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2005 - AFL Home and Away Season

Round 5 - Results and Post-game Articles

St Kilda: 8.2, 13.5, 18.11, 22.15 (147)
Richmond: 3.4, 5.8, 8.10, 11.13 (79)
Goals: - St Kilda: Milne 5, Gehrig 4, Fiora 2, Hamill 2, Peckett 2, Dal Santo, Maguire, Hayes, Ball, Jones, Voss, X Clarke, Thompson, Guerra. Richmond: Stafford 4, Brown 2, Bowden, Tuck, Krakouer, Campbell, Pettifer
Best: - St Kilda: Milne, Maguire, Dal Santo, Jones, Fiora, Hudghton, Hayes, Harvey. Richmond: Stafford, Bowden, Tuck, Gaspar, Kellaway
Injuries: - St Kilda: Maguire (concussion) Richmond: Hyde (concussion)
Saints Hitouts: 29
Saints 50m Penalties: 0
Saints Goals: Free 1; Play 12; Mark 9
Saints Distance of goals: 0-15m 1; 15-30m 5; 30-40m 4; 40+m 12
Changes: nil
Reports: - nil
Umpires: - McLaren, Grun, Quigley
Crowd: - 49,580 at Telstra Dome

Slick Saints hand out lesson
St Kilda was slick, stunning in its execution, and looking very much like the side that went within a kick of reaching last year's Grand Final. Then again, for fans, who over the past year have become accustomed to brilliant wins and finals action, it came with perhaps one slightly negative aspect: it was only Richmond. The Saints clearly showed the gulf between serious finals aspirants and those that are still a long way off the pace. St Kilda dominated the midfield and chopped up Richmond's defence. The Saints blue-chip midfielders, dual Brownlow medallist Robert Harvey, Lenny Hayes and Nick Dal Santo, exploded into action from the first bounce to set up an eight-goal first term for St Kilda.
The Article Michael Horan/HeraldSun/25Apr05
Main event over for Tigers in 12 minuntes Scott Gullan/HeraldSun/25Apr05
Saints give Terry's boys a towelling Mark Robinson/HeraldSun/25Apr05

Maguire, Hyde clash like a 'car wreck'
Deeply concerned Richmond Terry Wallace last night described a sickening clash between Chris Hyde and Matt Maguire as a "car wreck". Hyde and Maguire were both in hospital last night having precautionary tests after colliding early in the final term and suffering severe concussion. "It was a car wreck . . . it was as bad as I've ever seen," Wallace said . . . There were also anxious moments in the St Kilda box, with Saints coach Grant Thomas dubbing the incident "disturbing". "It's very disturbing for both players . . . you think the worst and you worry about the worst . . . you look for movement," Thomas said. "Thankfully `Goose' (Maguire) was moving his knees and his head and we're very pleased to here he actually wanted to get off the stretcher, so that's always a good sign."
The Article Mark Stevens/HeraldSun/25Apr05
Coaches feared worst Melissa Rian/TheAge/25Apr05
Clash of heads halts match Melissa Ryan/TheAge/25Apr05

Butterss aims big
St Kilda president Rod Butterss said yesterday he hoped the St Kilda versus Richmond match could assume an importance as great as that of Essendon and Collingwood's Anzac Day clash in the AFL fixture . . . "Today we've got the opportunity to work with the Richmond Football Club on what we hope we might be able to turn into a blockbuster," Butterss said. "If you think back to what was happening years ago, the first Collingwood-Essendon Anzac Day was put on and that's turned into something quite remarkable. Let's hope that part of this experiment turns into something huge."
The Article Melissa Ryan/TheAge/25Apr05

Saints slaughter Tigers
St Kilda has halted Richmond's attempt to win four games in a row for the first time since 2003 - and in the process signaled some ominous signs to the rest of the competition - smashing the Tigers by 68 points in the first twilight fixture of the season at Telstra Dome on Sunday. The Saints 22.15 (147) defeated the Tigers 11.13 (79) in front of an almost-capacity crowd of 49,580 to continue its recent dominance over Richmond, with St Kilda winning five of its past six encounters over the yellow and black . . . The game was marred by a sickening collision of heads between Saint Matt Maguire and Richmond's Chris Hyde in the last quarter and both players appeared to have lost consciousness before they hit the turf. Play was stopped for several minutes before trainers carried the players off. Maguire was one of the stars of the game as a loose man in defence and continually set up attacking waves with his strong attack on the ball.
The Article Matt Burgan/saints.com.au/24Apr05

