Round 19 Results & Post-Game Articles
St Kilda: 6.1 9.5 11.5 14.7 (91)
Adelaide: 2.0 7.1 9.4 10.8 (68)
Goals: St Kilda: Gehrig 5, Riewoldt 3, Harvey 2, Goddard, Hamill, Montagna, Murray
Adelaide: Ricciuto 3, Burton 2, Welsh 2, Shirley, Stenglein, S.Stevens
Best: St Kilda: Harvey, Gehrig, Jones, Black, Riewoldt, Dal Santo, Goddard
Adelaide: Riccituo, Edwards, Clarke, Burton, Johncock
Injuries: Adelaide: McGregor (hamstring), Skipworth (hamstring)
Changes: Rutten (back) replaced in selected side by S.Stevens.
Umpires: Kennedy, Grun, K.Nicholls
Crowd: 17,101
Thomas laments 'lazy' Saints
Thomas said, while St Kilda had achieved its primary aim yesterday with the club's 14th win of the year, there was plenty to work to do in the lead up to the finals . . . "We weren't that pleased to be honest. It was a very frustrating game," Thomas said. "I thought (early on) our ball use into our forward 50 was as good as it has been all year. We were very smart and we averted their tactics of getting back behind the ball and that was OK in the first quarter. But after that we seemed to get a little lazy and a little nonchalant and left the job to too few and when that happens you can get a big swing. It was a little bit of workrate, a little bit of picking and choosing and a fair bit of just trying to be a little too smart with the footy rather than being decisive with it."
The Article - HeraldSun - 08Aug04
Saints tough it out - Emma Quayle - TheAge - 08Aug04
Saints win at York Park
. . . "It was a very frustrating game,'' said coach Grant Thomas. We weren't that pleased ... our ball use in the first quarter was as good as we've used it this year (but) after that, we seemed to just get a bit lazy and nonchalant. We were trying to be a little too smart with the footy rather than being decisive with it" . . .
The Article - AAP - TheAge - 07Aug04
Saints too strong - Mic Cullen - Sportal - 07Aug04
Saints hold off fighting Crows - ABC Sport - 07Aug04
Saints make themselves at 'home'
A best-on-ground performance from dual Brownlow Medallist Robert Harvey and five goals from Fraser Gehrig have kept St Kilda's top-two aspirations alive and helped it overcome a spirited Adelaide at York Park on Saturday afternoon. St Kilda 14.7 (91) defeated Adelaide 10.8 (68) by 23 points to record its 14th win of the season - its best effort since it reached the 1997 grand final, but subsequently lost, also against the Crows . . . It was another Brownlow Medallist, Ricciuto, who was a key figure during that period, as he booted two for the term and provided great leadership to keep the Crows in the contest. The ever-reliable, yet still underrated, Edwards was also important. St Kilda kick-started the second half with a couple to gain a 28-point lead, but again Adelaide fought back with two in a row to remain in the hunt. The Crows could have made it five unanswered goals, had it not followed up with three behinds, which proved costly in the context of the match. With a fascinating final term looming, the Saints quickly broke away, with three goals to lead by 30 points, as Ricciuto was his side's lone goalscorer.
The Article - Matt Burgan/Sportal - saints.com.au - 07Aug04
Young Saints repay Grant's faith - Jon Ralph - HeraldSun - 08Aug04
Fisher makes mark with the oval ball
Sam Fisher moved to Adelaide from his Riverland home at age 17, but it wasn't to pursue a football career. The St Kilda player did not spend his young years chasing large, red, oval balls; instead, he preferred to whack small, round white ones around. These days, Fisher still claims a golf handicap of "around about three, but I haven't checked for a while". He spends whatever time he can on the course, largely at the insistence of Brendon Goddard, "who's a pretty keen golfer. He's always pushing me to get out and give him a few lessons". Until two and a bit years ago, golf was supposed to earn him a living. "I was definitely going to try. I definitely wanted to pursue golf when I was 17 or 18 and I moved to Adelaide for that," Fisher said.
