2005 - AFL Home and Away Season
Round 12 - Results and Post-game Articles
Hawthorn: 1.3, 4.4, 5.4, 8.6 (54)
St Kilda: 5.2, 8.6, 13.8, 15.10 (100)
Goals - Hawthorn: Dixon 2, Franklin, Everitt, Ladson, Hodge, Brennan, Williams
St Kilda: Gehrig 6, Maguire 3, Murray 2, Baker, Riewoldt, Fiora, Peckett
Best - Hawthorn: Mitchell, Crawford, Bateman, Miller
St Kilda: Maguire, Gehrig, Hudghton, R.Clarke, Hayes, Harvey, Peckett
Injuries - Hawthorn: Nil St Kilda: Nil
Changes - Hawthorn: Lewis, Jacobs out, replaced in selected side by Miller, Ries
St Kilda: Koschitzke (quad) out, replaced in selected side by Peckett
Reports - Nil
Umpires - Head, Schmitt, Kamolins
Crowd - 33,905 at the MCG
St Kilda: Hitouts: 21
St Kilda: 50m Penalties: 0
St Kilda: Goals: Free 1; Play 1; Mark 13
St Kilda: Distance of Goals: 0-15m 4; 15-30m 2; 30-40m 1; 40+m 8
Hawthorn Hitouts: 25
Hawthorn 50m Penalties: 1
Hawthorn Goals: Free 0; Play 2; Mark 6
Hawthorn Distance Of Goals: 0-15m 0; 15-30m 3; 30-40m 1; 40+m 4
Saints on the run home
While disappointed St Kilda did not blow Hawthorn off the MCG when the chance presented itself in the final quarter yesterday, Saints coach Grant Thomas said the 46-point win was a good springboard for the rest of the season. "It was very frustrating that we didn't take advantage of the opportunity that we had and really put a nail in the coffin earlier in the game and perhaps went on with it. Percentage is going to be very important this year," Thomas said. With the victory squaring the ledger for St Kilda at six wins and six losses, Thomas said it was difficult to judge from yesterday's game how far away the Saints are from their best form. "I think that was a really good effort from us but in relation to our brand, how we play the game and everything working beautifully, that's a really difficult one because that's based on how the opposition plays as well. I'd like to use that as not a bad foundation game to bounce off for the rest of the year on," he said. Part of the difficulty in judging his team's performance was the fact the Hawks consistently played one or two players behind the ball and crowded the way forward for the Saints. "That's what's out there . . . we have just got to be better at dealing with it and adapting to it and at our best we do it well, but when we're not at our best we probably get a bit frustrated by it," he said.
The Article Lyall Johnson/TheAge/12June05
Out of order Chip Le Grand/TheAustralian/13June05
Victory a turning point: Thomas
St Kilda coach Grant Thomas is confident the morale-boosting 46 point win over Hawthorn on Saturday, in the club's last match before their mid-season break, will be the turning point in the Saints' 2005 season . . . And suddenly the pre-season premiership favourite is back on an even footing at six wins and six losses and within striking range of the top four ahead of its much-needed mid-season break next week. Immediately after that the Saints face three of the bottom teams in Essendon, the Bulldogs and Carlton, and Thomas is hoping the confidence gained from the win over Hawthorn will enable the Saints to finally get on the kind of winning run which their fans have been waiting for since the start of the season.
The Article Paul Gough/saints.com.au/11June05
Maguire takes control
It was enough to make an old centre-half-back's heart fill with pride as Matt Maguire dominated Saturday's MCG clash against Hawthorn with the best performance of his 57 game career. St Kilda coach Grant Thomas, the Saints' centre-half-back during his 72 games with the club from 1978-83, sat back and watched with delight as Maguire not only rendered the Hawks' key forwards impotent on Saturday, but also helped himself to a career-high 25 possessions. And to cap off his dream day Maguire - who had only kicked ten previous goals in his career - helped himself to three goals . . . "That's how I want him to play," Thomas said of the man known as 'Goose' after the game. It's the position I played in for club and I want him to run down the ground and take control and have shots at goal like he did today."
The Article Paul Gough/saints.com.au/11June05
Booming goals for dour Saints duo
It'd not often that Saints Steven Baker and Matt Maguire make an appearance on the goal-scoring sheet. But both made an impression yesterday with booming goals from well outside 50 in the first quarter. Maguire was brilliant in his role as an attacking centre half-back while Baker played the consummate tagging role by nullifying in-form Hawk Luke Hodge and pushing forward himself. "All the boys call me jam tin at training because they reckon I can't kick over a jam tin," Baker said. "I usually can't kick a goal from 30m, so they'll be hearing about that after a few quiet ones tonight."
