Round 7 Results and Post Game Articles - Page 1
Fremantle: 1.4 1.4 6.5 11.6 (72)
St Kilda: 4.0 8.4 12.7 14.11 (95)
Goals: Fremantle: J Longmuir 3, Simmonds, Medhurst 2, McManus, Pavlich, Farmer, T Longmuir
St Kilda: Gehrig 4, Milne 3, Black 2, Hamill, Guerra, Dal Santo, Powell, Thompson
Best: Fremantle: Hasleby, Pavlich, Bell, Hayden
St Kilda: Riewoldt, Ball, Dal Santo, Harvey, Gehrig, Hamill, Penny,
Injuries: Fremantle: Schammer (shoulder)
St Kilda: Voss (head)
Changes: Fremantle: Nil
St Kilda: Nil
Reports: St Kilda Black (for striking Woods by umpire Vozzo in the last term)
Umpires: Vozzo, Kennedy, Avon
Crowd: 39,930 at Subiaco Oval
Image Gallery R6 - The Herald Sun
Image Gallery R6 - Getty Images - saints.com.au
Ladder - Stats R7 - Scores- This site
AFL Details & Stats R6 - afl.com.au
Stats Page - Round 6 - HeraldSun
Their Way To Seven
. . . Most longterm followers of the VFL/AFL would know the Saints as a perennial cellar-dweller, but, two years after we came into the competition, they played in a Grand Final. I have distinct memories of that year, 1997, and being really happy about beating them at the WACA. It was an achievement then and it would have been an achievement on Saturday. Had we won. They're good. They're scary good. And it's not all high draft and priority picks. There are blokes like Guerra, Hamill, Gehrig, Powell, Penny and Black that they've scored on the cheap with some luck, some nifty timing and some expert wheeling and dealing. And, of course, there's Aussie Jones and Double-Chas Harvey - veterans of that 97 Grand Final and still seven shades of quality. If any followers of other teams are reading this, believe me: the Saints are the real deal. They have a surprisingly large number of unheralded quality talls to match the heralded Whitey Riewoldt, and a midfield that would make a saint swear. Luke McPharlin, of course, gave Whitey a bath, comprehensively outmarking him and running off him at every opportunity. Unfortunately, Whitey can play just about anywhere and, when towelled off and dried from the McPharlin bath, went into the centre to help in the ongoing destruction of our hopes of an unbeaten run at home. . . . For most of the afternoon the closeness of the individual contests proved quite enthralling. Hasleby and Harvey are pretty much the same bloke. The aforementioned Riewoldt v McPharlin bout was a beaut. Black on Bell. Polak against Hamill. Hayden against Milne. Haddrill duking it out with Gehrig. The real difference proved to be in the second tier. Most of the big-name contests were a draw or were nullified in some way but the St Kilda second tier was streets ahead of ours. At times it looked as though our second tier would have to build a third tier to see their second tier . . .
The Article - Nathan Jarvis - fremantlefc.com.au - 10May03
Dockers receive a top end reality check
. . . When the sting of a top flight AFL match was really on, the Saints found no shortage of players prepared to go into the heat of the kitchen for their possessions. The Dockers had too many waiting in the comfort of the lounge room for theirs. It took the WA sun and the size of Subiaco Oval to knock some punch off the Saints after half-time . . . AFL finals anywhere, and particularly in Melbourne, will be played like the first half, not the second. Just as it was in last year's elimination final against Essendon, Fremantle was out-muscled, out-bumped, out-smarted and generally out-played when it mattered and mitigating circumstances are hard to find. Coach Grant Thomas said that there was a perception going into the match that an honourable loss would have been enough for the Saints. Instead, they went after victory and did it far too easily for Fremantle to emerge with its credibility intact . . . St Kilda was led by a brilliant young midfield. Nick Dal Santo produced a 20 possession best afield effort which netted him one goal and set up several for others. Robert Harvey had a spirited battle with Peter Bell, Luke Ball likewise with Paul Hasleby. Xavier Clarke was prepared to work harder for his possessions than Des Headland and do more with them. Austinn Jones rated with Dal Santo as the most damaging player on the ground and continually set up play from the half-back line . . . But if Saturday is any indication, the Saints have a fair head start and the Dockers have arrived at a fork in the road. In one direction are the flying Saints and a waiting Brisbane. In the other direction are clubs like Hawthorn, which, like Fremantle last season, promised the world in 2001 and has delivered only an Atlas since.
