Match

St Kilda vs Geelong Cats

Commentary / 19 Aug 2023

Pre Game

00:00
Geelong is the only team in the competition without a win in games decided by 1-10 points this season, losing all four of their close encounters.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
00:28
Mitch Owens has now kicked 25 goals for the season and is one of the favourites for this year's rising star award.
01:31
Sam De Koning has been deployed in the ruck against Rowan Marshall in the absence of Rhys Stanley.
03:45
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Rushed)
04:58
St Kilda has had the first five inside 50's of the game. Geelong is yet to register a disposal in their forward half.
08:27
The ball has spent 85% of the opening stages of the game in St Kilda's forward half. Geelong is still yet to register an inside 50, trailing the count (8-0).
10:14
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Rushed)
10:55
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Gryan Miers)
11:31
St Kilda is winning the ball at the source. They lead clearances (5-3) and contested possessions (22-12). This is allowing them to lock the ball in their forward half.
13:20
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Tom Hawkins)
13:34
All four of Seb Ross' disposals have been kicks inside 50, with two of them ending up in St Kilda scoring opportunities.
14:33
Mark O'Connor has been important in defence for the Cats. O'Connor has had eight disposals at 100% efficiency, two intercept marks and three rebound 50's.
16:21
St Kilda ranks 17th in the competition for scores from stoppages this season. They've already kicked two goals from centre bounce clearances in the opening quarter.
16:43
Cats Interchange - Esava Ratugolea off due to an injury.
19:17
Jack Sinclair has had more disposals than any defender in the competition this season. He's already accumulated 10 disposals, six more than any of his St Kilda teammates.
20:19
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Tim Membrey)
21:19
Of Geelong's 69 disposals, 54 have been in their defensive half.
23:50
Esava Ratugolea has been subbed out of the game with a hamstring injury. Brandan Parfitt comes into the game for the Cats.
24:39
St Kilda average the 12th most inside 50's of any team this season (52). They are dominating territory and lead inside 50's (18-3) in the opening term.
25:33
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Zach Guthrie)
27:15
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tyson Stengle)
27:40
Saints Interchange - Sebastian Ross off due to an injury.
28:53
Geelong's defence held up well against the St Kilda pressure. They lead spoils (10-4) and were able to rebound from defence on 14 occasions.

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
00:16
Seb Ross has been subbed out of the game with Hunter Clark entering the contest. St Kilda will miss Ross, who had 25 disposals and 10 contested possessions last round.
02:17
St Kilda has been harder at the contest, leading contested possessions (40-32). This has also resulted in them winning more free kicks, leading free kicks (10-1).
06:11
It's been more of the same for the Saints at the start of the second quarter. They've had the first five inside 50's of the term and now lead the count (23-6). Geelong's defence continues to hold strong.
06:45
Cats Interchange - Max Holmes off due to an injury.
07:36
Geelong has kicked all three of their goals from turnovers. They've been extremely efficient, scoring 86% of the time they've gone inside their forward 50.
09:19
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Cooper Sharman)
09:49
In the last four rounds, St Kilda has scored from 32% of its centre bounce clearances, ranked third in this time. They've kicked three goals from five centre bounce clearances in this game (60%).
12:07
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Tyson Stengle)
13:43
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tom Hawkins)
13:49
Geelong has made St Kilda pay on forward half turnover, scoring three goals from five forward half intercepts. St Kilda has intercepted the ball 10 times in their forward half, but has only converted one goal.
16:07
Deep into the second quarter, Oliver Henry is yet to register a disposal or a tackle for the Cats.
16:57
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Max King)
17:43
The momentum of the game has swung, with Geelong generating six of the last seven inside 50's.
18:56
Cats Interchange - Brad Close off due to an injury.
19:03
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Max King)
19:14
Rowan Marshall has been crucial in St Kilda's clearance dominance. Marshall has had seven hit-outs to advantage, with the Saints leading clearances (15-9).
22:03
St Kilda average the most disposals of any team this season. They've had 40 more disposals than the Cats this quarter.
22:41
Saints Interchange - Cooper Sharman off due to an injury.
23:05
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Jack Higgins)
24:36
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Bradley Hill)
24:44
St Kilda continues to burn opportunities. They've kicked (1.7) from Geelong turnovers, while Geelong has kicked (4.3) from St Kilda turnovers.
27:14
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Rowan Marshall)
27:19
Max King has been influential for the Saints. King has had 11 disposals, six contested possessions, six score involvements, and three goals.

