By Michael Whiting
A methodical St Kilda scored its fifth win in succession to solidify a spot in the top eight with a 20-point victory over Gold Coast SUNS at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night.
The Saints led at every change against a GC SUNS outfit that kicked themselves out of the match.
Both teams had 24 scoring shots but the Saints won 10.14 (74) to 6.18 (54) in front of 17,482 spectators.
St Kilda led by 21 points at three-quarter time and goals to Dean Polo and Brett Peake early in the final quarter sealed the result.
Gold Coast SUNS had its chances to spring an upset, but the 2009 and 2010 grand finalists had too much class in the end.
St Kilda led by 14 at quarter-time and despite winning the inside 50s 21-12 in the second term, the GC SUNS kicked 2.7 and could not make any inroads.
It summed up their night.
Without suspended captain Nick Riewoldt, the Saints struggled for avenues to goal, but livewire small forward Stephen Milne backed up his bag of eight against Adelaide last week with a match-high three goals.
Nick Dal Santo was inspirational in the midfield, finishing with 39 disposals and eight clearances, while GC SUNS captain Gary Ablett finished with 34 touches and seven clearances.
The win moves St Kilda to seventh on the ladder, two points clear of the eighth-placed Fremantle.
QUARTER BY QUARTER SUMMARY
FIRST QUARTER
While the game appeared even, it was the Saints who had the presence on the scoreboard, kicking three goals to set up a 19-point lead halfway through the quarter. One of those goals came courtesy of a Jarrod Harbrow miskick in defence, which Nick Dal Santo gleefully marked. However, the GC SUNS hit back through Zac Smith, who outran Justin Koschitzke and slotted a banana kick through the middle. St Kilda tried to add one more before the break but two marks to Nathan Bock in the last line of defence (he had six marks for the quarter) kept the margin at 14 points.
St Kilda 3.5 (23) Gold Coast SUNS 1.3 (9)
SECOND QUARTER
A Gary Ablett chip kick to Danny Stanley set up the GC SUNS first goal of the second quarter but the Saints hit back almost immediately, with Jack Steven converting from a free kick. Stephen Milne provided a highlight when he kicked a goal off two steps near the boundary. The GC SUNS biggest problem seemed to be the wet conditions - both Stanley and Smith had chances to mark in Gold Coast's forward 50 but slipped over. Milne and Harbrow kicked goals for their teams to round out the quarter.
St Kilda 6.7 (43) Gold Coast SUNS 3.10 (28)
THIRD QUARTER
As they did in the second quarter, Gold Coast dominated inside 50s without hurting the Saints on the scoreboard. Instead, it was Koschitzke who got the third quarter going for his team with a goal following a free kick. Harley Bennell kicked one back for the GC SUNS two minutes later before Milne kicked his third in the 16th minute. The two teams fought it out for another 11 minutes without a goal and the Saints held a 21-point lead going into the last quarter.
St Kilda 8.11 (59) Gold Coast SUNS 4.14 (38)
FOURTH QUARTER
It took until the 11th minute for either side to kick a goal, which came courtesy of St Kilda's Dean Polo, who capitalised on a Nathan Krakouer dropped mark. However, it only took the Saints two minutes to kick their second, this one through Brett Peake who ran into goal to put the game beyond reach for the GC SUNS. Gold Coast finally scored a goal in the 20th minute through David Swallow and Ablett followed up with a goal a minute later. When Bock marked on the GC SUNS forward 50m line an unlikely comeback threatened. However, his kick fell short, the Saints cleared and finished 20-point winners.
St Kilda 10.14 (74) Gold Coast SUNS 6.18 (54)
St Kilda 3.5 6.7 8.11 10.14 (74)
Gold Coast SUNS 1.3 3.10 4.14 6.18 (54)
?GOALS
St Kilda: Milne 3, Peake 2, Dal Santo, Steven, Polo, Koschitzke, Lynch
Gold Coast SUNS: Ablett, Harbrow, Stanley, Swallow, Bennell, Smith
?BEST
?St Kilda: Dal Santo, Milne, Goddard, Steven, Fisher, McEvoy
Gold Coast: Ablett, Bock, Thompson, Prestia, Taylor
?INJURIES
?St Kilda: Nil
Gold Coast: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
St Kilda: Tom Lynch replaced by Jarryn Geary in the third quarter
Gold Coast: Karmichael Hunt replaced by Matt Shaw in the third quarter
?Reports: Nil?
?Umpires: Wenn, Jennings, McInerney?
?Official crowd: 17,482 at Metricon Stadium?
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