The Article - Mark Duffield - West Australian - 10May04
Now it's St Kilda's turn to enter the Pie-eating contest
When St Kilda beat Brisbane in round six they beat the most dominant team of the past three seasons, possibly the greatest team in 50 years. When they gutted Fremantle on Saturday afternoon they saw off the next best young team in the competition. When they trounce Collingwood next Saturday night, for surely they must, St Kilda will have beaten last year's grand finalists and the team considered their future rival in the space of three weeks. It will be an emphatic statement about this side's credentials to play perhaps the most influential role of all come September . . . A win at Subiaco is something to boast about, a win at Subiaco without captain Lenny Hayes and young all-rounder Justin Koschitzke is something to cherish. The only other St Kilda side that has won the first seven games of a season was the premiership outfit of 1966. It is a statistic to excite. Grant Thomas might say silly things, have quaint policies, but no coach in the AFL could have the Saints better prepared or placed. Next is Collingwood, a side good enough to play in the past two grand finals but not good enough to win more than one game in the first seven rounds this year . . . That might go some way to explaining their 16th position. No matter how hard they tried and plotted, the Magpies could not topple Brisbane . . .
The Article - Patrick Smith - TheAustralian - 10May04
Saints snare biggest scalp
There is no doubt about it; St Kilda is the real deal in 2004. In the top-four clash at Subiaco on Saturday afternoon, the Saints did enough to win by 23 points and improve their record to 6-0 for the season, which took them to 11 straight wins, including the Wizard Home Loans Cup. In the end, the Saints won 14.11 (95) to 11.6 (72), after they survived a Fremantle fight-back in the last term which saw the Dockers get to just 15 points down after five consecutive goals, before steadying with a late goal to spearhead Fraser Gehrig. The Saints were on top in the first term, but nailed the lid of the coffin shut in the second, outscoring the hosts 4.4 to 0.0, as Fremantle struggled to get the ball into its forward half, let alone into the forward 50.
The Article - Mic Cullen/Sportal - saints.com.au - 08May04
In a word..... - www.dockerland.com
Match Report - Shane Richmond - www.dockerland.com - 08May04
Thomas denies Saints must tone down aggression
St Kilda coach Grant Thomas has denied that his side - the most reported in the AFL this year - needs to tone down its aggression, adding he was confident about the case midfielder Heath Black would take to the tribunal this week. Black became the seventh St Kilda player to be reported this season when booked for striking Fremantle's Dion Woods in the final quarter of Saturday's match at Subiaco . . . "Some of those (reports), they aren't anything to do with our style of play," Thomas said. "A couple of them have been, in my mind, accidents, so I don't draw any line through them." Although Saturday's report was the seventh of Black's 110-game career, Thomas was confident of a positive outcome. "We are pretty confident about the situation we are in this week," he said. The Saints will attempt to break a six-year losing streak against Collingwood when the two sides meet on Saturday night at Telstra Dome, having not beaten the Magpies since round 12, 1998, at Waverley Park. "I really don't delve into the past too much . . . " Thomas said. "We expect to do well this week. If we need to use past history as a motivation, we're not where I thought we would be."
The Article - Peter Ker - TheAge - 10May04
Saints write winning script - Digby Beacham - HeraldSun - 10May04
Saints chasing history
. . . The Saints headed home to Melbourne last night to prepare for a match against bottom-of-the-table Collingwood at Telstra Dome on Saturday night. They will be chasing an eighth successive win, which will equal the performance of the Saints' only premiership team. St Kilda's 1966 team defeated Essendon on the Queen's Birthday weekend for its eighth successive win, and a percentage of 177.4. The club's best ever winning streak was nine, from round 16 to the preliminary final in 1997. The 2004 Saints will get back Justin Koschitzke and Steven Baker from suspension for Saturday's match.
