start today.
26:25
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Jack Higgins)
28:50
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Brad Crouch)
29:05
Another stoppage goal for the Saints, this time from a forward 50 stoppage. Today is the first time in 20 years that St Kilda has kicked nine goals in an opening quarter. Brad Crouch has been involved in six scores which exceeds his season average of 4.1 per game.
32:27
St Kilda has recorded 55 effective kicks in the opening quarter compared to Hawthorn with just 22. This has resulted in the Saints leading 40-13 in marks including 19-6 in the forward half.
33:12
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Mattaes Phillipou)
33:49
St Kilda leads the clearances 14-6 and has converted this into a 37-6 dominance in scores from stoppages. Jack Steele won five centre bounce clearances in the first quarter, which equals the most in a quarter by any player this season.

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
00:10
Today is only the second time ever that the Saints have kicked nine goals in the opening quarter against the Hawks. The last time was in Round 12, 1999 in a game in which St Kilda ended up still losing.
00:52
St Kilda has not kicked more than nine goals in any of its last three games making its opening quarter burst today even more remarkable.
02:15
SCORE BEHIND - Hawks (Mitch Lewis)
02:45
Hawthorn has a 5-2 edge in forward 50 marks, but has scored only 1.2 from these marks while St Kilda has kicked 2.0 after its two forward 50 marks.
03:48
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Zaine Cordy)
03:57
Nine consecutive goals for the Saints with the last goal being its first score of the game to come from a defensive half chain. Since Round 5, St Kilda has averaged only ten goals per game.
05:44
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Brandon Ryan)
05:52
Brandon Ryan has had some impressive moments on debut today for Hawthorn including kicking the last goal. The Hawks have generated four of the first five inside 50 entries to start the quarter on the back of clearance wins.
07:12
SCORE BEHIND - Hawks (Rushed)
09:50
A 5-1 clearance count and an inside 50 advantage of 7-1 to the Hawks this quarter has resulted in one goal for each team. The Hawks have scored from only 40.1 percent of their inside 50 entries this season (ranked 17th).
11:13
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Rushed)
12:18
St Kilda averages 9.2 backward kicks per game this season but has already had 14 today in an attempt to emphasize possession over position and avoid the intercept defenders of the Hawks.
12:42
SCORE BEHIND - Hawks (Rushed)
13:44
The last goal to Anthony Caminiti came from a kick-in chain. St Kilda averages only 1.7 points per game from this source (ranked last), and since Round 4 had kicked only one goal from these chains (which came in Round 11 also against Hawthorn).
16:59
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Luke Breust)
17:32
The goal to Luke Breust was the first of the day for the Hawks to follow a forward half intercept. Hawthorn ranks in the bottom-4 at both generating and scoring from these intercepts. St Kilda leads 15-10 in forward half intercepts and 20-8 in points scored from this source.
21:23
In the first quarter, Hawthorn recorded more handballs (46) than kicks (39) and took only 13 marks. In the second quarter, the Hawks have reversed this with more kicks (42) than handballs (25) and taken more marks (27) with steadier ball movement.
22:58
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Mitch Lewis)
23:12
Three of the last four goals to the Hawks and all of their goals this quarter have followed a forward 50 mark. Hawthorn leads 8-5 in such marks and Dylan Moore who provided the assist on the last score now has a team-high six score involvements.
26:26
St Kilda leads 16-11 in intercept marks with 12 different players contributing in this area. The Saints average 16.6 intercept marks per game this season.
27:54
An improved second quarter from the Hawks who won the clearances 9-4, the inside 50 entries 16-8, and contested possessions 31-22. The last time St Kilda kicked nine goals in an opening quarter against Hawthorn it was outscored 21-14 in the second term before going on to lose.

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
00:51
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Cooper Sharman)
01:04
An early score for the Saints and Cooper Sharman in the third term and it again came from a centre bounce clearance. Sharman has been the primary opponent for James Sciliy and restricted the star Hawk to three intercepts in the first half.
01:50
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Rushed)
03:45
For Rounds 16-19, the Hawks won the centre bounce clearances by 6.5 per game (ranked No.1). St Kilda leads this count 11-5 today due mainly to a 9-2 domination in the opening period.
05:31
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Will Day)
05:47
Three consecutive goals to the Hawks and they have now scored 13 points from defensive 50 intercepts and the Saints have not scored from any of these chains.
06:37
Since Round 16, St Kilda has won the contested possession count by 8.3 per game in general play (ranked No.1). The teams are even in this measure today with the centre bounce goals for the Saints in the first term separating the teams.
07:02
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Chad Wingard)
07:22
An opportunistic goal from Chad Wingard gives the Hawks a 19-7 lead in points scored from forward half stoppages and five of the last six goals in the game.
09:00
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Dan Butler)
09:08
A free kick off the ball to Dan Butler has ended the run of goals to the Hawks. St Kilda has now scored 5.0 from shots at goal in the 30-50 metre range and has a return of 5.1 from set shots at goal.