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
01:03
St Kilda has now kicked (4.7) from set shots in this game.
03:37
Jeremy Cameron had 12 shots at goal last week against Collingwood. He's yet to have a shot at goal in this game.
05:23
Saints Interchange - Hunter Clark off due to an injury.
05:35
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Jade Gresham)
06:08
St Kilda's last six scoring shots have been behinds. They continue to spurn opportunities, which may come back to haunt them later in the match.
07:08
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Max Holmes)
07:26
Geelong made St Kilda pay for their missed chances with a goal generated from a kick-in. The Cats went end-to-end with great transition and ball movement.
07:28
Cats Interchange - Brad Close and is possibly out for the game.
07:32
Cats Interchange - Tyson Stengle off due to an injury.
09:06
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jack Higgins)
09:16
Jack Higgins breaks the run of missed set shots with his first goal of the game in match 100.
09:41
St Kilda is playing a fast paced game. They are playing on 32% of the time after a mark. The competition average is 24%.
11:01
While St Kilda is playing a fast paced game, Geelong is the contrary. The Cats are yet to play on after a mark from 13 marks this quarter.
14:23
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Mattaes Phillipou)
14:41
The Saints have kicked both of their third quarter goals from intercept chains starting in their defensive half.
16:26
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Tom Hawkins)
17:51
Geelong has lifted their pressure this term. They had a pressure rating of 174 in the opening half, which is now 201 in the third term. They lead tackles (11-5) this quarter.
18:51
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tom Hawkins)
19:06
Tom Hawkins kicked three goals when these two teams last met. He's now kicked two goals in his first game back from a hamstring injury.
20:30
Cooper Sharman takes one of the marks of the round over the top of Tom Stewart. St Kilda has now kicked four goals from centre bounce clearances, while Geelong is yet to kick a goal from a clearance.
22:52
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Max King)
23:12
St Kilda is carving Geelong through the middle of the ground and are finding targets inside 50. They now lead marks inside 50 (15-8).
24:47
Brad Crouch has had 10 disposals, five contested possessions, and two clearances in the third quarter.
27:02
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Dan Butler)
27:11
St Kilda has kicked (6.10) from set shots in this game. They've had double the number of shots at goal.
28:06
SCORE BEHIND - Saints (Jack Higgins)
28:10
St Kilda improved their transition ball movement in the third quarter. The Saints went inside 50 eight times from 15 defensive half intercepts. In the first half they only went inside 50 seven times from 20 intercepts in their defensive half.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
01:03
Tom Stewart has game high's in intercept marks (3), rebound 50's (8) and metres gained (536).
03:48
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Jack Higgins)
03:59
St Kilda is out to a game-high 32 point lead. Geelong has kicked six goals for the match, they'd need six unanswered goals to win the match.
05:43
St Kilda is owning the ball in the early stages of the final quarter. They lead uncontested marks (15-1) in the final term and are kicking at 90% efficiency.
07:16
Geelong's pressure is 132 in the opening five minutes of the final quarter. The competition average for pressure is 180. Geelong are struggling to win the ball back.
08:53
St Kilda is ranked third in the competition for points against from stoppage situations. They've proven that again tonight, conceding just a single behind from Geelong's 16 clearances.
10:09
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Jack Bowes)
10:30
Both teams have had poor set shot goal-kicking in this game. St Kilda has kicked (6.12) from set shots, while Geelong has kicked (3.5).
12:28
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Zach Tuohy)
14:13
St Kilda average 65 tackles per game this season, ranked third in the competition. Such has been their dominance around the ball (27 more contested possessions), they haven't had to tackle, only laying 29 tackles for the match.
16:14
Zaine Cordy has had the difficult match up on Tom Hawkins, spending the entire game on him. Cordy has taken a game-high five intercept marks.
17:56
Cats Interchange - Tom Hawkins off due to an injury.
18:54
Brad Crouch averages 5.5 clearances per game this season. Tonight he's had a game-high 10 clearances, which has been key to St Kilda's success.
19:27
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tom Atkins)
20:04
Geelong make it back-to-back goals to keep their slim hopes alive. They'll need four goals in the last seven minutes.
21:20
Tom Atkins reached 30 disposals for the first time in his career last week. He's been good again for the Cats tonight, with a team-high 14 contested possessions from his 22 disposals.
22:47
St Kilda is taking time off the clock with uncontested marks. They lead uncontested marks (36-22) in the final term.
24:11
Callum Wilkie has had a big last quarter. Wilkie has had eight disposals at 100% efficiency, with five of those contested possessions.
25:43
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Rowan Marshall)
26:00
Geelong's finals hopes are all but over as Rowan Marshall caps off a best on ground performance with his first goal of the game.
27:28
SCORE GOAL - Saints (Dan Butler)
29:40
Jack Sinclair had a career-high 38 disposals at 82% efficiency and a game-high 11 score involvements.