The Article - John McGrath - TheAge - 09May04
Saints set the pace, says (Neale) Daniher
Melbourne coach Neale Daniher - invited after the Demons' 49-point victory over West Coast to compare his team to league leader St Kilda - said yesterday the Saints' more developed crop of young players ensured they were still a couple of steps ahead. The Demons' six-game winning streak is second only to St Kilda's undefeated run from the first seven rounds, and Daniher said that while St Kilda was reaping the benefits from its young talent, the Demons had yet to bring in some of their own - including last year's draft picks three and five in Colin Sylvia and Brock McLean. "I would have thought that St Kilda are a bit ahead of us," Daniher said . . .
The Article - Peter Ker - TheAge - 10May04
Hyde Park, Block 340 & the plane trip home
Voss will have his jaw wired on Sunday and miss 4-5 weeks, Rendell showed concern about Blacks report. Guerra approached the umpires later about his hip and shoulder and he said that they reckon everything is OK, TD was disappointed that Freo got back into the game in the second half and started to run. He said we were very tired in the last quarter and the guys were stuffed . . . We had great crowd support behind the goals and the trip was well worth it. The prematch function with all the non playing players was a huge success. Rod Butters and BW were there, gave speeches and answered questions. Lenny and Kosi spoke . . .
The Forum Post - Poochy - Saintsational Fan Forum
Saints crack fortress
Some had expected a let-down from the Saints after last week's impressive comeback win over Brisbane, coupled with the suspensions of captain Lenny Hayes and fellow young-gun Justin Koschitzke. But St Kilda easily discarded the Dockers, who came into the match with a 5-1 record, a near full-strength list and a four-game winning streak of their own. Fremantle had only lost one of their last 14 home games entering today, while St Kilda hadn't tasted success in Perth since round 12, 2001, but that all counted for little in front of a record non-derby crowd of 39,931. The Dockers did kick five straight goals in the last quarter to draw within 15 points, but they had been thoroughly outplayed for the majority of the afternoon as St Kilda earned their seventh straight win.
The Article - AAP - FoxSports - 08May04
Saints await the bill
St Kilda's aggressive approach extended the club's winning run to seven yesterday, but the 23-point win over Fremantle could come at a cost. Defender Brett Voss seems likely to miss up to five weeks with a broken jaw while midfielder Heath Black will have to front the AFL tribunal this week after being reported for striking Docker Dion Woods in the final term . . . Without Hayes and Koschitzke yesterday, the Saints were considered vulnerable. But the unbeaten ladder leaders kicked eight of the first nine goals to almost put the game beyond the Dockers in the opening half.
The Article - HeraldSun - 09May04
Voss the cost for win
St Kilda last night overcame another significant mental hurdle on its inevitable road to September but lost fearless defender Brett Voss for up to six weeks with a fractured jaw. The Saints were up by seven goals at half-time against a listless Fremantle, finally running out 23- point winners after a customary Dockers' challenge. While it continues to show it has the talent to match Brisbane Lions, injury and players missing through suspension are gnawing away at the list . . . Voss has been one of St Kilda's most courageous players all year, but that courage got him into trouble yesterday when he attacked a ball on centre wing . . .
The Article - Jon Ralph - HeraldSun - 09May04
Injuries: Give players a break - Emily Power - HeraldSun - 10May04
Saints dismiss Dockers
St Kilda coach Grant Thomas was thrilled his side again managed to raise its level of play against another potential top-four foe. "There was a large expectation that an honourable loss would've been OK under the circumstances, given we've been up for so long," he said. "What I was most pleased about was the players' preparedness to take on another challenge, because they've taken on a few in the last month or so . . . and every time they've delivered."
The Article - James Dampney - TheAge - 09May04
Saints can win it: Hasleby
Fremantle midfielder Paul Hasleby believes St Kilda has the weaponry to end the Brisbane Lions' three-year premiership stranglehold. The Dockers' midfielder said Grant Thomas's young outfit had proved beyond doubt it was premiership material after the 23-point win yesterday. "I think they are a real flag contender," Hasleby said. "They are probably the best team going around in Melbourne at the moment, along with Essendon." Hasleby waged a fascinating battle with St Kilda wunderkind Luke Ball, whom he rated as a prime reason for St Kilda's dominance this season. "He is a great young player and will be very important for them in the future," Hasleby said.
