Round 9 Results and Post Game Articles
Round 9 - The Nicky Winmar Cup
St Kilda: 6.4 13.7 19.9 26.13 (169)
West Coast Eagles: 3.3 6.8 9.10 9.14 (68)
Goals: St Kilda: Guerra 7, Gehrig 5, Milne 4, Hamill 4, Riewoldt 2, Koschitzke, X Clarke, Hudghton, Jones
West Coast Eagles: Matera 2, Sampi 2, Gaspar 2, McDougall, Morrison, Selwood
Best: St Kilda: Guerra, Riewoldt, Jones, Gehrig, Hamill, Dal Santo, Ball, Milne, Hayes, Powell
West Coast Eagles: Cousins, Judd, Fletcher
Injuries: St Kilda: Fisher (hamstring)
West Coast Eagles Staker (concussion)
Reports: St Kilda: Koschitzke reported for striking Chambers by field umpire Scott McLaren in the second quarter
Umpires: Avon, Nicholls, Goldspink
Crowd: 30,000 at Telstra Dome
Koschitzke charge withdrawn
Field umpire Scott McLaren has withdrawn the striking charge he laid against St Kilda's Justin Koschitzke. McLaren said he had viewed the video of the incident on Monday and said the player's actions did not constitute a strike of West Coast's Callum Chambers.
The Article - Sportal - saints.com.au - 23May04
Koschitzke at tribunal again - Mark Stevens - Herald Sun - 23May04
Thomas defends discipline of Saints
St Kilda coach Grant Thomas says he is not concerned with the poor disciplinary record of his players this season. The Saints might be unbeaten after nine rounds, having made their best ever start to an AFL season, but they continue to get players reported. Already this season Brent Guerra, Steven Baker, Heath Black, Aaron Hamill, Justin Koschitzke and even skipper Lenny Hayes have missed games through suspension and now Koschitzke has to face the tribunal again - after being booked for striking Callum Chambers during Sunday's 101 point rout of the Eagles at Telstra Dome.
The Article - Paul Gough/Sportal - saints.com.au - 24May04
Nine up and no flagging for Saints
In unison, St Kilda's star and the hopes and dreams of the long-suffering Saints supporters are rising faster and shining brighter than ever before. The club that has endured a record 26 wooden spoons, won only 14 finals matches in its history and has just one premiership cup in the cabinet after 107 years in the competition is good, scary good.And next Sunday the Sainters will return to Telstra Dome to try to make it 10 straight for the first in their history when they go into their clash against battling Carlton as unbackable favourites. This side is far superior to the '97 unit that finished second and it still hasn't reached its full maturity or potential.
The Article - Michael Horan - Herald Sun - 24May04
Penny paying rich dividends
Luke Penny felt like a forward when he went to St Kilda last year. His pre-trade conversations with the Saints had not determined where his 193 centimetres would most likely be used, and while Penny had played most of his senior games in defence, he felt more suited to the forward line and suspected it was where he would spend his revised football life. That all changed an hour into the season. "I played in the forward line for the first half of my first game and that was pretty much it. I had the feeling I was going to be playing down there, and there was a bit of talk about using me at both ends, but it hasn't worked out either way," Penny said.
The Article - Emma Quayle - TheAge- 24May04
Is this the recruit of the year?