The Article HeraldSun/12June05
Saints thrash Hawks
St Kilda beat a woeful Hawthorn by 46 points in an uninspiring AFL match at the MCG today. Fraser Gehrig kicked 6.6 and defender Matt Maguire also kicked three to be best afield as the Saints dominated 15.10 (100) to 8.6 (54). Hawthorn small forward Mark Williams, who leads the AFL goalkicking and had been averaging more than four goals a game before today, was held to 1.1. Leading by 26 points at half-time, the Saints killed the game off in the third term when they kicked five goals to one for a 52-point advantage at the last change. The Saints suffered a blow late in training yesterday when Justin Koschitzke suffered a quad muscle injury, putting him out for about three weeks.
The Article AAP/TheAge/11June05
Barker accepts two matches
Hawthorn forward John Barker has accepted a two-game suspension after being booked on a striking charge. The veteran will miss the matches against Port Adelaide, at AAMI Stadium on Friday, and Geelong the following week. Barker was charged by the AFL match review panel on a count of striking St Kilda's Brendan Goddard in the first quarter at the MCG on Saturday. The suspension is another setback for Barker, who had only just returned to the line-up after six weeks on the sidelines nursing a leg injury. He was assessed as having committed a level-three offence, which the panel saw as being reckless and of medium impact.
The Article TheAustralian/14June05
Review panel findings TheAge/14June05
Players warned about ump bumps Melissa Ryan/TheAge/14June05
Barker books date with the tribunal
Hawthorn forward John Barker's stuttering season is about to be disrupted again after an incident in his return game on Saturday. The AFL match review panel yesterday charged Barker with striking St Kilda's Brendon Goddard in the first quarter at the MCG. It was the Hawk forward's first game back after missing six weeks with a torn thigh muscle and he has been offered a two-game suspension. The panel assessed the incident as reckless conduct and medium impact, a total of seven activation points which relates to a level three offence.
The Article Bruce Matthews/HeraldSun/14June05
Saints punish lacklustre Hawks
Fraser Gehrig kicked six goals as St Kilda defeated Hawthorn by 46 points in the round 12 AFL match played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The Saints led by 26 points at half-time before eventually running out convincing 15.10 (100) to 8.6 (54) winners. Matt Maguire was outstanding at centre-half-back for the Saints, racking up 25 disposals and three goals. Sam Mitchell was one of few Hawks to stand up, collecting 36 touches. The Saints opened the scoring when Gehrig capped off some wonderful lead-up work by veteran midfielder Robert Harvey, who turned the ball over for his team. With magnificent strength, Gehrig pushed off two players to mark the ball and kick the goal.
The Article Katie Franklin/ABC Sport/11June05
Hawk attackers reverse the charges
It was as if somebody at the MCG yesterday kept pressing the repeat button.To the point of absolute frustration, more than 33,000 fans kept seeing Hawthorn's stoppage experts scramble for possession around the middle, share it with a succession of handballs and engineer a way into attack - only to see the pill flying back over their heads. Then, with St Kilda's two power forwards - Fraser Gehrig and Nick Riewoldt - on the receiving end, the Saints would add to their lead. And the scenario kept repeating itself as Hawthorn's deficiencies became painfully obvious and the class of St Kilda took its toll. The Saints were able to put aside their recent disappointments and put themselves back into the finals race.
The Article Scott Palmer/HeraldSun/12June05
Saints beat woeful Hawks at MCG
. . . The Saints suffered a blow late in training yesterday when Justin Koschitzke suffered a quad muscle injury, putting him out for about three weeks. He was due to resume today from a hamstring problem. St Kilda had lost four of its last five matches and desperately needed to go into the mid-year break with a 6-6 record. The Saints quickly took control and led by 23 points at quarter-time, with defenders Maguire and Raphael Clarke dominant. Hawthorn would have been in even more trouble had Gehrig kicked straight early - he had returned 2.5 just after halftime. The Hawks repeatedly overused the ball, a bad habit they also showed in last week's loss to the Western Bulldogs. While the Saints held their spot in the top eight, Hawthorn is now second-bottom on 3-9 and seems to have lost much of the momentum it had built over the last month.
The Article AAP/HeraldSun/11June05
Saints hammer Hawks
. . . Hudghton was brilliantly assisted by centre-half-back Matt Maguire, who was easily best afield in arguably the best performance of his 57-game career. Maguire was not only faultless in defence but capped off his game with three goals from centre-half-back, an amazing performance considering that before this game he had only kicked ten goals for his entire career. Not that the Saints lacked for forward options however, as spearhead Fraser Gehrig starred with six goals and could have had double figures if not for bad kicking - six behinds. However with Williams managing just one goal, Gehrig has moved to within eight goals of the Hawks' goalsneak in the race for the Coleman Medal.
The Article Paul Gough/saints.com.au/11June05
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