The Article - Michael Place - HeraldSun - 09May04
Saints step up another gear
The St Kilda juggernaut continues to roll along at breakneck speed after the young Saints yesterday held off a late Fremantle surge to extend their unbeaten run to seven games. A shell-shocked Fremantle was 44 points down early in the last quarter before the inevitable surge began. An unchecked run of five goals in 14 minutes saw the Dockers move within 15 points in the shadows of the game, but St Kilda's cream stood up - as it has all year. First Nick Riewoldt's clever snap hit the inside of the post to arrest the momentum then, after marking wide, he found the relentless Robert Harvey on the 50m line. His weighted chip hit Fraser Gehrig, who iced the game from 35m with his fourth goal.
The Article - Jon Ralph - HeraldSun - 09May04
Gehrig strong on the lead
Fraser Gehrig ran on to Subiaco Oval yesterday, his left calf swathed in a pressure bandage, to captain St Kilda for the first time. Lenny Hayes, the skipper for 2004 under coach Grant Thomas's rotational captaincy policy, was out of the team serving a one-match suspension. So the players' leadership group decided that Gehrig, who came into the round on top of the AFL goalkicking list, should be captain for a day in the match against Fremantle. And while the big man has played better games, he still managed to take eight marks and boot four goals. More importantly, he booted the sealer late in the game to give the Saints a 23-point victory in the House of Pain.
The Article - John McGrath - TheAge - 09May04
THE NO CASE DETAILS
Partner swap idea not on in Saints case
About 8pm Montagna receives a call on his mobile phone. On the line is a young woman known to the talented 20-year-old midfielder who tells him she has a girlfriend who is keen to meet with Milne. A meeting is arranged and the girls arrive soon after, before the four drive to the Red Eagle Hotel in South Melbourne, a popular venue for Sunday sippers . . .
The Milne Montagna Story - Michael Warner - HeraldSun - 08May04
Thomas had team of helpers
It was standing room only in the St Kilda coach's box for Saturday's win against Fremantle. Saints coach Grant Thomas last night revealed 17 players accompanied him and his coaching staff throughout the match at Subiaco Oval. "Those guys were part of the plane trip, the team meeting and they sat in the box with me -- 15 or 17 extra in the box and that allowed them to get an experience of that as well," Thomas said last night. "All in all, and we spoke about it today, I thought it was very successful in that regard because we have been able to give some experience to guys like Dylan Pfitzner and Raph Clarke, players who haven't been around long and those who don't have experience in that regard." . . . Thomas said taking all players to Perth was timely. "The timing was perfect for us, because it is about this time when guys who haven't been selected can drop off on their intensity and start to question if they are going to get in to the side," he said.
Match Report - Damian Barrett - HeraldSun - 10May04
Hard men pay price at tribunal
Voss said the focus had been on fierce contesting of every issue on the football field. The results have been stunning. Geelong have been stunned in the Wizard Cup, Essendon have been stunned in round two, the Kangaroos stunned in round five. By round six three-time defending champion Brisbane knew what to expect yet still could not manage nor contain the effect . . . When Max Hudghton ran selflessly back into play in the Wizard Cup campaign and pulverised his shoulder, Thomas proclaimed the defender "had taken a bullet for us". The defender's bravery did appear to epitomise the club's spirit . . . It might just be that the ramification of being the best football side in the competition is an unusually high number of appearances at the tribunal. A look at the recent premiership teams shows that mostly they have more than the average tribunal count . . .
The Article - Patrick Smith - TheAustralian - 05May04
AFL breached anti-scalping laws - AAP - 7Sports - 09May04
Match of my life
What a difference a point makes. Or in our case, near enough to a point. While I didn't see Aussie Jones' (below) controversial kick, one thing's for sure, we are happy to take the result. Saturday night's clash with Brisbane was without doubt the best game I have been involved in. Following the huge build-up and public interest surrounding the encounter, it was a relief to finally reach game day. On arrival at Telstra Dome, it was disappointing to learn that Aaron Hamill had failed a fitness test. This can be quite deflating for a team, particularly given the quality of the player. But, ironically, his replacement Troy Schwarze was to become the hero of the night . . .
The Article - Nick Riewoldt/MX newspaper - saints.com.au - 07May04
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