The Article - Emma Quayle - TheAge - 08Aug04
Harvey can still improve: Thomas
St Kilda coach Grant Thomas believes dual Brownlow Medallist Robert Harvey still can still enhance his game, despite the fact he claimed 37 disposals in a best-on-ground performance against Adelaide at York Park on Saturday . . . "I think Harvs, as much as he does get it and for as long as he's been playing, is just down on a little bit of confidence sometimes when he gets in (that) decision-making mode on what option to take and if he cleans that up, he'll be a very, very special player for us for the rest of the year." Although the Launceston crowd was applauding the exploits of Harvey, Thomas also praised some of his unsung key contributors after the match - defenders Sam Fisher and Matthew Ferguson.
The Article - Matt Burgan/Sportal - saints.com.au - 07Aug04
Saints prove worth in great outdoors
St Kilda broke through for a rare win away from its home ground, but only after a fight as it withstood a persistent Adelaide by 23 points in the match at York Park today . . . "It was a very frustrating game," said coach Grant Thomas. "We weren't that pleased ... our ball use in the first quarter was as good as we've used it this year (but) after that, we seemed to just get a bit lazy and nonchalant. We were trying to be a little too smart with the footy rather than being decisive with it. To Adelaide's credit, they were right in the game. All year, they've been really competitive (and) able to shut sides down and make it very difficult."
The Article - AAP - HeraldSun - 07Aug04
Saints rise from ugly scrap
Adelaide has cornered the market on playing ugly under new coach Neil Craig, but yesterday St Kilda also showed it does not mind a dogged street fight if it means holding on to a top-four spot this season . . . It might have failed a major test against Geelong at Skilled Stadium last week, but we haven't heard the last from Grant Thomas's side this year. St Kilda's mid-season slump was dramatic and lengthy, but yesterday the fact it could account for Adelaide despite a second-rate performance was a reminder of why this side will figure prominently in September action.
The Article - Jon Ralph - HeraldSun - 08Aug04
Saints win ugly scrap - Jon Ralph - Sunday Tasmanian - 08Aug04
Dal Santo Hamstring? - Saintsational Fan Forum
Thomas laments 'lazy' Saints - HeraldSun - 08Aug04
Saints tough it out - Emma Quayle - TheAge - 08Aug04
Saints make themselves at 'home' - Matt Burgan/Sportal - saints.com.au - 07Aug04
Young Saints repay Grant's faith - Jon Ralph - HeraldSun - 08Aug04
Saints prove worth in great outdoors - AAP - HeraldSun - 07Aug04
AFL ladder predictor - afl.com.au
Swans head trainer dies - AAP - HeraldSun - 08Aug04
Thomas set for three more years
Grant Thomas will be rewarded for St Kilda's rise to the top of the ladder with a three-year contract extension that should ensure he becomes the second-longest-serving coach in St Kilda history. The St Kilda board is set to finalise the formality of a three-year contract this week, having opted for a conventional coaching contract after flirting with the prospect of an employment agreement without a fixed term - which would have treated Thomas like most employees in the workforce. But the board, after discussions throughout this year and consultation with Thomas, has opted for the traditional coach's contract, which will commit the club to Thomas until the end of 2007. Thomas' existing three-year contract expires at the end of this season.
The Article - Jake Niall - TheAge - 09Aug04
Jury is still out on flash Saints
If coach Grant Thomas was ticking off key categories as St Kilda's flight from Launceston crossed the Bass Strait on Saturday night, he would have been content with the big picture summary. No injuries, four premiership points, forward line kinks sorted out, key defenders to return: everything looking rosy. But a closer examination of the stats from Saturday afternoon's comprehensive win over Adelaide shows there is still plenty of fine-tuning to be done at Moorabbin.
The Article - Jon Ralph - HeraldSun - 09Aug04
Upsets in the run home
. . . The Kangaroos, all but written off after an untimely loss to Adelaide last week, are not only back in the eight courtesy of Saturday's night's amazing last-quarter comeback in Sydney, but, with the best percentage of that second group of five teams, are a pretty good chance of finishing sixth and hosting an elimination final.
The Article - Rohan Connolly - TheAge - 09Aug04
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