10:43
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Hunter Clark)
11:08
St Kilda leads 5-0 in forward half intercepts this quarter and both of its goals have come from this source. Overall, the Saints lead 21-14 in these intercepts and 32-14 in points scored from this source.
12:19
SCORE BEHIND - Hawks (Rushed)
13:08
Today is only the second time since Round 5 that St Kilda has kicked 13 goals in a game. The other time was in Round 10 against the Giants when it scored 13.14.92. The Saints have won 15 of the last 16 games when they have kicked at least 12 goals.
14:12
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Mitch Lewis)
14:58
Hawthorn is starting to move the ball more effectively from the back half and now leads 25-7 in points scored from defensive half intercepts. The Hawks average 18.4 points per game from these chains.
16:38
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Luke Breust)
16:48
Hawthorn now leads forward 50 marks 10-6 with Mitch Lewis and Luke Breust sharing seven of these. The Hawks have kicked 7.2 from set shots at goal today and have scored 4.1 from just five inside 50 entries in this quarter.
18:29
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Cooper Sharman)
18:53
A strong contested mark and accurate kick from Cooper Sharman gives the Saints a steadying goal. St Kilda leads 25-18 in clearances and 44-20 in points scored from stoppages despite Hawthorn leading 25-20 in first possession wins at stoppages.
23:04
Jack Steele has been the No.1 pressure player today with game-highs for both pressure acts (24) and tackles (9). The Saint captain also has team-highs for clearances (6) and contested possessions (9).
23:40
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Luke Breust)
24:58
Four of the five goals to the Hawks this quarter have come from defensive half intercepts with the Saints having issues disrupting the ball movement of Hawthorn.
26:11
SCORE BEHIND - Hawks (Rushed)
26:34
When these teams met in Round 11, St Kilda led at three-quarter time by 14 points before Hawthorn kicked five goals to one in the final quarter to win by ten points.
30:03
St Kilda has been involved in the lowest scoring games of any team this season with an average of 147.5 points. The two teams have already scored a combined 161 points today.
30:19
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Luke Breust)
30:38
Luke Breust has taken an equal career-high six marks in the forward 50 today including four in this quarter. It is the 14th time Breust has kicked at least five goals in a game and the first time against St Kilda.
32:31
The Hawks kicked five goals from defensive half intercepts in the third quarter with this ball movement often ending with a Luke Breust goal. Hawthorn leads 43-7 in points scored from defensive half intercepts and has kicked eight of the last 11 goals in the game.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
00:44
St Kilda has won 33 of the last 34 games when it has scored at least 89 points and has won six of the seven games this season when leading at the final change.
01:32
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Rushed)
02:23
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jade Gresham)
02:47
An early goal for the Saints following another forward 50 intercept. St Kilda leads 6-2 in such intercepts and 25-0 in points scored from this source.
04:13
St Kilda has posted season-highs today in both points scored from centre bounce clearances (31) and points scored from forward 50 intercepts (25).
05:01
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jack Higgins)
05:17
The small forwards for St Kilda have again been important today with Butler, Gresham and Higgins all kicking vital goals in the second half. The Saints have scored 9.2 from shots in general play while the Hawks have scored only 2.0 from such shots.
08:22
SCORE BEHIND - Hawks (Rushed)
08:59
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Brad Crouch)
09:07
Brad Crouch has been a standout for the Saints today and his 12 score involvements equals a career-high and is double that of any other Saint.
10:43
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jack Higgins)
10:52
Four goals in a row to the Saints with a crafty crumb and goal from Jack Higgins giving him a pair of final-quarter goals. St Kilda leads 17-8 in crumbs including 8-1 in the forward 50.
12:18
SCORE BEHIND - Hawks (Tyler Brockman)
14:42
SCORE BEHIND - Hawks (Brandon Ryan)
15:06
Hawthorn conceded five goals to none in the final term last round against the Tigers despite losing the inside 50 entries by just one (12-11). The Hawks have conceded four unanswered goals in this final term despite only trailing 5-7 in the inside 50 count.
18:28
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Dan Butler)
18:43
Dan Butler had kicked just four goals against top-eight opponents this season compared to 24 goals against teams outside the top-eight before today. Butler has kicked another four goals today and had more forward 50 disposals (9) than any other player.
19:47
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Jack Higgins)
21:34
St Kilda has only a narrow 24-21 lead in forward half intercepts but leads 50-16 in points scored from this source with fast ball movement after turnover.
22:36
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Jack Higgins)
23:18
Jack Higgins has had an equal career-high seven shots at goal today but returned 2.3 with two shots failing to score. Higgins has also taken a team-high four marks in the forward 50.
24:49
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Luke Breust)
25:08
Luke Breust has now kicked an equal career-high six goals in a classy performance from the veteran Hawk. Hawthorn has now scored 50 points from defensive half intercepts which is easily its season-high (previous best was 34).
28:09
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Will Day)
30:48
The opening quarter burst from the Saints that included a club record five goals from centre bounce clearances ultimately proved decisive today. St Kilda won the centre clearances 9-2 in that term and also scored more heavily from forward 50 intercepts all day (31-1).
30:55
The siren has sounded to end Q4.