Saints too strong for Blues

Updated May 15, 2012 10:23:37

St Kilda goalsneak Stephen Milne led a pacy attack which cut Carlton apart at Docklands, as the Saints capped a round in which the AFL's pacesetters were brought back to earth.

St Kilda's upset 19.8 (122) to 14.14 (98) win meant the sides that started the round in the top three spots - West Coast, the Blues and Sydney - as well as reigning premiers Geelong, all lost.

It was the Saints' first big scalp of the season - having previously downed Gold Coast, the Western Bulldogs and Melbourne - and lifted them into the top eight, displacing Hawthorn.

Milne booted four goals, delighting the Saints fans among the 38,823-strong crowd, who chanted his name after his majors.

Mature-aged recruits Terry Milera (three goals) and Ahmed Saad (two) were also damaging as the weapon of a pace-based attack that had served the Blues well so often was used against them.

Along with kicking nine goals between them, the three forward speedsters set up several others.

Carlton contributed to their own fate with a series of horrible errors in the first term which led to St Kilda goals and allowed the Saints to reach quarter-time with a two-point lead and momentum.

The Saints kicked six goals to three in the second term, with their small forward trio booting four of those, to surge 17 points clear at the main break.

By late in the third term Carlton were 34 points down and, while they narrowed the gap with the last two goals of that quarter, two missed shots by Marc Murphy meant they were still 20 points down at the last change.

Murphy had a quiet game, blanketed by Clinton Jones, while Jarryn Geary stopped dangerous half-forward Jeff Garlett having much influence and Jason Blake quelled Jarrad Waite.

Captain Chris Judd, back from a rest, was a big factor for the Blues with a game-high 29 touches.

But despite the enormous hit-out dominance of Carlton ruckmen Matthew Kreuzer and Shaun Hampson, Judd had little support at ground level, with a more even Saints contribution giving them the edge in the midfield battle.

Leigh Montagna, Farren Ray, Lenny Hayes, Jack Steven and Brendon Goddard were all big Saints contributors.

The Blues face another tough challenge against in-form Adelaide at Docklands on Sunday, while the Saints take on West Coast in Perth.

St Kilda: 19.8 (122) - Milne 4, Milera 3, Stanley 2, Saad 2, Armitage 2, Hayes, Koschitzke, Riewoldt, Ray, Steven, Goddard

Carlton: 14.14 (98) - Ellard 3, Betts 2, Walker 2, Judd, Simpson, Waite, Gibbs, Kreuzer, Scotland, Robinson

AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, st-kilda-3182, carlton-3053

First posted May 14, 2012 22:30:43

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Tigers after rare strong start

Updated March 11, 2012 18:37:30

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick admits there is a growing confidence that it can at last make a strong start to the regular season.

While Hardwick calls Saturday's surprise preseason win over Geelong "a small step", he is pleased with his team's progress in the past five months.

The Tigers open the season with a tough draw; their traditional round-one clash with Carlton then games against grand finalists Collingwood, Melbourne, defending premiers Geelong and top-four finishers West Coast (at home).

They have not beaten Carlton in round one since 2008 and have become notorious for putting themselves under pressure early in the season.

"We're a lot more confident this time this year than we have been (in) the last three years," Hardwick told Richmond fans on Sunday at the club's family day.

"You only have to look at the depth of our (list), the quality of our players - they've improved enormously from a development point of view, from a size and physicality point of view.

"We're very much looking forward to the challenge of the first five games."

Heating up

The Tigers finished 15th and 12th in Hardwick's first two seasons as coach.

While Richmond should keep improving, there is strong speculation about Hardwick's future as he comes out of contract later this year.

Hardwick said the first two years were spent "transforming" Richmond's list.

"Now is when it does heat up, there's no doubt about that," he said.

"We've put some criteria to our guys, that we're looking to improve in certain areas.

"We certainly think there are some realistic expectations there."

While Saturday's 59-point win was in the preseason, it was also the first time Richmond had won in Geelong since 2006.

It also heightens the expectations of the success-starved Richmond fans, who packed Punt Road Oval for the family day.

This was the first time in about nine years that the Tigers' spiritual home has hosted the function and about 8,000 fans attended, delighting club officials.

President Gary March said membership had topped 40,000 and was about 2,500 up on this time last year as the club aims for 50,000.

Forward Brad Miller would not buy into the speculation about Hardwick's future at the club, but made it clear he is impressed with his coach.

"It (any talks about Hardwick's contract) is none of our business, it's handled by people over and above us, so we just focus on our footy," Miller said.

"I love him, I reckon he's a great coach."

AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, richmond-3121, vic, australia

First posted March 11, 2012 18:37:30

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Magpies too strong for Demons

Published:Monday, June 13, 2011 4:27 AEST

Cameron Cloke of the Magpies marks behind Jared Rivers of the Demons during the round 12 AFL match between the Melbourne Demons and the Collingwood Magpies at Melbourne Cricket Ground on June 13, 2011.

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, australia, vic, collingwood-3066, melbourne-3000

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