Saints show no mercy
St Kilda showed its brilliant skill and goalkicking prowess to destroy Richmond by 68 points in tonight's round five AFL game at Telstra Dome. The Saints slammed on eight goals in a scintillating first quarter to blow the game apart and then steadily built on their lead to win 22.15 (147) to 11.13 (79) before a bumper crowd of 49,580. Forward pocket Stephen Milne kicked five goals for the Saints to join Richmond's Matthew Richardson at the top of the goalkicking table with 16 goals each for the season. Richardson went goalless tonight, while Saints full-forward Fraser Gehrig kicked four goals to give him 15 for the season.
The Article AAP/HeraldSun/24Apr05

Dal Santo gets fitting recognition
It was fitting the first Ian Stewart Medallist for 2005 was won by the player who has already drawn significant comparisons to the triple Brownlow Medallist. The medal, which is awarded to the best player from St Kilda and Richmond matches, was given to brilliant young Saint Nick Dal Santo, who was widely likened to Stewart after he produced an outstanding performance against the Tigers last year. And winning the honour was not lost on the elite young midfielder. "Personally, it is an honour to win a medal named after Ian Stewart, who is a club legend," Dal Santo told afl.com.au.
The List Matt Burgan/saints.com.au/25Apr05

Saints who have given their lives in War.
As we remember the Anzacs and Australians are involved once more in a theatre of war, we remember those who have given their lives for their country. Twelve Saints fought in World Wars and failed to return. It is important that all Saints players, administrators and supporters remember them. They were all young men who heard the call to arms , enlisted and then proceeded overseas to fight for their country. They did not return to their families and they did not return to the club for which they played.
The List Allan Grant/saints.com.au/24Apr05

Saints end Tigers' winning run
St Kilda coach Grant Thomas would be pleased with the statistics of the match which showed his team had 13 different goal kickers. Stephen Milne led the scoring with five goals while Fraser Gehrig kicked four majors. Aaron Hamill and Aaron Fiora were the other multiple goal kickers, both managing two. Thomas would also be satisfied with the effort shown by veteran Robert Harvey, the two-time Brownlow medallist posting 24 possessions and six marks.
The Article Luke Pentony/ABC Sport/24Apr05

Maguire shrugs off clash
St Kilda defender Matt Maguire says he is confident he will be fit to play next week despite being knocked unconscious in yesterday's win over Richmond at Docklands. Maguire and Richmond's Chris Hyde both hit the deck and were carried off on stretchers after a sickening mid-air clash of heads. Maguire was released from hospital on Sunday night and today he said he was recovering well. "Because of the recovery I made at the hospital, they didn't feel I needed any scans or anything like that to make sure I was OK," he said.
The Article ABC Sport/25Apr05

Fox rates with twilight match
Sunday's twilight fixture between St Kilda and Richmond produced record viewing figures for Fox Footy. The Round 5 match was broadcast exclusively, with the pay-TV station gaining from rare access to prime time and two Melbourne teams. While the AFL and the network would not reveal ratings figures, it is understood about 120,000 Foxtel set-top boxes were tuned in to the Telstra Dome match. The 5.15pm start on the eve of the Anzac Day public holiday allowed the station to record its best live football ratings since it was launched in 2002.
The Article HeraldSun/28Apr05

Unholy ransacking hovers over Saints
. . . Grant Thomas, the only coach in the competition who handles player contracts, was asked whether the Saints were under pressure to maintain their envied list, as the Lions managed in those premiership years. The Saint coach had a stark bottom line for any player contemplating the dollars on offer elsewhere. "It doesn't put more pressure on us, it puts more pressure on the player potentially," said Thomas. "But it only puts pressure on the player if he's prepared to entertain that. Because if he's prepared to entertain offers, well, we're going to lose him. It doesn't matter who the player is, we'll lose him because we can't pay as much as he'll get outside" . . .
The Article Jake Niall/TheAge/28Apr05

Earning some respect
When a player leaves for another club, no doubt the first game against his old team is perhaps the most circled event on the calendar. For Aaron Fiora, the Anzac Day eve clash at the Telstra Dome against Richmond was just that. After the annihilation and a fantastic performance, there is no better way to exact revenge. Taken in the 1999 National AFL Draft with the 3rd overall pick, much was expected from this prize recruit from South Australia, picked ahead of Fremantle's Matthew Pavlich and many others who are now household names. Despite this, it didn't faze Fiora at the time, "When you get drafted, people probably look at you a little bit more, but you try not to think of it". Earning a Rising Star nomination in 2001 and having a great year in 2002, Fiora was never really able to showcase his abilities and was much maligned by the critics and fans, "I don't really think I wasn't given enough chances, just when I had them I didn't really the warrant time on the ground. I didn't play where I wanted to play but I don't think its true (about the lack of chances), playing 60 odd games in five years."
The Article Luca Giacobello/saints.com.au/28Apr05

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