TonyK
CibbuanoSaints hold off Dockers
June 20th 2008 12:45
ST KILDA has kept its finals hopes alive with a hard-fought eight-point win over Fremantle at Telstra Dome on Friday night.
The Saints held on a lacklustre final term to record a gritty 10.5 (65) to 8.9 (57) win.
It was a must-win game for the Saints, who had lost four of their previous five to slip outside of the top eight.
St Kilda skipper Nick Riewoldt starred with 25 possessions, 18 marks and three goals, while Robert Harvey and Luke Ball were prolific in the middle, racking up 30-plus possessions.
For Fremantle, skipper Matthew Pavlich played a lone hand up forward, collecting 16 possessions and booting five of his side's eight goals, while Rhys Palmer continued his impressive debut season with 27 disposals.
The Saints started brightly, with Lenny Hayes damaging in the middle with 16 disposals in the opening term as St Kilda took a 15-point lead into quarter-time. Hayes sat out the rest of the match with a hamstring injury.
St Kilda kicked the first two goals of the second term through Jason Gram and Brendon Goddard to skip out to a 29-point lead.
But Fremantle hit back through Pavlich, who booted four of the next five to get his side well and truly back into the contest.
When Josh Carr put through his first goal eight minutes into the third term, the Dockers had kicked five unanswered goals and had the lead for the first time in the game.
Goddard broke a 28-minute goal-scoring drought for the Saints to give his side some breathing space.
Two minutes later, Riewoldt goalled from a free-kick before a shocking ball-handling error from Fremantle defender Michael Johnson resulted in a goal to Gram to put the Saints up by 11 points heading into the final change.
The Dockers closed to within a kick in a final term that failed to reach any great heights, but the Saints had all the answers with Riewoldt snapping truly from 45m to secure the four valuable premiership points.
ST KILDA: 4.3, 6.3, 9.5, 10.5 (65)
FREMANTLE: 2.0, 5.2, 7.6, 8.9 (57)
GOALS: St Kilda: Riewoldt 3, Goddard 2, Gram 2, Hayes, Montagna, Gilbert
Fremantle: Pavlich 5, Crowley, Carr,
Murphy
BEST: St Kilda: Riewoldt, Harvey, Gram, Ball, Goddard, Hayes
Fremantle: Pavlich, Palmer, Solomon, Crowley, Peake
INJURIES: St Kilda: Hayes (hamstring)
Fremantle: TBC
REPORTS: Nil
CHANGES: Nil
UMPIRES: McBurney, Farmer, Jeffery
CROWD: 22,440 at Telstra Dome
The Saints held on a lacklustre final term to record a gritty 10.5 (65) to 8.9 (57) win.
It was a must-win game for the Saints, who had lost four of their previous five to slip outside of the top eight.
St Kilda skipper Nick Riewoldt starred with 25 possessions, 18 marks and three goals, while Robert Harvey and Luke Ball were prolific in the middle, racking up 30-plus possessions.
For Fremantle, skipper Matthew Pavlich played a lone hand up forward, collecting 16 possessions and booting five of his side's eight goals, while Rhys Palmer continued his impressive debut season with 27 disposals.
The Saints started brightly, with Lenny Hayes damaging in the middle with 16 disposals in the opening term as St Kilda took a 15-point lead into quarter-time. Hayes sat out the rest of the match with a hamstring injury.
St Kilda kicked the first two goals of the second term through Jason Gram and Brendon Goddard to skip out to a 29-point lead.
But Fremantle hit back through Pavlich, who booted four of the next five to get his side well and truly back into the contest.
When Josh Carr put through his first goal eight minutes into the third term, the Dockers had kicked five unanswered goals and had the lead for the first time in the game.
Goddard broke a 28-minute goal-scoring drought for the Saints to give his side some breathing space.
Two minutes later, Riewoldt goalled from a free-kick before a shocking ball-handling error from Fremantle defender Michael Johnson resulted in a goal to Gram to put the Saints up by 11 points heading into the final change.
The Dockers closed to within a kick in a final term that failed to reach any great heights, but the Saints had all the answers with Riewoldt snapping truly from 45m to secure the four valuable premiership points.
ST KILDA: 4.3, 6.3, 9.5, 10.5 (65)
FREMANTLE: 2.0, 5.2, 7.6, 8.9 (57)
GOALS: St Kilda: Riewoldt 3, Goddard 2, Gram 2, Hayes, Montagna, Gilbert
Fremantle: Pavlich 5, Crowley, Carr,
Murphy
BEST: St Kilda: Riewoldt, Harvey, Gram, Ball, Goddard, Hayes
Fremantle: Pavlich, Palmer, Solomon, Crowley, Peake
INJURIES: St Kilda: Hayes (hamstring)
Fremantle: TBC
REPORTS: Nil
CHANGES: Nil
UMPIRES: McBurney, Farmer, Jeffery
CROWD: 22,440 at Telstra Dome
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