Nick Riewoldt describes him as a 'mini Stewart Loewe', the Saints' players call him 'Manchild', coach Grant Thomas says he has exceeded all expectations and he has quickly become a cult figure amongst the Saints' supporters. He is Brent Guerra and right now the former Port Adelaide player is one of the in-form players in the AFL. Guerra came to the Saints this season, in exchange for pick 39 to Port Adelaide in last year's national draft, with just 65 games and 49 goals to his name after a stop-start career at Alberton in which he was often frustrated by a lack of opportunity. But in his first year with the Saints the soon-to-be 22-year-old, who his teammates joke looks 35, has kicked 20 goals in just six matches - including seven in Sunday's demolition of West Coast
The Article - Paul Gough/Sportal - saints.com.au - 24May04
Awesome Saints crush Eagles
St Kilda has achieved its greatest start to any AFL season and equalled its record for most successive wins in its 107 year history after annihilating the West Coast Eagles at Telstra Dome on Sunday. In another awesome performance from Grant Thomas side, the 2004 Wizard Cup winners made it nine straight to start the season after beating the Eagles 26.13 (169) to 9.14 (68). The Saints' ninth successive win to start the season beat their previous best of eight in their sole premiership year of 1966 while also equaling the club's greatest ever run of successive wins of nine - set in the nine matches leading into the club's fateful 1997 grand final meeting with Adelaide.
The Article - Paul Gough/Sportal - saints.com.au - 23May04
High-flying Saints cruise to big win
With its all-star attack purring like a well-oiled machine, St Kilda cruised to a 101-point point victory over a desperately disappointing West Coast in the AFL match at Telstra Dome today. Everywhere you looked up-forward, the Saints had winners. Brent Guerra (a career-best seven goals from 10 kicks), Fraser Gehrig (five) and Aaron Hamill and Stephen Milne (four goals each) took the goalkicking honours in the 26.13 (169) to 9.14 (68) victory. And behind much of the good work was centre half-forward Nick Riewoldt, who took 15 marks and booted two goals. The other star for St Kilda was Aussie Jones, who capped a flawless game from half-back with a long-range goal in the final term.
The Article - AAP - Herald Sun - 23May04
Saints keeping the lid on
. . . Thomas, whose team will be aiming for a record-breaking tenth successive win against lowly Carlton at Telstra Dome next Sunday, says his team is not worried about the past, only the future. "Without sounding disparaging or paying lip service to our history, this year is this year," he said. "There has been no mention of winning streaks, no mention of evaluating our performance against past history and if that (eight straight to start the season) happened in 1966 then that is 38 years ago and has no consequence to now." The Saints were simply breath-taking against the outclassed Eagles with Brent Guerra kicking seven goals, Fraser Gehrig five, Aaron Hamill and Steven Milne four each while Nick Riewoldt and veteran defender Aussie Jones vied with Guerra for best afield honors. So dominant were the Saints that Guerra - who is becoming more of a bargain buy from Port Adelaide by the week - even kicked a goal while laying flat on his back in the goalsquare in the final term.
The Article - Paul Gough/Sportal - saints.com.au - 23May04
Saints home in on worthy cause
While many AFL players are acquiring impressive property portfolios. St Kilda pair Xavier Clarke and Allan Murray are looking to turn one house into three or four. The Saints pair are not out to make millions. Their focus is the Lighthouse Foundation which provides accommodation for indigenous youth. "We want to work with indigenous kids and give back to the community," Clarke said. "We thought Lighthouse would be a good organisation to team with and they've been great supporters." Under the guidance of Peter King, of MH Australia Consulting, which offers corporate leadership, mentoring and training, Clarke and Murray have worked on the program since it started and are involved in every facet.
The Article - Grantley Bernard - HeraldSun - 22May04
Who is the greatest Aboriginal player? - Anthony Barich - HeraldSun - 23May04
Pies willing to do what it takes to win
After playing St Kilda, everyone at Collingwood understands the difference between top and bottom on the ladder. Forty-seven points, which equates to a couple of goals a quarter. That sounds about right . . . The Saints have all the premiership ingredients. A handful of champions, a brilliant midfield, a mixture of experience and youth. I was especially taken by the improvement of some of the less-fancied Saints defenders. Luke Penny has flourished since leaving the Bulldogs and is one of the best performing full-backs in the competition. Troy Schwarze is a vastly improved player, capable of running forward and hurting you on the scoreboard. You'd expect this talented side to be the benchmark for the rest of the decade . . .
The Article - Mick Malthouse - TheAustralian - 21May04
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